Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison

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Summary: *CELTIC CROSSROADS* is a lucid critical biography.
Review: Brian Hinton's *CELTIC CROSSROADS* is one of the most lucid and comprehensive critical biographies available on the enigmatic Irish singer and songwriter. The title of Hinton's book is an allusion to both the ethnic roots f the Irish singer and the singer's love of American Blues music.

Hinton's encylopedic knowledge of rock 'n roll music provides a well-researched query into Morrison's every expanding discography. Especially noteworthy is Hinton's critical commentary on almost every individual song on each Morrison album. The main strength of Hinton's biography is the author's ability to put Morrison's creative output into a cultural context.

Indeed, if the book has a failing, it is Hinton's proclivity to get lost in a tangential dicussion which only illuminates his knowledge of pop music, not the music of Morrison. In one chapter, he connects Morrison's music to bands as divergent in style as Yes, the Sex Pistols, and,(as humorist Dave Barry would say)I'm not making this up, the Spice Girls!

The new Van Morrison fan may thus be better served by Steve Turner's lavishly illustrated *VAN MORRISON: TOO LATE TO STOP NOW*. However, the extensive bibliography, discography, and filmography make Hinton's book a necessity for any Morrison fan who wishes to delve deeper into the music of this iconoclastic artist.

Rating:
Summary: Still no definitive book on Van the Man
Review: This book is a disappointment.The bibliography and discography are good, and there is much information and opinion about the artist and his work.However there is little attempt to come to grips with the person or his art.There are many digressions which refer to other performers not relevant to Van Morrison, but they are mentioned simply because their music was around at the same time.Too much space is given to describing live performances, which means little to those of us who were not there.Discussion of Van's songs is superficial.So much remains untouched:his musical and non musical influences, his spiritual searchings, his Irish heritage.I am still waiting for the definitive book on Van Morrison, both the man and the music.

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Summary: Vizcity on Van
Review: This book is a meaty little tome, 392 pages of entertaining text with a small, b/w picture section in the middle. I got my copy two days ago and have found it hard to put down since. Despite his PhD in poetry and myth, Hinton doesn't go for academic jargon at all. The writing is brisk and down-to-earth. Hinton is confident not only in his literary knowledge but also in his encyclopedic knowledge of popular music, which enables him to put Van in interesting contexts at times.

Still, I've noticed a few factual errors and odd omissions (he doesn't know that the Bottom Line '78 MC is Peter Wolf), and the writing sometimes seems rushed, especially the last few chapters. Also, there are lapses in tone (Hinton will often jump out of his authorial character to address the reader with a chummy question) and paragraphs that jump from one topic to another disconcertingly.

Hinton seems to have about five main goals.

To argue that Van Morrison is indeed a very fine poet, albeit one who's poetry relies on its musical context. Hinton takes issue with the Johnny Rogan and John Collis books on this subject. To assert that VM's artistry is at its best during live performances. To demonstrate this, Hinton goes into great detail comparing the oft-booted Fillmore West 1970 show to MOONDANCE, arguing that the live versions of the MOONDANCE songs are more vital and interesting than the studio versions. (I can't agree in this particular instance - and *I* personally tend to feel that while the argument might be true with Van's '90s work, the studio was where Van tended to be most comfortable and vital in the '70s and early '80s.) To make a strong case for albums that critics often denigrate, such as TUPELO HONEY and COMMON ONE, although he isn't afraid to come down hard on some titles (HIS BAND AND THE STREET CHOIR, A PERIOD OF TRANSITION). And he comes right out and says that one of his primary motivations was to champion VEEDON FLEECE, an album that he feels deserves a stronger status than that of "cult favorite." To write a book that functions as a clearing-house of VM information. In this, he succeeds fairly well. There is very little Van knowledge, lore, and minutiae that is absent. Hinton has done an amazing amount of secondary research and incorporated it generously into the book. He has even immersed himself in back issues of THE VAN MORRISON NEWSLETTER and WAVELENGTH as well as many underground tapes and boots (from the archives of Geoff Wall), although I wish he'd taken more time to let all the info. digest before spewing it out in the book, sometimes rather cluelessly. Overall, Hinton's use of secondary research is one of the book's strengths. Unfortunately, there seems to be little *primary* research; most of his interview material seems gathered from the work of his predecessors: Ritchie Yorke, Johnny Rogan, Steve Turner, and even John Collis. To avoid the "wounded-journalist" bitterness that overtook the Rogan and Collis books. Hinton doesn't stint on reporting many instances of VM's rude, SOB behavior, and he doesn't try to defend it, but he also avoids moralizing about it or allowing it to (dis)color his view of the music. I'm sure Hinton has several other agendas in writing this book, but these are the five that stand out for me. I do recommend the book. Although the other books do more face-to- face research, and although the Turner book is the most cogent and revelatory regarding Van's spiritual concerns, this big clearing-house project may be the most purely entertaining volume yet written on the subject.