The Healing Game
The Healing Game is the twenty-sixth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1997 by Polydor. It reached the Top Ten in four countries, and the Top Twenty in three more. Following two overtly jazz albums, it saw Morrison adding blues and a pop sensibility.[1] It is the only album recorded after 1980 which Rolling Stone judged to be among his ten best, calling it "a clear highlight of his mid-period discography".[2]
| The Healing Game | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 March 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Studio | Westland Studios, Dublin Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 53:38 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Van Morrison | |||
| Van Morrison chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Healing Game | ||||
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Recording history
The album was recorded in Dublin, Ireland, in 1996. The cover shows Morrison with Haji Ahkba.
Songs
The title song is about the tradition of Belfast street singing. Van Morrison told Q magazine, "People find it incredible when I tell them that people used to sing and play music in the street", adding that "there's a whole oral tradition that's disappeared." "Rough God Goes Riding" is taken from a W. B. Yeats poem "The Second Coming" with the "rough beast" from the Apocalypse, and features Leo Green's saxophone following Morrison's voice. In "Waiting Game" Morrison is "the brother of the snake", which Brian Hinton says refers to both his lost friend Jim Morrison (known for writing about "The Lizard King"), and the Garden of Eden. "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" echoes the children's book, The Wind in the Willows, and features Paddy Moloney on uilleann pipes with Phil Coulter on piano. On "Burning Ground", Morrison references his childhood when jute was shipped to Belfast from India.[3]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [4] |
| NME | 3/10[5] |
Music critic Greil Marcus was impressed, writing that, "[like] the rough god he sings about, Morrison is astride each incident in the music, each pause in a greater story," but advises close listening, as "often the most revealing moments —the moments that reveal the shape of a world, a point of view, an argument about life — are at the margins."[6] Reviewing the 2019 reissue, All About Jazz asserted that "Healing Game is one of most complete personal and musical statements in Van Morrison's lengthy discography." It saw the artist "revisit the jazz and rhythm and blues-inspired style that influenced his earliest work", having "assembled a killer new band"[1]
Reissues
The 2008 remastered version of the album contains a bonus track: "At the End of the Day", which was the a B-side of "Rough God Goes Riding", the third single of the album, which itself was listed as one of the standout tracks from Van Morrison's six album reissue series.[7] The album was reissued again in 2019 as a triple CD, with bonus material from the studio sessions and Van Morrison's performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival on 17 July 1997.[8] Disc two featured collaborations with John Lee Hooker, Carl Perkins and British skiffle star Lonnie Donegan.
Track listing
All songs by Van Morrison, except where noted.
|
2019 deluxe edition
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rough God Goes Riding" | 6:19 |
| 2. | "Fire in the Belly" | 6:34 |
| 3. | "This Weight" | 4:37 |
| 4. | "Waiting Game" | 5:56 |
| 5. | "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" | 3:53 |
| 6. | "Burning Ground" | 5:38 |
| 7. | "It Once Was My Life"" | 5:10 |
| 8. | "Sometimes We Cry" | 5:14 |
| 9. | "If You Love Me" | 5:01 |
| 10. | "The Healing Game" | 5:16 |
| 11. | "Look at What the Good People Done" | 5:42 |
| 12. | "At the End of the Day" | 4:30 |
| 13. | "The Healing Game" (single version) | 4:28 |
| 14. | "Full Force Gale '96" | 3:34 |
| 15. | "Saint Dominic's Preview" (live in Temple Bar, Dublin, April 1996) | 6:45 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Healing Game" (alternate version) | 7:41 |
| 2. | "Fire in the Belly" (alternate version) | 5:25 |
| 3. | "Didn't He Ramble" (written by Hattie Bolten) | 6:11 |
| 4. | "The Healing Game" (jazz version) | 5:16 |
| 5. | "Sometimes We Cry" (full length version) | 8:23 |
| 6. | "Mule Skinner Blues" (written by Jimmie Rodgers and George Vaughan) | 4:32 |
| 7. | "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" (written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II) | 4:29 |
| 8. | "Don't Look Back" (with John Lee Hooker; written by John Lee Hooker) | 6:42 |
| 9. | "The Healing Game" (with John Lee Hooker) | 5:09 |
| 10. | "Boppin' the Blues" (with Carl Perkins; written by Carl Perkins and Howard "Curley" Griffin) | 3:58 |
| 11. | "Matchbox" (with Carl Perkins; written by Carl Perkins) | 4:07 |
| 12. | "Sittin' on Top of the World" (with Carl Perkins; written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon) | 3:19 |
| 13. | "My Angel" (with Carl Perkins; written by Van Morrison and Carl Perkins) | 6:08 |
| 14. | "All by Myself" (with Carl Perkins) | 3:28 |
| 15. | "Mule Skinner Blues" (with Lonnie Donegan; written by Jimmie Rodgers and George Vaughan) | 4:34 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rough God Goes Riding" | 5:40 |
| 2. | "Foreign Window" | 3:54 |
| 3. | "Tore Down a la Rimbaud" | 3:18 |
| 4. | "Vanlose Stairway / Trans-Euro Train" | 4:56 |
| 5. | "A Fool for You" (written by Ray Charles) | 3:17 |
| 6. | "Sometimes We Cry" | 5:31 |
| 7. | "It Once Was My Life" | 5:02 |
| 8. | "I'm Not Feeling It Anymore" | 7:24 |
| 9. | "This Weight" | 4:21 |
| 10. | "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" (written by Anthony Newley) | 4:05 |
| 11. | "Fire in the Belly" | 5:59 |
| 12. | "Tupelo Honey / Why Must I Always Explain?" | 6:50 |
| 13. | "The Healing Game" | 5:51 |
| 14. | "See Me Through / Soldier of Fortune / Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) / Burning Ground" ("Thank You" written by Sly Stone) | 13:32 |
Personnel
Musicians
- Van Morrison – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica
- John Lee Hooker: vocals on Don't Look Back and The Healing Game (disc 2 version)
- Carl Perkins: vocals on Boppin' the Blues, Matchbox, Sitting on Top of the World, My Angel and All by Myself
- Lonnie Donegan: vocals on Mule Skinner Blues
- Ronnie Johnson – electric guitar
- Peter O'Hanlon – dobro on "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "At the End of the Day"
- Nicky Scott – bass guitar
- Alec Dankworth – double bass
- Robin Aspland – piano
- Phil Coulter – piano on "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "At the End of the Day"
- Georgie Fame – Hammond organ, background vocals
- Pee Wee Ellis – soprano and baritone saxophones, background vocals
- Leo Green – tenor saxophone, background vocals
- Haji Ahkba – flugelhorn
- Paddy Moloney – uilleann pipes and tin whistle on "Piper at the Gates of Dawn"
- Matt Holland – trumpet, background vocals
- Brian Kennedy – background vocals
- Katie Kissoon – background vocals
- Geoff Dunn – drums, percussion
- Ralph Salmins – percussion
Production
- Production: Van Morrison
- Recording: Walter Samuel, Enda Walsh ("Piper at the Gates of Dawn", "At the End of the Day")
- Assistant engineering: David Slevin, Ciaran Cahill, Matthew Lawrence and Neil Douglas
- Mixing: Walter Samuel
- Technical support: David Conroy
- Mastering: Tim Young
- Art direction and design: Matt Curtis @ Abrahams Pants
- Photography: Paul Cox
Charts
Album – UK Album Chart
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | UK Album Chart | 10 |
Album – Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Billboard 200 | 32 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[9] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[10] | Silver | 60,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Notes
- Colette, Doug (30 March 2019). "Van Morrison: The Healing Game (Deluxe Edition)". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- Shteamer, Hank (8 November 2019). "Van Morrison's Essential Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p.333-336
- "The Healing Game - Van Morrison | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- "NME.COM - VAN MORRISON - The Healing Game - 8/3/1997". NME. 17 August 2000. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000.
- Marcus,When That Rough God Goes Riding, p.115
- "Catalog Reissues by Van Morrison on Blurt Online". blurt-online.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- Shteamer, Hank (5 February 2019). "Van Morrison Details Expanded 'Healing Game' Reissue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- "New Zealand album certifications – Van Morrison – The Healing Game". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- "British album certifications – Van Morrison – The Healing Game". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 April 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The Healing Game in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
References
- Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074-169-X
- Marcus, Greil (2010). When That Rough God Goes Riding: Listening to Van Morrison, Public Affairs, ISBN 978-1-58648-821-5