1999 studio album by Van Morrison
Back on Top
is the twenty-seventh studio album by
Northern Irish
singer/songwriter
Van Morrison
, released in 1999 by
Point Blank
. It reached the Top Twenty in seven countries, building on the success of 1997's
The Healing Game
.
Recording
[
edit
]
Recorded at the Wool Hall Studios, south of
Bath
,
England
, except strings, which were recorded at
Windmill Lane Studios
,
Dublin
,
Ireland
. The musicians on the album are understated with Ian Jennings playing
double bass
,
Geraint Watkins
playing
Hammond organ
and
Pee Wee Ellis
on
saxophones
.
[2]
Composition
[
edit
]
The opening track, "
Goin' Down Geneva
", has a very bluesy feel. Morrison's harmonica is prominent on "Philosopher's Stone", which features "one of the most limber vocal performances he's put on record in years, even tentatively jumping into the high squawk he seemed to have lost."
[3]
Harmonica also features on "High Summer", which includes references to "Lucifer" and "God", and also alludes to Morrison's 1960s songs by way of "red sport cars" and "mansions on the hill". "In the Midnight" is "bedroom music, pure and simple",
[4]
while "
Back on Top
" is an optimistic statement of the singer's outlook. The ballad, "When the Leaves Come Falling Down", features a
string section
, while "Golden Autumn Day" is about being mugged.
[2]
"Reminds Me of You" dates back to a 1996 break-up of his
engagement
to
Michelle Rocca
; they had reunited by the time of the song's release.
[5]
"New Biography" was prompted by
Brian Hinton
's
Celtic Crossroads
, written in 1996.
[6]
Morrison complains about celebrity and "'so-called friends' who chose to spill inside information and memories to biographers."
[4]
[7]
Morrison has often performed "
Precious Time
" live, which includes the lyrics, "It doesn’t matter to which God you pray/Precious time is slipping away."
Release
[
edit
]
The video for the title track received significant airplay on the
Canadian
music station, "MuchMoreMusic". Performances of "Back on Top" and "When the Leaves Come Falling Down", along with "
Gloria
", featured on
Later... with Jools Holland
on 16 April 1999.
[8]
The photograph of Morrison on the inside of the album cover was originally used for the front cover of
Peter Handke
's book,
My Year in the No-Man's-Bay
(1994).
[9]
The album was remastered and reissued on 29 January 2008 with two bonus tracks; an alternative take of "Philosopher's Stone", and a new arrangement of
Fats Domino
's song, "
Valley of Tears
".
[10]
"Golden Autumn Day" was also used as the credits song for the
2001
and
2004
World Series
.
Reception
[
edit
]
The album received mixed reviews from critics, but performed well commercially and was his highest charting album in the US since
Wavelength
. It went gold in both the US
[13]
and
UK
.
[14]
Allmusic
welcomed Morrison's "return to the music that suits him so well... blues and R&B", and found that the album finds him "celebrating life and its pleasures to the limit."
[4]
Rolling Stone
summed it up as being "solid, brilliant, silly in sad ways. But it's still one Monet and nine Norman Rockwells."
[12]
The
Irish Independent
was critical, suggesting that "[somewhere] in the mid-Eighties the poet/philosopher accolades seem to have seeped into his skull, and he began churning out same-sounding albums on an almost annual basis."
[15]
Critic George Graham lauded it as "one of his best, most tasteful albums in recent years, and Van Morrison has had some very good albums in this period."
[2]
Track listing
[
edit
]
All songs by
Van Morrison
, unless otherwise noted.
- "
Goin' Down Geneva
" ? 4:24
- "Philosopher's Stone" ? 6:05
- "In the Midnight" ? 5:07
- "
Back on Top
" ? 4:23
- "When the Leaves Come Falling Down" ? 5:39
- "High Summer" ? 5:12
- "Reminds Me of You" ? 5:39
- "New Biography" ? 5:23
- "
Precious Time
" ? 3:45
- "Golden Autumn Day" ? 6:31
- Bonus tracks (2008 CD reissue)
- "Philosopher's Stone" ? 4:52 (alternate take)
- "
Valley of Tears
" ? 5:02 (
Fats Domino
, arranged Morrison)
Personnel
[
edit
]
- Production
- Walter Samuel ?
recording
,
mixing
- Brian Masterson ? recording
- Sean Doherty ?
assistant engineer
- Sam Miller ? assistant engineer
- Ciaran Cahill ? assistant engineer
- Ian Cooper ?
mastering
- Brad Wilson ?
photography
- Paul Cox ? photography
- John Mintoft ? photography
- Matt Curtis ? photography, art direction, design
Charts
[
edit
]
Weekly charts
[
edit
]
|
Year-end charts
[
edit
]
|
Singles
[
edit
]
UK Singles Chart
Year
|
Single
|
Position
|
1999
|
"Precious Time"
|
36
|
"Back on Top"
|
69
|
"Philosopher's Stone"
|
171
|
Certifications
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"BPI"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Graham, George (18 March 1999).
"Van Morrison: Back on Top by George Graham"
. georgegraham.com
. Retrieved
3 September
2009
.
- ^
Hage, The Words and Music of Van Morrison, p.128.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Allmusic review: Back on Top"
. allmusic.com
. Retrieved
12 January
2010
.
- ^
Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p.460
- ^
"Dr. Brian Hinton"
. thewordtravels.com
. Retrieved
12 November
2009
.
- ^
Hage,
The Words and Music of Van Morrison
, p.127.
- ^
"concerts"
. van.vanomatic.de.
Archived
from the original on 14 September 2008
. Retrieved
29 August
2008
.
- ^
Handke, My Year in the No-Man's-Bay
- ^
Van Morrison Official Website
- ^
"Back on Top review"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. 12 March 1999
. Retrieved
27 January
2023
.
- ^
a
b
Hunter, James (1 April 1999).
"Rolling Stone review: Back on Top"
. rollingstone.com. Archived from
the original
on 23 July 2009
. Retrieved
5 December
2008
.
- ^
"RIAA Gold and Platinum"
. riaa.com. Archived from
the original
on 23 July 2013
. Retrieved
12 January
2010
.
- ^
"Album artist 58-Van Morrison"
. tsort.info
. Retrieved
30 December
2012
.
- ^
Rogan, No Surrender, p.453.
- ^
"Australiancharts.com ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Austriancharts.at ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
(in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Ultratop.be ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Dutchcharts.nl ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
(in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Offiziellecharts.de ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts
. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Charts.nz ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Norwegiancharts.com ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Swedishcharts.com ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Swisscharts.com ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"Van Morrison Chart History (
Billboard
200)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^
"End of Year Album Chart Top 100 ? 1999"
. Official Charts Company
. Retrieved
21 November
2021
.
- ^
"Canadian album certifications ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
.
Music Canada
. Retrieved
3 June
2019
.
- ^
"New Zealand album certifications ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
.
Recorded Music NZ
. Retrieved
3 June
2019
.
- ^
"IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993?2011"
(in Norwegian).
IFPI
Norway
. Retrieved
3 June
2019
.
- ^
Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005).
Solo exitos: ano a ano, 1959?2002
(1st ed.). Spain: Fundacion Autor-SGAE. p. 948.
ISBN
8480486392
.
- ^
"British album certifications ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
.
British Phonographic Industry
. Retrieved
3 June
2019
.
- ^
"American album certifications ? Van Morrison ? Back on Top"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
. Retrieved
3 June
2019
.
|
---|
Them
| |
---|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Compilations
| |
---|
Videos
| |
---|
DVDs
| |
---|
Unofficial Bang albums
| |
---|
Tribute albums
| |
---|
|