The Dean Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 He is such a character... I find it impossible not to love him. "Greatest Hits" is really "Best of." Kinda a big difference and the greatest hits moniker does get thrown around. I don't necessarily disagree... I am really surprised that VM even has any out there... He has pretty eclectic tastes... See that is the thing with Van. He does so many different types of music. I would wonder how he would deconstruct this thread? Then again his distain for all things "biography" pretty much answers the question... See you've got the new biography Where did they get the info from Same as before some, so called friends Who claim to have, known me then How come they've got such good memories And I can't even remember last week Got to queston where they're coming from What knowledge of me is it that they speak So far away, way back when The people that claim, to have known me then Not on my wavelength and it's such a shame That they have to play the name game The fame game, oh the name game, Lord it's a cryin' shame Lord tell me what's to blame Reinvented all the stories they know Give them all a different slant What is it that they're really looking for Just a hobby on the internet So far away, way back when The people that claim, to have known me then Not on my wavelength and it's such a shame That they have to play the name game The fame game, the name game, Oh it's such a cryin' shame, tell me who's to blame If they didn't really know me way back How can they know me now, in any respect It's a pity they don't feel the pain That they should pay the price to play, to play The fame game, the name game It's such a cryin' shame, please tell me who's to blame Not on my wavelength and it's such a shame That they have to play, have to play the fame game Oh the name game, it's a cryin' shame Please tell me who's to blame They keep on playin' The fame game, oh the name game It's such a cryin' shame, please tell me who's to blame Keep on playin' the fame game Lord, the name game, its such a cryin' shame Please tell me who's to blame They just keep on playin' the fame game Oh the name game, its such a cryin' shame Please tell me who's to blame Keep on, keep on playin'.. Moondance by far has been his biggest commercial success. It would be logical to use it as a "baseline." Yet... You vex me that you seem to embrace this as a baseline for his music? I am not dsiputing that it is an awesome place to start though. Just pulling your "commercial leg"... 604416[/snapback] Commercial leg is throbbing! I vex myself, sometime. Moondance is one of the rare commercial successes that is also an artistic success. One of the many things that really separates Van from the hordes of sell-outs is Van didn't try to repeat his commercial success over and over. He actually almost ran from it. I suggested it because it is accessible while still being artistic and beautiful. It has elements of Jazz, folk, rock and R&B...well, not much rock, actually. Astral Weeks is as beautiful and artistic an album as a popular music album can be, IMO. But, it is SO different from what most people's ears are used to, it's not a great place to start, IMO. Van's live performances have varied wildly over the years. I saw a pretty bad Van performance when he was supporting the Wavelength album. More recently, Van has performed two or three of the best concerts I've ever seen. But, while his performance can be sketchy, IMO his albums are almost all solid (contrary to public and critical opinion). To my ears, Van would sound good singing the phonebook. I might not be able to understand the names and address...and I'd barely care. His phrasing and tone just do it for me. While many/most singers refer to their voice as their "instrument", few actually use it as a REAL instrument. Van is/was a sax player (among other instruments) and you can hear it in his voice. He sings like a sax. Listen and you will hear it...it's beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 I vex myself, sometime. Moondance is one of the rare commercial successes that is also an artistic success. One of the many things that really separates Van from the hordes of sell-outs is Van didn't try to repeat his commercial success over and over. He actually almost ran from it. 604431[/snapback] Your whole post says it all, but this really sums it up. People will say "sell-out"... What does that really mean?... Your contentment between life and work without ever compromising either, no matter what they are. A "record" company's nightmare! Like Dylan, doing their own thing. Even this discussion... Is just the kind of stuff that would get their ire up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 Even this discussion... Is just the kind of stuff that would get their ire up. 604477[/snapback] True dat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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