This amazing 1989 album had never received the remastering treatment it so richly deserved until now. By all means, replace your old CD, because the audio is now absolutely glorious.

This re-release is in the first set (Tupelo Honey, It's Too Late To Stop Now, Wavelength, Into The Music, A Sense Of Wonder, Avalon Sunset and Back On Top) of a 2008, four-part re-release of the entire 29-title Van Morrison Polygram catalog. Polygram long ago ceased production of its portion of Van-The-Man's catalog, resulting in two-thirds of Morrison's entire recorded output remaining frustratingly unavailable for the past several years.

HOWEVER: Be aware that 16 of the 29 titles are the same 1998 remasters, albeit each augmented with two bonus tracks. If you own the 1998 discs, you may want to seek other posted opinions on whether the bonus content is worth re-buying those titles. The other 1998-remaster+bonus-tracks titles to be released later this year are: Saint Dominic's Preview, Hard Nose Down The Highway, Veedon Fleece, Period Of Transition, Beautiful Vision, Inarticulate Speech, Common One, Live/Belfast, No Guru, Poetic Champions Compose and Irish Heartbeat.

In this first set of re-releases, only Avalon Sunset and Back On Top have been newly-remastered. All of the new editions are available in jewel case or Japan mini-LP-sleeve format.

Polygram utilized a deplorable Enron-like tactic of taking the entire 29 CD series out of production for an extended period of time to create demand, years longer than just the clearing of the older releases in the retail channel via sell-off would have required. The record labels bemoan the loss of CD sales, but it is exactly this kind of manipulative marketing ka-ka that provides impetus to consumer alienation.

So, if like me, you already owned the `98's, the only decision in reinvesting in the `08's are the a.) meager-two-tracks-per-disc "bonus" material, and b.) to-buy-or-not-to-buy the more expensive Japan `sleeve editions. The bonus tracks could have been released as a separate set (A "Philosopher's Stone Volume 2", perhaps?), but then, of course, Polygram wouldn't net the possible re-sale of 16 additional CD's per VanFan.

As for the desirability of the bonus tracks themselves, I'll leave it to others to opine on whether the return on such a substantial reinvestment is either a worthwhile, or foolhardy, expense.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Van Morrison has issued so much good music over the years, but this one remains my favorite and most played. "Avalon Sunset" revived his commercial fortunes after a period of dwindling sales. He's in a reflective mood here, and the songs are pastoral and almost Zen-like. There's some upbeat numbers, but it's the quiet ones that steal the show.

The best part is when the now classic "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" segues into the spoken-word "Coney Island", then climaxes with "I'm Tired Joey Boy". Taken together, they comprise the most powerful and affecting song suite I've ever heard from him. Absolutely beautiful.

British r&b star Georgie Fame plays Hammond organ on a few tracks, and became an integral part of the band for the next 8 years. Cliff Richard (the "British Elvis") is enlisted as co-vocalist on "Whenever God Shines His Light", one of 2 songs that name-check The Deity. A couple others pull the old George Harrison trick of blurring the lines, so you can't tell if they're a paean to a Higher Being or a woman. In every case, Van is conducting an interior dialogue with himself. This isn't "old-time religion". A key lyric (from "I'm Tired Joey Boy"): "Love of the simple is all that I need". That sentiment genuinely seems to be at the heart of his personal philosophy. There's a reason his newest CD is called "Keep It Simple".

Other great Van Morrison records in the same vein as "Avalon Sunset": "Enlightenment" and "Hymns To The Silence". But this is the one that got the ball rolling.

"Have I Told You Lately That I Loved You?" Van Morrison asked the question before Rod Stewart did, and it's good to hear him asking it again with all the Saints who asked it before him.

For whatever reason, it took me longer to come around to Avalon Sunset than any other Van album, bar Saint Dominic's Preview(which is currently my second-favorite of his career, behind the almighty Astral Weeks). I don't know what about it I didn't like at first. But it's really grown on me, and now I can safely say it's a good album.
And tracks seven through ten are the closest post-classic Van ever came to reclaiming that majesty of those early albums. Oh, sure, he put out several great songs in the '80s. But I think this is the only time he put out that many songs of impossibly high quality in a row since Veedon Fleece. Leading off this stretch of supreme goodness is "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God," a spiritual with a fantastic organ part and a great melody. "Orangefield" has a really pretty melody that tugs on my heartstrings and a winning orchestration. "Daring Night" has a catchy riff and all kinds of drive - in someone else's hands, I could see this as one hell of a rocker. And the record closes with its best song, "These Are the Days." Like so many of Van's other songs, it starts simply, with a guitar stating the melody. And it builds, and builds, and builds until it reaches a huge, gospel-influenced climax. And the melody's fantastic, too. Van expresses joy and boundless optimism flawlessly. Epic win. The song is crying out to be used in a movie of some kind.
Unfortunately, I'm not too sure about the first six tracks. They're mostly good, but they pale in comparison to the last four. There are some real good songs among them, though. "Have I Told You Lately" was a pretty big hit, reversing Van's commercial fortunes and making this his first gold album in many moons. And while it's a bit sappy, it's also as melodic as all the rest of his best stuff. "Whenever God Shines His Light," a collaboration with Cliff Richard (best known for getting knocked off his place as Britain's #1 Pop Star by the Beatles) is a neateriffic pop-reggae-religion fusion with a rhythm even an agnostic can tap his foot to. The acoustic blues "I'd Love to Write Another Song" doesn't fit in with this album at all, but since it's really hard to screw up acoustic blues, I'll give it a bye. Besides, it's a good song.
But the other three tunes? Ennnh... "Contacting My Angel" and "I'm Tired Joey Boy" do nothing for me. And "Coney Island" is a contender for the worst Van Morrison song. It's down there with the real dregs - "Troubadours," "Venice, U.S.A.," "Virgo Clowns," "September Night," and all the other REAAAAAALLY bad ones. Reciting a poem about growing up in Ireland? I've heard worse ideas. Accompanying that poem with a string part that was clearly written in two seconds? Hm... I've got a bad feeling about this. Reciting that poem in an Irish accent so thick and stereotypical, you sound like you're trying to be for the Irish what Groundskeeper Willie is for the Scottish? Let's never do that again. Okay? Okay. I don't know, maybe that's Van's natural voice, but if it is it sounded a lot better on Astral Weeks than it does here. Oddly enough, it was chosen as a single, has shown up on The Best of Van Morrison, Vol. 2 and Still on Top: The Greatest Hits (That's what she said! Sorry, couldn't resist), and was covered by Liam Neeson, so I think a lot of people like it more than I do. That's fine. It's just that I think it's a fetid piece of crap, that's all.
And a fetid piece of crap on an otherwise good album! That, I think, is what frustrates me most about that damn song.

What a great CD - perfect for any occassion. We listen to it all of the time!