'Be Just and Fear Not: Live At Orangefield' was recorded at the Orangefield Secondary School in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from August 22 to 24, 2014. "Be Just And Fear Not" was the school's motto. Produced by Van, the album was released in July 2024 on the Orangefield Records label.
Orangefield Records was established by Van, as an exclusive record label and direct-to-fan online store releasing archival material, live performances, and special projects spanning the 1970s to the 2000s directly to fans.
Orangefield Records was established by Van, as an exclusive record label and direct-to-fan online store releasing archival material, live performances, and special projects spanning the 1970s to the 2000s directly to fans.
In 2014, Van made a nostalgic return to his alma mater, Orangefield Secondary School in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was here, in 1959, that he first performed publicly with his skiffle group, Midnight Special.
As a heartfelt farewell to his school, which was preparing to close its doors for the final time that year, Van performed three shows. Van wrote and sings two songs specifically about the Orangefield school, the ode "Orangefield" and "Got To Go Back", in which he explains why he had to return to the school of his youth. The spoken childhood memory On "Hyndford Street" about "the days before rock music" is also a direct reminder of that time.
As a heartfelt farewell to his school, which was preparing to close its doors for the final time that year, Van performed three shows. Van wrote and sings two songs specifically about the Orangefield school, the ode "Orangefield" and "Got To Go Back", in which he explains why he had to return to the school of his youth. The spoken childhood memory On "Hyndford Street" about "the days before rock music" is also a direct reminder of that time.
Van (on vocals, alto sax, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, piano) is backed by an excellent band, consisting of Dave Keary on guitar, Paul Moran on keyboards and trumpet, Paul Moore on bass, Bobby Ruggiero on drums, Alistair White on euphonium and trombone, Chris White on tenor sax, baritone sax, clarinet and flute, and outstanding backing vocals by Dana Masters and Jolene O’Hara.
The set departs from conventional renditions, incorporating swinging rhythms, jazzy(ish) reinterpretations, horn sections, and female co-lead vocals. The performance also includes inspired takes on classic songs such as "Moondance", "Into the Mystic" and "Cleaning Windows".
Don't miss this one, this is late period Van Morrison, at his best.
Setlist:
01. Celtic Excavation/Into The Mystic
02. Cleaning Windows
03. Orangefield
04. Moondance
05. Precious Time
06. That’s Life
07. Too Many Myths
08. Got To Go Back
09. Real Real Gone/You Send Me
10. Rough God Goes Riding
11. Enlightenment
12. Sometimes We Cry
13. Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
14. On Hyndford Street
15. Ballerina
16. In The Garden
'Be Just and Fear Not: Live At Orangefield' also features spectacular sound engineering, with crisp clean audio.
The freeload is 24bit/96kHz.
For the freeload, what Van Morrison album do you play the most?
'Be Just and Fear Not: Live At Orangefield' also features spectacular sound engineering, with crisp clean audio.
The freeload is 24bit/96kHz.
For the freeload, what Van Morrison album do you play the most?
Astral Weeks.
ReplyDelete"Caravan," in any way, shape, or form.
ReplyDelete'Poetic Champions Compose' (1987)
ReplyDelete"Spanish Steps' is one of my all-time favorites.
This is an incredibly crisp recording. Love the jazzy(ish) vibe.
My crisp and jazzy comments related to the VM Orangefield show.
DeleteAstral Weeks, but as Independence Day recently approached, St Dominic's Preview enjoyed a few spins. Really, though, Van Morrison is just somebody I keep going back to across his discography although admittedly, some of the more recent stuff has been less than stellar. But at 80, his voice is remarkably intact and he has the energy and will to still perform around the world. (I'm excited that my kid brother will be accompanying him on guitar in September during Van's London residency. Anthony says that backing him is an exercise in staying on one's toes.)
ReplyDeleteTupelo Honey and St. Dominic's Preview for me, I think Wavelength was the last one I enjoyed all the way thru. Saw Van with a small combo in the UBC gym (1974), on of the top 10 shows ever!!
ReplyDeleteEasy - its probably the only one I have played in the last year, Astral Weeks. I will go for either the original studio lp or the live version that he released many years later. I keep thinking I need to listen again to Veedon Fleece or Caravan, but I just never get around to doing so.
ReplyDeleteVeedon Fleece
ReplyDeleteDid anyone notice the album cover's similarity to Alice Cooper's 'School's Out' and 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'?
No, but almost identical to Trout Mask Replica and Spring of 2 Blue-J's. VF and A Period Of Transition are "pretty good" Van albums.
DeleteIt's a very fine album. https://falsememoryfoam.blogspot.com/2026/02/art-not-artist-dept-van-morrison.html
DeletePre-10cc album by Hotlegs "Thinks School Stinks" was an earlier desktop example.
(Trout Mask Replica, huh ... even if Strictly Personal was meant, it looks nothing like that, either.)
Irish Heartbeat
ReplyDeleteSt. Dom's. Mainly because it covers all the bases - horn-section stompers, blissed-out ruralism, mystic ruminations, jazzy swing ... and always sounding like a coherent album. Outstanding.
ReplyDeleteWell it used to be this comp
ReplyDeletehttps://www.discogs.com/master/548761-Them-3-Featuring-Van-Morrison-The-Story-Of-Them-Featuring-Van-Morrison-The-Anthology-1964-1966
but its now been superseded by this one:
https://www.discogs.com/master/927275-Them-The-Complete-Them-1964-1967
Beyond that its probably Astral weeks
Basically because I have had that material the longest and know them the best. The rest of his albums I've got suffer from the 'so much music and so little time to play it' syndrome so they don't get spun all that often.
I have to make an effort these days to ensure I vary my listening. After all whats the point of owning all this gear if I never play it?
And then there's all the new stuff I find online.........
As is oft the case, I play a live tape: Pacific High Studios, 9/05/1971, as broadcast on KSAN-FM, the Jive 95. And after that it would be the Bottom Line tape from later that decade, either set, early or late. Followed by Glastonbury in the 80s, and Point Depot in the 1990s.
ReplyDeleteI would burn the schools of my misspent youth to the ground and salt the earth. As I once said to Cato the Elder, "Walnut Acres delenda est."
Link
ReplyDeletehttps://workupload.com/file/gfPEA6BX3Sa
I saw Morrison live when he was doing this tour, and it was, to put it mildly, transcendent. Outdoor show, chill and mist in the air, and sunset. I already have this album, but in a much lower bitrate, so this will be a massive upgrade. Do not miss out on this one if you are a Morrison fan or even think at one point in your life that you may have been one. Gracias, querida amiga.
ReplyDeleteWhat he says. Also the last studio album is worth buying.
DeleteMoondance
ReplyDeleteI note the love for "Astral Weeks," but it has never hit me.
ReplyDeleteI do like several studio LPs, but the honest answer is "A Night in San Francisco [and Petaluma]," a live album from 1994. I also have acquired all the volumes of "It's Too Late To Stop Now," and consider that band to be worth all those minutes of recording.
I saw Van live once, and I expected it to be transcendent. Alas, it was nice, but not as much as I hoped; also, my girlfriend was convinced that someone who brushed past us in the general admission crowd was holding a gun. Nothing happened but it sure diverted our attention from the stage!
D in California
Moondance
ReplyDelete