Down the Road

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Down the Road
Down the Road cover
Studio album by Van Morrison
Released May 14, 2002
Recorded Spring 2000-September 2001
Genre Celtic rock, Blues, R&B
Length 67:09
Label Universal
Producer Van Morrison
Professional reviews

All Music Guide 4/5 stars link
Rolling Stone Magazine 4/5 stars link
Van Morrison chronology
You Win Again
(2000)		 Down the Road
(2002)		 What's Wrong with This Picture?
(2003)

Down the Road is an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on May 14, 2002. The critically acclaimed album has been noted for its nostalgic tone, lyrically and musically. The arrangements mix R&B and blues with country and folk, and with a few exceptions like "Georgia on My Mind," the music is most often rooted in 1950s and early 1960s popular music.

Contents

[edit] Reissue and remastered album

In January 2009, Exile/Polydor will release this album as part of Series four of four catalogue reissues of Morrison's albums dated from 1971 through 2002.

[edit] Cover

The album cover depicts the front of a record store, Memorabilia & Records, with a window full of LP covers by blues, R&B, jazz, and old rock & roll artists, a deliberate blueprint of the album's influences.

[edit] Recording history

The album was originally recorded with heavy accompaniment by Linda Gail Lewis (Jerry Lee Lewis's sister); tentatively titled Choppin' Wood, it was completed in late 2000, but a personal and professional falling out led Morrison to remake the album. Songs like "Princess of the Darkness", "Just Like Greta", "For A While", and "Mama Don't Allow" were pulled from the album while the remaining tracks were either re-recorded or re-mixed to remove Lewis's contributions. "Steal My Heart Away", "Talk Is Cheap", "What Makes the Irish Heart Beat", "What Happened to P.J, Proby?", "Georgia on My Mind", "Only a Dream", "Man Has to Struggle", "Evening Shadows", and "Fast Train" were then added to the album sequence, expanding the original running time from 50 minutes to 67 minutes.

[edit] Songs

"Choppin' Wood" is Morrison's tribute to his father who had died suddenly from a heart attack more than a decade earlier. The songs on the album are leaning back towards the blues the singer listened to in his youth but he also attempts to come to terms with approaching old age with songs like "The Beauty Of The Days Gone By".

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Van Morrison (unless noted otherwise)

  1. "Down the Road" – 4:15
  2. "Meet Me in the Indian Summer" – 3:57
  3. "Steal My Heart Away" – 4:20
  4. "Hey Mr. DJ" – 3:45
  5. "Talk Is Cheap" – 4:19
  6. "Choppin' Wood" – 3:26
  7. "What Makes the Irish Heart Beat" – 3:47
  8. "All Work and No Play" – 4:51
  9. "Whatever Happened to P.J. Proby?" – 3:13
  10. "The Beauty of the Days Gone By" – 5:45
  11. "Georgia on My Mind" (Carmichael / Gorrell) – 5:35
  12. "Only a Dream" – 4:57
  13. "Man Has to Struggle" – 5:07
  14. "Evening Shadows" (Bilk / Morrison) – 4:01
  15. "Fast Train" – 5:01

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Production

  • Van Morrison - Producer
  • Stuart Bruce - Engineer
  • Tim Cooper - Mastering
  • Walter Samuel - Engineer, Mixing
  • Ben Sidran - Liner Notes
  • Peter Thorpe - Photography

[edit] Charts

Album - UK Album Chart (United Kingdom)

Year Chart Position
2002 UK Album Chart 6

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
2002 The Billboard 200 25

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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