| "Bulbs" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Van Morrison | ||||||||||
| from the album Veedon Fleece | ||||||||||
| A-side | "Bulbs" | |||||||||
| B-side | "Cul de Sac" | |||||||||
| Released | November 1974 | |||||||||
| Recorded | March 1974, Mercury Studios, New York City | |||||||||
| Genre | Folk-Rock | |||||||||
| Length | 4:19 | |||||||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Van Morrison | |||||||||
| Producer | Van Morrison | |||||||||
| Van Morrison singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Bulbs" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1974 album, Veedon Fleece. It was chosen as the 'A' side single from the album.
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"Bulbs" was first recorded with different lyrics at the recording session for the 1973 album, Hard Nose the Highway released in 1973.[1]'. After the first recording session for Veedon Fleece, "Bulbs" was recut in New York City at Mercury Studios in March 1974, along with "Cul de Sac" to give it a more rock feeling. According to Jef Labes this was "cause he (Morrison) didn't feel they had the right feeling...It was me, Van and a bunch of other guys that he'd never played with."[2]
"Bulbs" has been described as "a pleasant, catchy country ditty, a Dire Straits song before its time" by biographer, John Collis.[3] As with many of Morrison's songs, "Bulbs" does not have a clear story line but in part focuses on immigration to America as in the lines:
In an interview with Tom Donahue, Donahue told Morrison after he listened to "Bulbs": "You always make great noises. The other things you do in songs beside the words."[4]
In a Stylus Magazine review for the album, Veedon Fleece, Derek Miller says of this song:[5]
Of course, the best and most immediately memorable song on Veedon Fleece is "Bulbs". Coming about as close to laying down a groove as he does on the album, the song quickly makes dust of its acoustic start, leaping headstrong into a Waylon Jennings' style bass-roll, rump heavy and plush, pianos shimmering and fingerdense."
The title seems to be derived from the lines:
A live performance of this song is featured on the 1974 disc of Morrison's 2006 issued DVD, Live At Montreux 1980/1974. Morrison used a stripped down band on this Montreaux Jazz Festival appearance that consisted of:
Ellis Hooks performed a cover version of "Bulbs" on the 2003 released tribute album, Vanthology: a Tribute to Van Morrison.
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