Redwood Tree (song)
| "Redwood Tree" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Van Morrison | ||||
| from the album Saint Dominic's Preview | ||||
| A-side | "Redwood Tree" | |||
| B-side | "Saint Dominic's Preview" | |||
| Released | 1972 | |||
| Recorded | April 1972 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, R&B | |||
| Length | 3:01 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Van Morrison | |||
| Producer(s) | Van Morrison | |||
| Van Morrison singles chronology | ||||
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| Saint Dominic's Preview track listing | ||||
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"Redwood Tree" is the sixth song on Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison's 1972 album, Saint Dominic's Preview. When released as a single it was not as successful as Rolling Stone reviewer Steven Holden had anticipated: "The affirmation of Saint Dominic's Preview is translated to the past in 'Redwood Tree', an ecstatic boyhood reminiscence centering on the image of a sheltering redwood tree. This beautiful, sensuous cut has the album's greatest potential as a hit single."[1] It was released as a single but only charted at number ninety-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, which made it less of a success than the album's lead single "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)", which reached number sixty-one.[2]
Biographer Johnny Rogan believes "'Redwood Tree' enshrined the beauty of Marin county," which was where Morrison was living at the time.[3] John Collis describes the song as "A charming if somewhat folksy reminder of Morrison's interest in country music at the time."[4] Another biographer, Brian Hinton remarks:
'Redwood Tree' is a song of reconciliation, which seems to graft Van's Belfast childhood onto California, where redwoods actually grow, "Keep us from all harm", an invocation to the spirit of the ancient wood.[5]
Personnel on the original release
- Van Morrison - vocals, rhythm guitar
- Jules Broussard - tenor saxophone
- Bill Church - bass
- Gary Mallaber - drums
- Doug Messenger - guitar
- Janet Planet - backing vocals
- Tom Salisbury - piano
- Ellen Schroer - backing vocals
- Jack Schroer - alto and baritone saxophones
- Mark Springer - backing vocals
Notes
- ↑ Holden, Stephen (1972-08-31). "Van Morrison:Saint Dominic's Review". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
- ↑ "Van Morrison: Charts and awards: billboard singles". allmusic.com.
- ↑ Rogan, No Surrender, p.275
- ↑ Collis. Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, p.132
- ↑ Hinton. Celtic Crossroads, p.143
References
- Collis, John (1996). Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, Little Brown and Company, ISBN 0-306-80811-0
- Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074-169-X
- Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison: No Surrender, London: Vintage Books ISBN 978-0-09-943183-1