The Healing Game

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Cranky, sly, dour, ecstatic, Van Morrison treads his own stubborn pilgrimage through blues, jazz, R&B, Celtic rays, and their ineffable junction in his own music. This 1997 album distills the renewed focus on blues and jazz sources that shaped much of his '90s work, noteworthy for its concision--this is one of his leanest, least expository sets in recent years, paring the arrangements down to the guts of the generally fine material. "Rough God Goes Riding" kicks off, an archetypal Morrison anthem that could have fit snugly on Moondance, no mean achievement after all these years, yet consistent with this marathon runner's ability to turn up vivid images and engaging grooves. There's a decided gospel fervor to the interplay of the frontman's salty vocals and his soulful choral partners, never more so than on the sublime title song. --Sam Sutherland

Tracks:

Rough God Goes Riding
Fire In The Belly
This Weight
Waiting Game
Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Burning Ground
It Once Was My Life
Sometimes We Cry
If You Love Me
The Healing Game

Amazon.com

Cranky, sly, dour, ecstatic, Van Morrison treads his own stubborn pilgrimage through blues, jazz, R&B, Celtic rays, and their ineffable junction in his own music. This 1997 album distills the renewed focus on blues and jazz sources that shaped much of his '90s work, noteworthy for its concision--this is one of his leanest, least expository sets in recent years, paring the arrangements down to the guts of the generally fine material. "Rough God Goes Riding" kicks off, an archetypal Morrison anthem that could have fit snugly on Moondance, no mean achievement after all these years, yet consistent with this marathon runner's ability to turn up vivid images and engaging grooves. There's a decided gospel fervor to the interplay of the frontman's salty vocals and his soulful choral partners, never more so than on the sublime title song. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

RICK SHAQ GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "SOMETIMES WE STAND UP AND GIVE A STANDING OVATION!".......2007-03-06

You start with a voice that is one of the most distinctive of all-time. It's hard to put a tag on the type of voice Van has. It can provide the silkiest, smooth, blues, to velvety light rock. This CD is a masterpiece! Van's backed by singers, that could go toe to toe with the Raylett's. Song #7 "It Once Was My Life", allows the listener, with a little imagination, to think his own life, was put to music. Song #8, "Sometimes We Cry", is poetry, and once again, with a little imagination you could imagine a hundred different screen plays, brought to the cinema, with this as its theme song. Song #10, "The Healing Game", is cut from the same silky, tapestry, of life. In addition to all of the above, a very important rating criteria to Shaq, "The King Of The World Blues Reviewer", is if the artist wrote any of the songs. EVERY SINGLE SONG ON THIS MARVELOUS CD WAS WRITTEN BY VAN MORRISON. This CD, is an artistic masterpiece. P.S. Van plays the "harp" also!

Sonic clearity...absolute VANtastic!.......2006-12-15

I have almost every Van Morrison CD....but this is the clearest recording of them all. Add to that pleasant surprise was of the 10 songs on this CD..all ten were fantastic and easy to listen to over and over....
A highly enjoyable listening experience....the best song in my opinion was "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn"...
WOW! If you like "Van the Man"...this is a must have for your collection!

Van In Cool Mode.......2006-02-05

While it's not up there with his best work, The Healing Game is a very enjoyable Van Morrison album. It's a more cool Van here - -which is a very good thing indeed. "Fire In The Belly" and "Buring Ground" are standouts here, but all the songs are good. If you are a casual Van fan, then this is a good album to pick up to experience his unique brand of Celtic wonder.

Spectacular.......2006-02-01

This is my favorite Van Morrison CD. The first time I heard the title cut, on San Francisco's KFOG in 1997, my stomach was jumping. The second time, under the headphones at Virgin Records, I started to cry. I defy you to find a better song, by anyone. By turns breezy, joyful, heart wrenching and soulful, it completely overshadows the rest of this very fine album, until you take time to listen to it carefully. Rough God Goes Riding, Burning Ground, Fire in the Belly, Sometimes We Cry, The Healing Game. Great, great songs. Sing it out loud.

The last really good Van CD.......2005-07-27

It's not on-par with his superlative work of the '70s, '80s or early '90s ("Enlightenment" being perhaps the last GREAT Van album) but this is far superior to anything Van has produced in the past eight years. Buy this instead of "Magic Time" or anything else since 1997. At least Van still has the "Fire in the Belly" on this one. Best track: "Rough God Goes Riding"...for the sheer passion that Van seems to lack these days.

The Healing Game [2 CD Japanese Import CD]

Average customer rating:

The Healing Game [2 CD Japanese Import CD]
Van Morrison
Manufacturer: Polydor Music & Exile
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000RNBN4C

Product Description

Japanese 2 CD Version of Van Morrison's The Healing Game. Disc Two includes 2 exclusive songs to this release, including the incredible "At The End Of The Day". Product ID: POPC-7220/1 disc ONE: (1) ROUGH GOD GOES RIDING (2) FIRE IN THE BELLY (3) THIS WEIGHT (4) WAITING GAME (5) PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN (6) BURNING GROUND (7) IT ONCE WAS MY LIFE (8) SOMETIMES WE CRY (9) IF YOU LOVE ME (10) THE HEALING GAME disc TWO: (1) LOOK WHAT THE GOOD PEOPLE DONE (2) AT THE END OF THE DAY

Average customer rating:

On a golden autum day returning

Healing Game
Van Morrison
Manufacturer: Msi/Pgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000005RXJ
Release Date: 1997-02-26

Album Details

Japanese Release featuring the Healing Game Packaged with a Bonus CD-SINGLE that features Two Non Album Tracks, and an Unreleased Track, Full Tracklisting Unavailable at this Time.

Customer Reviews:

On a golden autum day returning.......1998-09-01

Need I say more, Van may be in his autum, but he does not dissappoint with this gentle tour de force of themes and styles with which we Van fans are well aquainted. Jazz, soul and even a wistful 1950's sound love song "If you Love me". I just wish I could thank the Van in person for 50 minates of intense enjoyment.

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