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Van Morrison - Pacific High Studios September 5, 1971 (1971)

Track listing:
  1. Into the Mystic 6:07
  2. I've Been Working 6:13
  3. Friday's Child 5:55
  4. Hound Dog 3:00
  5. Ballerina 9:00
  6. Tupelo Honey 6:10
  7. Wild Night 4:38
  8. Just Like a Woman 7:43
  9. Moonshine Whiskey 7:44
  10. Dead or Alive 5:20
  11. You're My Woman 6:04
  12. These Dreams (Of You) 3:24
  13. Domino 6:02
  14. Call Me Up in Dreamland 3:34
  15. Blue Money 4:05
  16. Bring it On Home to Me 4:22
  17. Buena Sera Senorina 3:28

Notes

Van Morrison: Guitar, Vocals
John Platonia: Guitar
Jack Schrober (sic): Sax
Jeff Labes: Piano
David Hayes: Bass
Bill Atwood: Winds
Dave Shaw: Drums

Notes from Russell Parkinson:

This Pacific High Studios material has been frequently booted. It is reviewed in full below. The material also appears (in whole or in part) on a number of other boots, including Fridays Child, I've Been Working, Into the Mystic, Moonshine Whiskey, This is Van Morrison, Desert Land, Van Morrison, Wild Night in California, and the vinyl Van the Man. Check the other Discography entries for additional details on a specific bootleg.

On all of these the sound is fine. The Inner Mystic and Moonshine Whiskey have a crisper sound generally but have some marked tape hiss on the S's. I've Been Working and Wild Night in California don't but the sound is a little less sharp and there is more background noise/hiss. I can't comment on the sound quality of the other boots from this show I have listed. I find the duller sound without the S hiss preferable myself but others may not. A tip here for those with The Inner Mystic etc. The worst of the S hiss is only on one channel. The show is in mono so simply tape the better channel using the right sort of stereo/mono cable and you end up with a better sound.

Review by Russell Parkinson:

This show was recorded live in the studio before a small audience. The band is essentially the Caledonia Soul Orchestra. This show is probably the most booted recording out there and for good reason. Van is on fire from the very start with a slow burning "Into the Mystic" which is in my books, the best version I've heard. A frantic "I've Been Working" is next. Six minutes of pure funk ending with Van whispering "you send me" to a fade out. Awesome and once again, the best version of this song there is. The small audience couldn't have believed their luck to strike Van on this sort of form. To reinforce this Van strikes out with a wonderful version of the Them song "Fridays Child" and follows it up with Elvis Presleys "Hound Dog". Van doesn't quite bring the sexual innuendo that Elvis does to this song but it rocks and is a lot of fun.

Just in case the audience thinks they're at some sort of rock 'n roll show Van slows the whole thing down with a delicious "Ballerina". This is the definitive version of this great song in my book and even after eight minutes you don't want it to end. End it does but to ease the pain is a beautiful "Tupelo Honey" to take you away again. By the time the band are harmonizing "she's an angel" over and over again the eyes are closed and this listener is in heaven.

A revved up "Wild Night" is next and then Van floors us all with an intense cover of Dylan's "Just Like a Woman". Van takes it right down and brings it right up again, improvises lyrics and what results is one of the greatest cover recordings ever. Van even planned to release it commercially in the mid-seventies but it never happened. Van changes tempo again and gives us a lively "Moonshine Whiskey" from the "Tupelo Honey" album. This has more punch than the album version and is another treat in night full of them. Watch them bubbles in the water! A swinging "Dead or Alive" is next. Van and Lonnie Donnegan recently performed this at one of the Brighton shows. It's a great old song and suits the mood of the show to a tee. A pretty straight forward "You're My Woman" from Tupelo Honey follows before Van rips into an up-tempo "These Dreams of You". This leads into a trio of tracks from the His Band and the Street Choir album. "Domino" is the first and the best of these. This song really rocks and at the end the tempo gets faster and faster until it reaches a frenzied climax. Again this is probably the best version of this song I've heard. Only the Montreux 1990 performance where Van integrates "The Midnight Hour" is any competition. "Call Me Up in Dreamland" and "Blue Money" are fine performances but are essentially weaker songs and don't reach the heights of "Domino".

A bluesy almost honky-tonk "Bring It On Home" is next. Quite different from the slow soul of the It's Too Late To Stop Now show but still a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyable. Van finishes the show with the old classic "Buena Sera". Jeff Labes adds some delicious piano, everyone has a laugh and a good time and the show is over. Wow!

RATING - ESSENTIAL!!!!! Only a couple of minor tracks from Street Choir don't rate as all time classics but they still sound fine. Everything else is great. This really should have been released commercially.