Tupelo Honey

Infobox Album | Name = Tupelo Honey
Type = Album
Artist = Van Morrison


Released = October, 1971
Reissued January, 2008
Recorded = Spring and summer 1971
Wally Heider and Columbia Studios, San Francisco
Genre = Folk-rock, Country
Length = 40:42
Label = Warner Bros. Records,
Polydor
Producer = Van Morrison
Ted Templeman
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:sekbikx6bb89 link]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Van+Morrison link]
*"Rolling Stone" (not rated) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/67/albums/album/249336/rid/5941754/ link]
*Uncut Magazine Rating|4|5 [http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/van_morrison/reviews/10945 link]
Last album = "His Band and the Street Choir"
(1970)
This album = "Tupelo Honey"
(1971)
Next album = "Saint Dominic's Preview"
(1972)
Misc = Singles
Name =Tupelo Honey
Type =studio
Single 1 =Wild Night" b/w "When That Evening Sun Goes Down
Single 1 date =
Single 2 =Tupelo Honey" b/w "Starting a New Life
Single 2 date =
Single 3 =(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball" b/w "Old Old Woodstock
Single 3 date =
Single 4 =
Single 4 date =

"Tupelo Honey" is an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1971 (see 1971 in music). The album yielded two hit singles, the hymn-like title track, as well as the R&B-flavored "Wild Night".

The namesake for the album is a varietal honey produced from the flowers of the tupelo tree found in the Southeastern United States.

The original LP was released in a gatefold sleeve. The cover photograph showed Janet Planet, Morrison's then wife, riding bareback on a horse, with Morrison walking alongside. The gatefold and back cover photographs showed Morrison perched upon the fence of the horse's paddock, with his wife standing to his right and a black-and-white kitten on the fence to his left. It was an album of rural, domestic bliss, although the marriage ended within a few years.

The vocals on the album were always live after rehearsing each song five or six times, according to saxophonist and flautist Rolf "Boots" Houston. The only overdubbing consisted of backing vocals and horns. [Turner, Too Late To Stop Now, p. l07]

The January 29, 2008 reissued and remastered version of the album contains an alternative take of "Wild Night" and a reworked cover version of the traditional song, "Down By the Riverside". [ [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=9e7f77a8944fa52fb858a13add2752e0 Van Morrison Official Website] ]

Track listing

All songs written by Van Morrison.

ide one

#"Wild Night" – 3:33
#"(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball" – 3:43
#"Old Old Woodstock" – 4:17
#"Starting a New Life" – 2:10
#"You're My Woman" – 6:44

ide two

#"Tupelo Honey" – 6:54
#"I Wanna Roo You (Scottish Derivative)" – 3:27
#"When That Evening Sun Goes Down" – 3:06
#"Moonshine Whiskey" – 6:48

Bonus tracks (2008 CD reissue)

#"Wild Night" - 5:37 (alternative take)
#"Down by the Riverside" - 3:54 (traditional, arranged Morrison)

Personnel

*Van Morrison - guitar, harmonica, vocals, backing vocals
*Ronnie Montrose - guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
*Bill Church - bass
*Rick Schlosser - drums
*Connie Kay - drums on "Starting a New Life", "Tupelo Honey", "When That Evening Sun Goes Down" and "Old Old Woodstock"
*Jack Schroer - alto and baritone saxophones
*Mark Jordan - piano, electric piano
*Gary Mallaber - percussion, vibraphone
*John McFee - pedal steel guitar
*Ted Templeman - organ
*Bruce Royston - flute
*Luis Gasca - trumpet
*Rolf "Boots" Houston - flute, backing vocals
*Ellen Schroer - backing vocals
*Janet Planet - backing vocals

Production

*Producers: Van Morrison, Ted Templeman
*Engineers: Stephen Barncard, David Brown, Doc Storch
*Remixing: Lee Herschberg, Donn Landee
*Remastering: Ian Cooper
*Art direction: Ed Thrasher
*Photography: Michael Maggid
*Horn arrangements: Van Morrison, Jack Schroer
*Flute arrangements: Rolf "Boots" Houston on "Like a Cannonball", Bruce Royston on "Tupelo Honey"

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Notes

References

*Turner, Steve (1993). Too Late to Stop Now, Viking Penguin, ISBN 0-670-85147-7

External links

* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=b2950180e54389f3cf9d93ad908ac00e# Lyrics and Audio Samples] 1970s, Tupelo Honey
* [http://www.michaelmagic.com/pageTogether11.html Tupelo Honey Photo Session] by Michael Maggid
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/d3bd/ Remastered Tupelo Honey review and audio clips] 25-01-2008 bbc.co.uk