- Almost Independence Day
Infobox Song
Name = Amost Independence Day
Caption =
Type =
Artist =Van Morrison
alt Artist =
Album =Saint Dominic's Preview
Published =
Released = July1972
track_no = 7
Recorded = Winter/Spring 1972
Genre =Folk rock , R&BLength = 10:03
Writer =Van Morrison
Composer =Van Morrison
Label =Warner Bros. Records
Producer =Ted Templeman , Van Morrison
Chart position =
Tracks =
# "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile) "
# "Gypsy"
# "I Will Be There"
# "Listen to the Lion "
# "Saint Dominic's Preview"
# "Redwood Tree "
# "Almost Independence Day "
prev =
prev_no =
next =
next_no =
Misc = "Almost Independence Day" is the closing song onNorthern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison 's 1972 album "Saint Dominic's Preview ". The song is ten minutes long and features Morrison trading guitar licks with Ron Elliott. [Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p. 143]In a 1984 interview, Morrison recalls that he took a cue for the first line from the following incident: [Flanagan, p. 373-84.]
I picked up the phone and the operator said, "You have a phone call from Oregon. It's Mister So-and-So." It was a guy from the group Them. And then there was nobody on the other end. So out of that I started writing, "I can hear Them calling, 'way from Oregon." That's where that came from.
The song is written in a stream of consciousness style of writing and was recorded live except for one high part on a
moog synthesizer (played byBernie Krause of "Space Odyssey" with theByrds fame). Morrison said he had "asked Krause to do this thing of Chinatown and then come in with the high part because I was thinking of dragons and fireworks." It has been said to be a sequel to "Madame George ", although Morrison has said that was not his concept. [Yorke, Into the Music, p. 97]Personnel on original release
*
Van Morrison :twelve string guitar , vocal
*Lee Charlton: drums
*Ron Elliot:acoustic guitar
*Bernie Krause :moog synthesizer
*Mark Naftalin :piano ,moog synthesizer
*Leroy Vinnegar: bassNotes
References
*Flanagan, Bill (1986). Written In My Soul. Contemporary Books, Inc. ISBN 0-8092-5153-1.
*Hinton, Brian (2000). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074169X
*Yorke, Ritchie (1975). Into The Music, London:Charisma Books , ISBN 0-85947-013-XExternal links
* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=b2950180e54389f3cf9d93ad908ac00e# Lyrics and Audio Sample] 1970s, Saint Dominic's Preview
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