Behind the Ritual

Infobox Song
Name = Behind the Ritual


Caption =
Type =
Artist = Van Morrison
alt Artist =
Album = Keep It Simple
Published =
Released = March 17 2008 U.K.
April 01 2008 U.S.
track_no = 11
Recorded =
Genre =
Length = 6:58
Writer = Van Morrison
Composer = Van Morrison
Label = Exile/Polydor
Exile/Lost Highway Records
Producer = Van Morrison
Chart position =
Tracks = #"How Can a Poor Boy" - 5:43
#"School of Hard Knocks" - 3:44
#"That's Entrainment" - 4:32
#"Don't Go to Nightclubs Anymore" - 4:31
#"Lover Come Back" - 5:15
#"Keep It Simple" - 3:34
#"End of the Land" - 3:16
#"Song of Home" - 4:13
#"No Thing" - 4:31
#"Soul" - 3:37
#"Behind the Ritual" - 6:59"Behind the Ritual" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included as the ending track on his 2008 album, "Keep It Simple". In concerts previewing the album, Morrison used this song as a closer and continued to include it on the set lists of his concerts in 2008. On a poll conducted on the fansite [http://vanmorrisonnews.blogspot.com/ Van Morrison News] , to determine Van Morrison's fans' favourite song from the album "Keep It Simple", the song "Behind the Ritual" received 465 votes, placing first ahead of "Keep It Simple" which had 324 votes. [web cite |url=http://vanmorrisonnews.blogspot.com/2008/07/keep-it-simple-poll-closing-soon.html |title=Keep It Simple poll | publisher=vanmorrisonnews.blogspot.com |accessdate=2008-08-04]

In the opening lines of the song, the singer is reminiscing of the youthful days in his career as when he fronted the band, Them.:"Drinking wine in the alley, drinking wine in the alley:"Making time, drinking that wine:"Out of my mind in the days gone by

ong title

The song's meaning and title are contained in the lines::"Behind the ritual, Behind the ritual:"You'll find the spiritual

Critical Reception

This song is often the favourite of reviewers and critics of all the songs from "Keep it Simple".

Reviewer Jeffrey Lee Puckett calls it "one of his trademark long and winding odes" and comments, "He's never messed with us more than he does on 'Behind the Ritual'. At the point when Morrison would normally start improvising a key word or phrase, we get this: blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah repeated around 60 times." [ [http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080404/SCENE04/80403059/1011/SCENE courier- journal.com Review] ]

In a review in the Buffalo News, Jeff Miers writes: "'Behind the Ritual' stands out as one of Morrison's finest. Over a poised, shuffle grove the singer slurs, intones, dances around the edges of the meaning, his activity serving to shine a light on what is unstated much in the manner that the timeless 'Madame George' said so much with so little." [ [http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/music/story/311286.html Review Buffalo News] ]

Another reviewer in The Mirror remarked: "'Behind the Ritual' is the killer. Drinking wine and dancing like a dervish Van finds 'the |spiritual behind the ritual.'" [ [http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/entertainment/music/2008/03/14/review-van-morrison-keep-it-simple-89520-20351029/ Van Morrison Keep it Simple] ]

Scott Foundas of LA Weekly writes that "it is not the least of "Keep it Simple"'s accomplishments that it adds one trancelike classic in the making to the Morrison repertoire....it's fittingly the album closer...the song is called "Behind the Ritual" and like many of Morrison's best songs, this one points toward a destination. [web cite|url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/music/van-morrison-once-again-ventures-into-the-slipstream/18955/ |title=Van Morrison once again ventures in the slipstream |publisher=laweekly.com | date=2008-05-21|accessdate=2008-08-03]

Personnel on original release

*Van Morrison - vocals, alto saxophone, ukelele
*Mick Green - guitar
*John Allair - organ
*Paul Moore - bass
*Neil Wilkinson - drums
*Liam Bradley - percussion
*Crawford Bell - backing vocals
*Karen Hamill - backing vocals
*Jerome Rimson - backing vocals

Notes

External links

* [http://prod.losthighwayrecords.com/artist/releases/release.aspx?pid=1732&aid=248 Van Morrison] at Lost Highway Records - full length track of "Behind the Ritual"
* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=b2950180e54389f3cf9d93ad908ac00e# Lyrics and Audio sample] 2008, Keep It Simple