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Magic Time (Van Morrison album)

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Magic Time
Studio album by
Van Morrison
Released17 May 2005
RecordedNovember 2000 and 2003
StudioThe Wool Hall, Bath; Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin
GenreCeltic rock, Blues, R&B
Length58:45
LabelGeffen
ProducerVan Morrison for Exile Productions
Van Morrison chronology
What's Wrong with This Picture?
(2003) 		Magic Time
(2005) 		Pay the Devil
(2006)
Singles from Magic Time
  1. "Celtic New Year"
    Released: 2005

Magic Time is the thirty-first studio album by Van Morrison, released in 2005 by Geffen Records. It debuted at No. 25 on the US Billboard charts and No. 3 in the UK - Morrison's best UK chart debut until Still on Top – The Greatest Hits opened at No. 2 in 2007. Rolling Stone ranked 'Magic Time' seventeenth on The Top 50 Records of 2005.[1]

Recording

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The album covers a variety of styles ranging from Celtic rock to R&B and the blues. "Just Like Greta" was recorded in 2000 and originally intended for 2002's Down the Road (when the album was tentatively titled Choppin' Wood), but it was ultimately dropped and used for this album.[2] The rest of the songs were recorded in 2003.

Composition

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The title song is about a nostalgic searching of the past in order to capture a magic moment almost lost in memory. "The Lion This Time" is a continuation over thirty years later of "Listen to the Lion" that first appeared on his album Saint Dominic's Preview. There is a nursery rhyme quality to it as with its predecessor and a delicate use of a classical string arrangement. "Gypsy in My Soul" is also reminiscent of a song "Gypsy" from Saint Dominic's Preview. "Just Like Greta" and "Stranded" have similar themes of being lost in an alien world with only oneself to rely on. "Celtic New Year" is reminiscent of Irish Heartbeat. "Carry On Regardless" is a singing list of "Carry On Films" that Morrison seemed to have a special fondness for.[3]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]
BC Music(unrated)[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
Music Box[8]
Paste(unrated)[9]
Rolling Stone[10]

A Paste reviewer on Magic Time says: "You expect to encounter a tired legend, a once-mighty king becalmed and tamed by the miles and years. You find instead an echo of a full-throated roar hanging in the air, the telltale signs of a bloody struggle, and an empty cage. The lion in winter is on the loose." (Andy Whitman)[11]

Thom Jurek of Allmusic concludes that "[the] acoustic 'The Lion This Time' is one of the finest ballads Morrison has cut in decades. Period."[12] He finds that "Celtic New Year" is "trademark Morrison; the long, loping, repetitive line that is his trademark fuels this one. It's carried by the interplay between Morrison's acoustic and Foggy Lyttle's electric guitar fills, and aided by Chieftain Paddy Moloney's whistle."[13]

The Music Box rated Magic Time the number seven album of the year in May 2005.[14]

By the end of 2005, Magic Time had sold 252,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Liner notes

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On the first page of the liner notes is the notation: "This album is dedicated to the memory of Foggy Lyttle who played on most of the tracks."

Track listing

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All songs by Van Morrison; unless otherwise noted

  1. "Stranded" – 5:34
  2. "Celtic New Year" – 6:10
  3. "Keep Mediocrity at Bay" – 3:44
  4. "Evening Train" – 2:48
  5. "This Love of Mine" (Sol Parker, Henry W. Sanicola, Frank Sinatra) – 2:42
  6. "I'm Confessin'" (Doc Daughtery, Al Neiburg, Ellis Reynolds) – 4:29
  7. "Just Like Greta" – 6:25
  8. "Gypsy in My Soul" – 4:04
  9. "Lonely and Blue" ("Black and Blue" with altered lyrics) (Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller) – 3:41
  10. "The Lion This Time" – 4:56
  11. "Magic Time" – 5:06
  12. "They Sold Me Out" – 3:11
  13. "Carry On Regardless" – 5:54

Personnel

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Musicians:

Production:

  • Richard Evans – Design and art direction, sleeve photographs
  • Tim Young at Metropolis Mastering, London – Mastering
  • Javier Pierini/Getty Images – Front cover photograph
  • Solly Lipsitz – Sleeve notes

Charts

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Album – UK Album Chart

Year Chart Position
2005 UK Album Chart 3

Album – Billboard

Year Chart Position
2005 The Billboard 200 25
2005 Top Internet Albums 25
Chart (2005) Peak
position
Norway 6
Australia 15
Denmark 4
Spain 5
Italy 10
Netherlands 10

[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "The Top 50 Records of 2005". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007.
  2. ^ Heylin. Can You Feel the Silence? p.529
  3. ^ Rogan, No Surrender, p. 488-492
  4. ^ "Magic Time by van Morrison". Metacritic.
  5. ^ Allmusic review
  6. ^ BC Music review Archived 23 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  8. ^ Music Box review
  9. ^ Paste review
  10. ^ Rolling Stone review
  11. ^ Whitman, Andy (14 November 2005). "Van Morrison:The Lion in Winter". pastemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  12. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Magic Time>Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  13. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Magic Time>Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  14. ^ "Van Morrison – Magic Time (album review)". musicbox-online.com. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  15. ^ Australian charts
  16. ^ Dutch charts

Sources:

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