Beside You
Encyclopedia
"Beside You" is the second track on Astral Weeks
the 1968 album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter
Van Morrison
and released by Warner Bros. Records
.
on September 25, 1968 with Lewis Merenstein
as producer.
Van Morrison remarked on this song: "'Beside You' is the kind of song that you'd sing to a kid or somebody you love. It's basically a love song, just a song about being spiritually beside somebody." The child that would have inspired the song was his adopted son by Janet, his wife at that time. It is sung with a "hushed wonder" and in it the singer transfers the visions of his own childhood to his son.
Jack Lynch wrote in 1983:
Elvis Costello
has identified this song as one of his favourites, featuring on one of his 500 favourite albums. Robert Pattinson
of Twilight
fame, when asked in an interview what his favourite song was, replied that it was "Beside You".
, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released.
Astral Weeks
Astral Weeks is the second solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in November 1968 on Warner Bros. Records. It was Morrison's first album after Warner Bros. had been able to free him from his contract with Bang Records...
the 1968 album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
and released by Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
Recording and Composition
It was recorded during the first Astral Weeks recording session at Century Sound Studios in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on September 25, 1968 with Lewis Merenstein
Lewis Merenstein
Lewis Merenstein is most famous as the record producer for the Van Morrison album, Astral Weeks, and as executive producer for Moondance, Morrison's 1970 album.Astral Weeks is listed as #19 on the Rolling Stone Magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003...
as producer.
Van Morrison remarked on this song: "'Beside You' is the kind of song that you'd sing to a kid or somebody you love. It's basically a love song, just a song about being spiritually beside somebody." The child that would have inspired the song was his adopted son by Janet, his wife at that time. It is sung with a "hushed wonder" and in it the singer transfers the visions of his own childhood to his son.
Jack Lynch wrote in 1983:
The opening image of Little Jimmy shows a child sneaking out of his home, escaping to adventure and a childlike ritual rendezvous. Broken Arrow, possibly his fantasy figure, beckons — innocence led by imagination on the road to experience.
Acclaim
Singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
has identified this song as one of his favourites, featuring on one of his 500 favourite albums. Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
of Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
fame, when asked in an interview what his favourite song was, replied that it was "Beside You".
Appearance on other albums
"Beside You" was featured on Morrison's album Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood BowlAstral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl is the fifth live album recorded by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, and released in the US on February 24, 2009 and on February 9, 2009 in the UK...
, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released.
Personnel
- Van Morrison – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Jay BerlinerJay BerlinerJay Berliner is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Starting with his first television experience at age 7 on NBC’s The Children’s Hour with sister Eve, his career has spanned the globe: from the Metropolitan Opera house , where he was house guitarist and mandolinist; to...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Richard Davis – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Anonymous – fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- Warren Smith, Jr.Warren Smith (jazz musician)Warren Smith is an American jazz percussionist.Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family; his father played saxophone and clarinet with Noble Sissle and Jimmy Noone, and his mother was a harpist and pianist. He studied clarinet under his father from age four...
– vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
External links
- [ allmusic.com:Review-Beside You]