The Healing Game (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Healing Game" is the title song on Northern Irish
singer-songwriter
Van Morrison
's 1997 album.
It was released twice as a single in 1997 as an A-side with different B-sides - including "Have I Told You Lately
" and "Gloria". The single reached #46 in the U.K.
.
Morrison explains the song in Q Magazine
as: "The song is about when people used to sing on the streets: It came from America, where they had all the doo-wop groups. That's the general idea of the song: you've never really moved from this position. You took a lot of detours but you're still back on the corner."
Brian Hinton
remarks on the song: "Van is like the protagonists in Yeats
play, Purgatorial, condemned to eternal recurrence, 'here I am again', back with the 'backstreet jelly roll'....only music can assuage."
. it is also included as one of the hits on Morrison's third compilation album issued in 2007 — Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
. It is listed as an alternate take and appears on both the 2CD album issued in the U.K.
and also the single disc - 21 hit album released in the U.S.
on November 6, 2007.
recorded a duet of this song with Van Morrison and included it on his 1997 album, Don't Look Back
.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
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...
's 1997 album.
It was released twice as a single in 1997 as an A-side with different B-sides - including "Have I Told You Lately
Have I Told You Lately
"Have I Told You Lately" is a hit song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded for his 1989 album Avalon Sunset. It is a romantic ballad often played at weddings although it was originally written also as a prayer....
" and "Gloria". The single reached #46 in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Recording and composition
"The Healing Game" was recorded in 1996 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin with Walter Samuel as engineer.Morrison explains the song in Q Magazine
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
as: "The song is about when people used to sing on the streets: It came from America, where they had all the doo-wop groups. That's the general idea of the song: you've never really moved from this position. You took a lot of detours but you're still back on the corner."
Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton, MBE is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen’s Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts.-Education:...
remarks on the song: "Van is like the protagonists in Yeats
Yeats
W. B. Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright.Yeats may also refer to:* Yeats ,* Yeats , an impact crater on Mercury* Yeats , an Irish thoroughbred racehorse-See also:...
play, Purgatorial, condemned to eternal recurrence, 'here I am again', back with the 'backstreet jelly roll'....only music can assuage."
Other releases
"The Healing Game" is one of the songs on disc one of the 2007 compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3
The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3 is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, that was released on June 11, 2007 in the UK with a digital version released in the U.S. on iTunes Music Store, on June 12, 2007. Manhattan/EMI Music Catalog Marketing released the CD...
. it is also included as one of the hits on Morrison's third compilation album issued in 2007 — Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
Still on Top – The Greatest Hits is the third compilation album to be issued by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison in 2007 . It was released...
. It is listed as an alternate take and appears on both the 2CD album issued in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and also the single disc - 21 hit album released in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on November 6, 2007.
Personnel
- Van Morrison - vocals
- Georgie FameGeorgie FameGeorgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
- Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Ronnie Johnson - electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Nicky Scott - electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Alec DankworthAlec DankworthAlec Dankworth is an English jazz bassist and composer.Dankworth was born in London, the son of John Dankworth and Cleo Laine. He grew up in the villages of Aspley Guise and Wavendon, living at the Old Rectory, Wavendon, where his parents established the Wavendon All-Music Plan which includes the...
- 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... - Leo GreenLeo GreenLeo Green is a British musician, broadcaster, producer, actor, musical arranger, concert promoter.-Early life:Green is the son of the late BBC Radio 2 broadcaster, writer and musician Benny Green and actress Toni Kanal, and is the brother of the writer and musician Dominic Green.-Career in the...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, backing vocals - Ralph Salmins - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Geoff DunnGeoff DunnGeoff Dunn has since 2002 until 2007 been the drummer with the rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Prior to joining the Earth Band, his long list of credits includes a stint playing and recording with Van Morrison, featuring on the albums Too Long In Exile, A Night in San Francisco, Days Like...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Pee Wee EllisPee Wee EllisAlfred "Pee Wee" Ellis is an American saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was an important member of James Brown's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings...
- baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, backing vocals - Matt Holland - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, backing vocals - Haji Ahkba - flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
- Robin Aspland - pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Brian KennedyBrian Kennedy (singer)Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer-songwriter and author, known for his ballads, and has represented Ireland at Eurovision 2006. He is the younger brother of musician Bap Kennedy.-Personal life:...
- backing vocals - Horns arranged by - Leo Green and Matt Holland
Covers
John Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
recorded a duet of this song with Van Morrison and included it on his 1997 album, Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (John Lee Hooker album)
Don't Look Back is an album released by Blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker in 1997 that was produced by Van Morrison, who also performed duets with Hooker on four of the tracks. The album was the Grammy winner in the Best Traditional Blues Album category in 1998...
.