Van Morrison 3-CD Set To Feature Songs From “Bang” Period

Van Morrison listens back through headphones as he talks with musical director Garry Sherman at a Bang Records recording session in the studio for Van Morrison’s 1st album “Blowing Your Mind!” on March 28, 1967 in New York, New York. (Photo by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

On April 29, Legacy Recordings will release a three-disc set of Van Morrison’s work with Bang Records, the short-lived label the Irish musician recorded for at the dawn of his solo career.

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The Authorized Bang Collection includes one disc of the original masters from the Bang sessions, recorded in New York City in 1967, including the tracks “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Madame George,” with a second disc featuring rarities from those sessions. The third disc, titled “Contractual Obligation Session,” includes 31 short songs that are presented for the first time in an official capacity. The tracks have been widely bootlegged over the years.

Bang Records was helmed by Bert Berns, a producer and songwriter who wrote such iconic hits as “Twist And Shout” and “Here Comes The Night.” Berns died in ’67 and Morrison would go on to sign with Warner Bros.

“Bert Berns was a genius,” Morrison writes in the liner notes for the collection. “He was a brilliant songwriter and he had a lot of soul, which you don’t find nowadays.”

See track list below.

VAN MORRISON – THE AUTHORIZED BANG COLLECTION

Disc One – The Original Masters:

1. Brown Eyed Girl [original stereo mix]
2. He Ain’t Give You None [original stereo mix]
3. T.B. Sheets [original stereo mix]
4. Spanish Rose [original stereo mix]
5. Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) [original stereo mix]
6. Ro Ro Rosey [original stereo mix]
7. Who Drove The Red Sports Car [original stereo mix]
8. Midnight Special [original stereo mix]
9. It’s All Right [original stereo mix]
10. Send Your Mind [original stereo mix]
11. The Smile You Smile [original stereo mix]
12. The Back Room [original stereo mix] (5:26)
13. Joe Harper Saturday Morning [original stereo mix] (2:55)
14. Beside You [original mono mix]
15. Madame George [original mono mix]
16. Chick-A-Boom [original mono mix]
17. The Smile You Smile [demo]

Disc Two – Bang Sessions & Rarities:

1. Brown Eyed Girl [original edited mono single mix]
2. Ro Ro Rosey [original mono single mix with backing vocals]
3. T.B. Sheets [Take 2] *
4. Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) [Takes 10 & 11] *
5. Send Your Mind [Take 3] *
6. Midnight Special [Take 7]
7. He Ain’t Give You None (Take 4)
8. Ro Ro Rosey [Take 2] *
9. Who Drove The Red Sports Car (Take 6)
10. Beside You [Take 2] *
11. Joe Harper Saturday Morning [Take 2] *
12. Beside You [Take 5] *
13. Spanish Rose [Take 14] (4:23) *
14. Brown Eyed Girl [Takes 1-6] *
15. Brown Eyed Girl [Takes 7-11] *

*Previously Unissued

Discs One & Two: All songs Produced & Directed by Bert Berns

Disc Three – Contractual Obligation Session:

1. Twist And Shake
2. Shake And Roll
3. Stomp And Scream
4. Scream And Holler
5. Jump And Thump
6. Drivin’ Wheel
7. Just Ball
8. Shake It Mable
9. Hold On George
10. The Big Royalty Check
11. Ring Worm
12. Savoy Hollywood
13. Freaky If You Got This Far
14. Up Your Mind
15. Thirty Two
16. All The Bits
17. You Say France And I Whistle
18. Blowin’ Your Nose
19. Nose In Your Blow
20. La Mambo
21. Go For Yourself
22. Want A Danish
23. Here Comes Dumb George
24. Chickee Coo
25. Do It
26. Hang On Groovy
27. Goodbye George
28. Dum Dum George
29. Walk And Talk
30. The Wobble
31. Wobble And Ball

Previously Unissued

Compiled by Andrew Sandoval for Legacy

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