Vanlose Stairway
| "Vanlose Stairway" | |
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"Vanlose Stairway" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1982 album, Beautiful Vision. It has remained a popular concert performance throughout Morrison's career and has become one of his most played songs.[1]
Recording and composition
It was recorded in the summer of 1981 at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California.[2]
Morrison wrote the song about his Danish girlfriend, Ulla Munch, from Vanløse district in Copenhagen who lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building with no lift.[1][3] Clinton Heylin remarks..."he turned this mundane set of stairs in an uninspiring block of flats into a 'Stairway that reaches up to the moon/And it comes right back....to you'.[4] Peter Mills, author of the Morrison biography Hymns to the Silence, refers to "Vanlose Stairway" as this "dark horse of a song".[1]
The singer also includes the lines "Send me your Pillow" which referenced bluesman John Lee Hooker's influence on his music.[5]
Live performances
The song has been performed by Morrison over seven hundred times, making it the fourth most played song at his concerts.[6] He performed a baroque rendition of this song with the Dallas Jazz Orchestra at the 1989 Montreux Jazz Festival.[7]
Other releases
A live performance version of "Vanlose Stairway" is included on the Morrison's 1984 album, Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast. Another live version but as a medley appears on the 1994 album, A Night in San Francisco. It was remastered and released again on the 2007 compilation album, Still on Top - The Greatest Hits.
Personnel on original release
- Van Morrison - vocals
- John Allair - organ
- Tom Donlinger - drums
- Pee Wee Ellis - tenor saxophone
- Chris Hayes - guitar
- David Hayes - bass
- Mark Isham - trumpet
- Pauline Lozano - backing vocals
- Chris Michie - guitar
- Annie Stocking - backing vocals
- Bianca Thornton - backing vocals
Notes
- ^ a b c Barton, Laura (2011-03-31). "Hail, Hail, Rock'n'Roll". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, pp. 523-524
- ^ Rogan, No Surrender, p.342
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p.371
- ^ Janovitz, Bill. "allmusic review: Vanlose Stairway". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
- ^ "Top played songs". ivan.vanomatic.de. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence, p.465
References
- Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press ISBN 1-55652-542-7
- Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison:No Surrender, London:Vintage Books ISBN 978-0-09-943183-1
External links
- Allmusic song review
- Vanlose Stairway on the Web
- Vanlose Stairway Page A Vanloesee reports
- Template:MetroLyrics song