Bang Masters cover
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Bang Masters

Epic EK-47041
(Released 1991)
(nearly complete reissue from the Blowin' Your Mind sessions)

  1. Brown Eyed Girl (3:03)
  2. Spanish Rose (additional verse) (3:52)
  3. Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye) (2:57)
  4. Ro Ro Rosey (3:03)
  5. Chick-A-Boom (3:12)
  6. It's All Right (4:58)
  7. Send Your Mind (2:52)
  8. The Smile You Smile (2:54)
  9. The Back Room (5:30)
  10. Midnight Special (2:45)
  11. T.B. Sheets (9:36)
  12. He Ain't Give You None (alternate take) (5:50)
  13. Who Drove the Red Sports Car (5:39)
  14. Beside You (6:05)
  15. Joe Harper Saturday Morning (additional verses) (4:15)
  16. Madame George (5:17)
  17. Brown Eyed Girl (alternate take) (3:40)
  18. I Love You (The Smile You Smile) (2:22)
    Total time: (78:20)

  • Part of Van's Bang material, an overview of which is available here.

    Review by Scott Thomas:
    This period of Van's career ended abruptly with Bert Berns's premature death in late 1967, but largely because of "Brown Eyed Girl," the Bang recordings have been repackaged countless times over the years.

    By far the best source for Morrison's 1967 recordings is the The Bang Masters. Released in 1991, it takes in all of Van's previously released Bang tracks including an alternate take of "Brown Eyed Girl" and a lovely acoustic demo of "The Smile You Smile." In addition, the sound quality represents a remarkable improvement over previous repackagings of the same material. Two songs in particular, "Who Drove the Red Sports Car?" and "Joe Harper Saturday Morning," once victims of poor mixing, reveal themselves to be first-rate performances of first-rate songs. Finally, the music is augmented by Bill Flanagan's informative and critically objective liner notes.

    Blowin' Your Mind was the only album released during Van's tenure at Bang and features roughly half of the songs he recorded for the label. Originally issued without the artist's knowledge or consent and packaged with a horrible psychadelic cover, it has been released on CD in a high priced gold edition. Though noteworthy for its historical significance, great sound, and some alternate takes available nowhere else, The Bang Masters is still the better pick.

    Part of the van-the-man.info unofficial website