Dave posted this on his TurnTable Talk on February 19. The topic that he gave us was simple enough…a song with the word love in it. This song and Crazy Love came to mind from Van so I went with this one, you don’t hear this one as often.
In 1986-87 I bought the Van Morrison album Hard Nose the Highway, and this song, among others, caught my attention. The album is not up there with Moondance or Astral Weeks, but it’s a good album. When I heard this song on the album, I got the feeling I’d heard it before. It did peak at #66 in Canada in 1973. I’m sure I heard it on AM radio when I was a kid. It sounds like a hit. I just fell and am still over his wide-open songs, such as the title track, the previous album track, and “Saint Dominic’s Preview.”
When I got into Van…I really got into him. I ended up buying his first 9 albums (not counting the early Bang years), from the 1968 album Astral Weeks to the 1978 Wavelength album. I also ordered a hard-to-find Them album from England. An album I still have with me, one of the very few that survived my many moves in my younger days.
I always thought Warm Love was the sister song to Crazy Love off his Moondance album from 3 years before. Coming off the open sound of Saint Dominic’s Preview, Van Morrison went into Hard Nose the Highway in 1973 in a different headspace. The sessions were very successful, and they recorded over 30 songs. Morrison originally wanted to make it a double album, but the record company talked him into a single one.
The songs that caught my attention on first listen were this song, the title track, and a song called The Great Deception. He also did a cover of Kermit! Yes, Van covered Being Green on this album. It’s a good album and always a joy to listen to. Van had a band at this time called The Caledonia Soul Orchestra, and they were tight. Some of them played on this album.
The Caledonia Soul Orchestra was the road band that powered Van Morrison through one of the strongest stretches of his career, roughly 1972 to 1974. After the success of Moondance and the more reflective albums that followed, Morrison wanted a band that could move between jazz, R&B, folk, and soul without losing momentum. He found it in a large ensemble built around horns, a tight rhythm section, and backing vocalists who could follow his changes in real time.
A huge talent of Van is to make songs that feel off the cuff but polished at the same time. As with most of the album, it was built around live takes, with horns and backing vocals added only where they felt natural.
The album peaked at #27 on the Billboard Album Charts, #18 in Canada, and #22 in the UK in 1973. This live version is the best one I’ve heard, but it won’t let me embed it here.
Van Morrison: It is just a boy and girl song, walking on the beach. It’s a young song. I can’t really add to that, except to note that this is a musical love affair, with the girl bringing her guitar.
Warm Love
Look at the ivy on the old clinging wallLook at the flowers and the green grass so tallIt’s not a matter of when push comes to shoveIt’s just a hour on the wings of a dove
It’s just warm loveIt’s just warm love
I dig it when you’re fancy dressed up in laceI dig it when you have a smile on your faceThis inspiration’s got to be on the flowBut these invitation’s got to see it and know
It’s just warm loveIt’s just warm love
And it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereWarm loveAnd it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love
To the country I’m goingLay and laugh in the sunYou can bring your guitar alongWe’ll sing some songs, we’ll have some fun
The sky is crying and it’s time to go homeAnd we shall hurry to the car from the foamSit by the fire and dry out our wet clothesIt’s raining outside from the skies up above
Inside, it’s warm loveInside, it’s warm love
And it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm loveAnd it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love, I can feel it
And it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love, heyAnd it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love, heyAnd it’s ever present everywhereAnd it’s ever present everywhereThat warm love
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