Track Listing

Disc 1

Description

Often referred to as Celtic Soul, much of Van Morrison's work draws from Soul and R&B music, while another part of his output consists of lengthy, spiritually inspired musical journeys that expose Celtic Roots and Jazz.

Van rose to prominence in the mid-60s as the lead vocalist of the gritty R&B band Them, scoring three hits, "Baby, Please Don't Go" (1964), "Here Comes the Night" (1965), and "Mystic Eyes" (1965). It was "Gloria", the flip side of "Baby, Please Don't Go", which was to become a garage band rock classic, covered by among others Patti Smith, The Doors, Shadows Of Knight and Jimi Hendrix.

After Them split up, Bert Berns, Them’s American producer, convinced Morrison to return to New York to record solo for his newly formed Bang Records label. These recordings resulted from van’s deal with Bang.

Following the death of Berns, Morrison became involved in a contract dispute with the producer’s widow, which was settled when the Warner Bros. Records label agreed to buy out his contract with Bang Records.

Van Morrison was voted twenty-fourth on the 2008 list of Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Three of Morrison's songs were included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll: "Brown Eyed Girl", "Madame George" (both from this album) and "Moondance".

The original album, titled “Blowin’ Your Mind”, and without the ten bonus tracks featured here on the “Midnight Special” re-issue, was hailed by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the 40 Essential Albums of 1967. The album also yielded the single "Brown Eyed Girl", a worldwide hit, which remains a Classic Rock track today. Over forty years later, it still remains one of the most requested songs on radio today.