Veedon Fleece
| Van Morrison
Veedon Fleece
Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison released his eighth studio album—Veedon Fleece—on October 4, 1974, via Caledonia Studios. Morrison wrote the album’s songs in less than three weeks during his holiday in Ireland following his divorce from Janet Rigsbee.
Veedon Fleece features Celtic, acoustic, and Irish themes, getting popular as an underground album and often get referred to as the singer’s forgotten masterpiece. On release, the album was poorly received by critics from Melody Maker and Rolling Stone, with listeners finding the album rather self-indulgent. Morrison considers the term “Veedon Fleece” to encapsulate spiritual enlightenment, community, wisdom, and artistic vision. Read more about Veedon Fleece reviews here!
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Alll Music
With its elegiac tone and deeply autobiographical lyrics, this was a Morrison who didn't so readily associate himself with the feel-good, peace, love, and rhythm & blues sound American audiences were used to.
-
Rolling Stone
1975- Coming from anyone else, Veedon Fleece would merely be an embarrassment: Coming from Van Morrison, it seems more like another aberration in a fitfully inspired career.
-
Rolling Stone
2008- The album is the grand culmination of Morrison’s work over the past decade, combining R&B with celtic music, country and traditional rock and roll.
-
Thought on Tracks
2012- Love it or hate it, Veedon Fleece is the closest that Morrison ever came to offering up a sequel to Astral Weeks. For that reason alone, it deserves your consideration
-
1984redux
2013- It reflects an artistic and musical evolution whose cohesiveness and sophistication surpasses the youthful exuberance and spontaneity of its famous predecessor, even as it perfectly compliments it.
-
Sunshine Coast Van Fans
2018- 1974 saw the release of Veedon Fleece, a record which was largely dismissed or overlooked at the time (Rolling Stone was especially scornful), though is generally regarded as something of a ‘misunderstood masterpiece’ today.
-
Nerd Litter
2007- even after ten years of having it in my collection, it’s still just as alluring and affecting and incredible as it’s ever been.
-
Puddles of Myself
2010- However, what Veedon Fleece is trying to say, through its mood and its feeling and the control that it has over Astral Weeks’ catharsis is that maybe as you get older you have a better perspective to deal with those tragedies, because you’ve messed up the simple life with jealousy and envy, you’ve chosen your heartbreak, you’ve chosen to leave the easy life behind to cry out alone.
-
Record Collector
It’s a spartan set of songs, perhaps closest to Astral Weeks in terms of his previous output, although the emotional momentum is understandably more personal, the lyrics even more obtuse.
-
HiFi.nl
2008- this album is my favorite. It has a bit of an escapist 'back to nature' atmosphere, to the rugged west coast of Ireland, the simple country life, love and literature
-
The House Of J-bola Virus
2012- It’s a really subtle, emotional and introspective album. The sound being more pastoral and celtic.
-
Robert Christgau
Soothing, evocative late-night music that indulges his discursive side. Favorite title: "You Don't Pull No Punches but You Don't Push the River."
-
The Guardian
Reminiscent of Astral Weeks in its instrumentation, flow and questing spirit, Veedon Fleece is one of his greatest works. Any selection from the album is bound to be representative rather than definitive, . . .
-
Johnny Bacardi's Off the Record
2008- this album seems to be a return to the spare acoustic jazz of his Astral Weeks album of five years prior; however, this is the work of an artist who has grown in any number of ways.
-
Aphoristic Album Reviews
there’s little R&B here, using more folk-oriented, acoustic instrumentation, and the lyrics reference William Blake and figures from Irish mythology.
-
The New Yorker
Today’s offerings include the 1974 album “Veedon Fleece,” which was treated lightly upon its original release but is now considered one of Morrison’s masterpieces. . .to some, the definitive masterpiece . . . .
-
Stereo Gum
2014- It is perhaps his greatest ever work.
-
Adrian's Album Reviews
You get the feeling he had something to get off of his chest. Contemplative, emotive and beautiful. Right from beginning to end.
-
OoCities
Drawing inspiration from rock, jazz, folk, blues, soul, C&W, R&B, literature, radio, drama, and religious texts, Veedon Fleece is one of the most ambitious albums ever made and one of the greatest.
-
Contemplations on Classic Movies and Music
November 10, 2012. Veedon Fleece stands out. Recorded in 1973 and ’74 after his divorce from his first wife and a visit to Ireland, it is one of the most richly ethereal, metaphysical creations of any artist in any musical genre you’d care to name.
-
CultureMaven.com
2010- This is a deeply personal album, full of fear and despair, searching, and in the end, finding some hope and succor.
-
TIDAL Read
The album has been compared to Astral Weeks due to its “stream of consciousness” songwriting, but musically it’s a very Irish record. The album’s sonic DNA has a very mellow acoustic Celtic vibe.
-
Elsewhere
2013- A departure into lush Celtic romanticism and a quieter, poetic mood. Perhaps the most overlooked of his better albums, and the last of his most consistently impressive period which had started with Astral Weeks.
-
Penny Black Music
2017- 'Veedon Fleece' (1974) is often overlooked but this stripped back affair contains some absolute gems. Van Morrison is in fine form vocally and this album ('Veedon Fleece') carries a mystery all of its own as the tempo rises and falls with lovely piano, bass and acoustic guitar.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments