Hymns to the Silence: Inside the Words and Music of Van Morrison - Softcover

Review on http: //www.leedsmet.ac.uk/as/index_news_hymns_to_the_silence.htm Review on http: //www.vanmorrisonnews.blogspot.com Reviewed in Leeds Guide, Wednesday 29th September'An in-depth, passionate and eloquent study of Van Morrison as a performer both live and in the recording studio' Interview with author in Yorkshire Post, 18th June 2010 "Mills ... is clearly a huge fan [of Van Morrison] who has drawn a lot of emotional succour from Morrison's work over the years."The Word Magazine Record Collector - Terry Staunton--Terry Staunton Record Collector - Terry Staunton--, Reviewed in Leeds Guide, Wednesday 29th September 'An in-depth, passionate and eloquent study of Van Morrison as a performer both live and in the recording studio' Record Collector - Terry Staunton--Sanford Lakoff "Mills, who clearly holds Morrison in the highest esteem and shows an exhaustive knowledge of the singer's body of work, has written an analysis of interest to academics in the field as well as any devoted fan. The complexities of Morrison's oeuvre are made visible in discussion that encompasses his vocal style; his use of jazz, gospel, folk, and blues; and the meaning and possible symbolism of repeated poetic themes and places in his music. In addition to lines from the songs, many quotations from interviews with Morrison are included." -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc. "Littered with sparkling quotes from such artists as Kevin Rowland, Maria McKee, Kate Rusby and Fiachra Trench (themselves armed with an acute knowledge and understanding of Van Morrison's work), I cannot praise this book highly enough. Its investigative validity is agglutination to that of the musical importance of its subject." www.davidmarx.co.uk May 2010

This is a groundbreaking study of every aspect of Van Morrison's artistic career - his influences, lyrical themes, vocal performances, his relationship with America, and more. In 1991 Van Morrison said, 'Music is spiritual, the music business isn't'. Peter Mills' groundbreaking book investigates the oppositions and harmonies within the work of Van Morrison, proceeding from this identified starting point. "Hymns to the Silence" is a detailed investigative study of Van Morrison's remarkable career. The book takes several intriguing angles. It looks at Morrison as a writer: specifically as an Irish writer, who has recorded musical settings of Yeats poems, collaborated with Seamus Heaney, Paul Durcan and Gerald Dawe, and who regularly drops quotes from James Joyce and Samuel Beckett into his live performances. It looks at him as a singer, at how he uses his voice as an interpretive instrument. And there are in-depth chapters on his use of mythology, on his stage performances, and on his continuing fascination with America and its musical forms. "Hymns to the Silence" is a passionate, eloquent study of the complex and influential art of one of the giants of popular music.