Caravan – Live from The Last Waltz – Van Morrison

The world is a better place with Van Morrison in it. I was taught that at a young age by my mom, and I will be forever grateful to her for that. She first introduced Van the Man to me with her favorite song of all time, perhaps his most well-known, “Brown Eyed Girl”, and I have to say that ever since then, I have been enamored by his voice. To me, he’s just got this perfect blend of raw power and soul. When Van really belts, and I mean really belts, I don’t think there’s many people that touch him vocally, and he’s able makes it look easy. And even when he’s making it look easy, there’s no hiding his passion and love for the music he’s making. I’ve been lucky enough to see Van live twice, both times with my mom, and we both concur that he really hasn’t lost a step vocally. Of course his stage presence is a lot more mellow, but his voice is still as powerful and as beautiful as ever.

I could have picked from a plethora of Van songs, but for the first Van-related post, I decided to go with my personal favorite performance of his. The rendition of his song, “Caravan,” performed at “The Last Waltz”. For those unfamiliar (if you’re reading this blog, you probably are familiar), The Last Waltz was The Band’s last live performance, captured on film by Martin Scorsese and featured what many people consider to be the greatest lineup of musical guests assembled, ranging from Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Neil Young, and so many more. Something about Van’s performance, however, is just infectious to me; when I’m watching or listening, there’s a sort of warmth that comes over me. Everyone on stage just looks thrilled to be a part of something they all seem to understand will go down as one of the greatest performances of all time. As Eric Clapton, another one of my favorites, who also performed at The Last Waltz, puts it, “For me, Muddy and Van steal the show. Van doing [“Caravan”] with the leg kicks. Some of the greatest live music you’ll ever see.” I can’t recommend watching the performance enough, but at the very least, take a listen; it will almost certainly brighten your day.

For me, this song is the perfect embodiment of the pure joy that music is able to bring us, and it genuinely never fails to bring a smile to my face, no matter my mood. So thank you, Van, for the song, and thank you, Mom, not only for introducing me to Van’s music, but for all the joy you have brought me in my life.

Link to a video of the performance – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYsSs-tf7jg

Link to the studio version, from Morrison’s outstanding album “Moondance” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVWwgf2F9L4