Synopses & Reviews
This groundbreaking biography of a brilliant but disturbed performer explores the paradox of the man and the artist. Based on more than 100 interviews, this intelligent profile explores Morrisons roots; the hard times he went through in London, New York, and Boston; the making of his seminal albums such as
Moondance and
Astral Weeks; and the disastrous business arrangements that left Morrison hungry and penniless while his songs were topping the charts. Detailed are the breakdown of Morrisons marriage, the creative drought that followed, and his triumphant reemergence. In addition, this biography attempts to explain the forbidding aspects of Morrison's persona, such as paranoia, hard drinking, misanthropy, as well as why, in the words of his onetime singing partner Linda Gail Lewis, Morrisons music “brings happiness to other people, not him.” Also included is a Van Morrision sessionography that spans 1964 to 2001.
Review
"A terrific, detailed look at Van Morrison's life. . . . Particularly fascinating is the portrait of the artist as a young R&B fan in Belfast. . . .
Silence should prove indispensable for Morrisonites—and a must for anyone who enjoys tales of tortured stars behaving badly." —
Entertainment WeeklyReview
"For long-suffering admirers,
Silence both deepens his enigma and gives various aspects of the tortured-genius myth a kick in the
Astral Weeks." —
The Village VoiceReview
"A meticulously researched account of Morrison's life and work.
Silence is loaded with stories of the man's misdeeds, not to mention plenty of dish about the singer's cantankerous dislike of record companies and biographers." —
Rolling StoneReview
"Entreatingly chatty . . . Deepens the enigma and gives the tortured genius myth a kick in the Astral Weeks."
—
Village VoiceReview
“Absorbing, intriguing, thought-provoking, [
Can You Feel The Silence is] overflowing with interviews from across the Morrison time spectrum.” —Johnny Rogan, author,
Morrissey & Marr and
Timeless FlightReview
“Heylin is a thorough biographer [who allows] a picture [to] emerge of a man to whom the world is either an audience, or it is nothing.” —Charles Shaar Murray, author,
Crosstown TrafficAbout the Author
Clinton Heylin is the author of
Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades,
Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry,
Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions, and
No More Sad Refrains: The Life and Times of Sandy Denny.