Van Morrison: No Surrender

Enjoyed this book. Well researched and you don’t have to buy in to the authors thesis to appreciate the value of his running historical context.Much is made of how negative the author is about the subject. I found the book refreshingly candid about Van’s faults and laughed at the (unoriginal?) line that the only people like Van are those that haven’t met him! However, let’s get real here. Van is a grumpy guy but he’s not a bad person. He’s no Jackson, R Kelly etc. He respects other people’s musical heritage and copyright (unlike Led Zeppelin who passed off music by Willie Dixon and others as their own). He has a good relationship with his kids. So he’s a grumpy so and so but so what? He’s a wonderful singer and songwriter and for me, who has no interest in meeting his idols, his bad temper is somewhere between amusing and of mild interestSo read on ye faint hearted

A pretty heavy-going read that doesn’t bring the guy to life. Perhaps he is just a boring curmudgeon but this is just too dense. It is very good on the parallel history of Northern Ireland though.

This book is full of fascinating - and explanatory - detail to interest die-hard Morrison fans. Occasionally, you suspect tha the author may be almost as difficult a man as the subject, but the research clearly was painstaking. One thing it does explain is the repetitive whingeing about the record industry. The other is the religious belief/rejection of belief that informs or bedevils his work, according to taste.I found that I certainly don't like Van any more, but that I am persuaded that a greater proportion of his work is seriously good and merits repeated listening. Enough to get me to drag out the 1980s vinyl and play it a lot.Decades ago, the writer Anthony Scaduto's 1972 biography of Dylan taught me that there was no connection between a great musical talent and "being a nice person". This reiterates that truth!

Many many pages of this book are about the social history of Ulster and the Troubles. Rogan suggests there is a correlation between this history and Van. However, he totally fails to make the connection clear. The book is very detailed. A lot of examples of Van as a difficult person are described. To be honest, I didn't feel that I needed to know every one. As the book is written as a chronological history I can see that those ways of being difficult would keep cropping up. Actually I would have preferred a single chapter dealing with that aspect of his personality. What was best about the book was the context of the songs to his life experiences growing up and as an adult. That helped me reconnect with the songs with more insight and was certainly worth the price for that. I always say that The Who are my favourite musicians but I now realise I have spent more on Van Morrison music and that the quality of all that is superb.

Am still reading it but so far it's been an excellent read, very informative about Morrison's early years, very authoritative.

Loved it, all our yesterdays. Would recommend it to any 60s fans although need to know Belfast at that time to really enjoy it.

Good songs and production values.

Great book and great service.