Van Morrison 1983

Almost a forgotten album, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart takes listeners to the deepest, most inward areas of Van Morrison's renegade Irish soul, the culmination of his spiritual jazz period and also – perhaps not coincidentally – the last record he made for Warner Bros. Four of the 11 tracks are moody instrumentals, which might partly explain the indifference of many rock critics toward the album, although the album's very title gives a clue to their presence. The mood is predominantly mellow but never flaccid or complacent; there is a radiance that glows throughout. "Higher Than the World" is simply one of the most beautiful recordings Morrison ever made, with Mark Isham's choir-like synthesizer laying down the lovely backdrop. The instrumental "Connswater" is the most Irish-flavored piece that Morrison had made up to that point, and would continue to be until he recorded with the Chieftains in 1988. "Rave on, John Donne" – in part a recitation invoking a roster of writers over a supple two-chord vamp – seems to have had the longest afterlife, reappearing in Morrison's live shows and greatest-hits compilations.

For the first 17 years of their history, the only official live Doors album was Absolutely Live, which had its virtues – especially as it captured elements of their harder, more ambitious repertoire – but also left more casual fans rather cold, owing to the absence of any of their biggest hits. Alive, She Cried helped solve that problem, including as it did a concert version of "Light My Fire" and also adding a legendary concert piece – their rendition of Van Morrison's mid-'60s Them-era classic "Gloria" – to the Doors' official Elektra Records discography…

For the first 17 years of their history, the only official live Doors album was Absolutely Live, which had its virtues – especially as it captured elements of their harder, more ambitious repertoire – but also left more casual fans rather cold, owing to the absence of any of their biggest hits…

Fierce Heart reunited Jim Capaldi (Traffic) with Steve Winwood and the results are warm to the heart as well as pleasing to the ears. With help from Van Morrison as well, Capaldi put out an album that showed renewed faith in rock after having been living in Brazil absorbing various influences there and raising a family. Winwood's recent smash hits influenced Capaldi to write more upbeat as well as personal songs, highlighted by "That's Love" and "Tonight You're Mine." But whereas Winwood got into the Top Ten with his songs, Capaldi barely made into the Top 200. That was a shame, for there are a lot of comparisons here that should have been explored. For Winwood fans, this album was like an extra helping. For Capaldi fans, it was the main course.