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Marquee D'Sounde

Rare and Collectible Records and Books

Providing the finest available since 1974 !

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Van Morrison

"Hard Nose The Highway"

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Record Information

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Official Release Information

Label: WB BS2712

Released: 1973

Format: 12" vinyl LP (album), 33 1/3 RPM

Disc Condition

Near Mint

Visual Inspection

No Notable Exceptions

Cover Condition

Near Mint

Visual Inspection

very light corner wear

Dead Wax Information

(A) BS-2712 40501-1

(B) BS-2712 40502-1

Why Pressing/Dead wax information is important?

Like a knife, the more times the master cuts into vinyl  the duller it gets. Each subsequent pressing gets duller, rolling out the crisp cut of the original pressing. This results in less sonic resonance. The first pressings are the truest duplication of what the master engineer intended.

The mastering also matter. The Mastering engineer critically listens to the tape recording, making critical adjustment to them as he goes. This can create very different listening experiences from disc to disc. This is why you see Re-Mastered so often, to improve (or sometime the opposite) the original sound.

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Artist Information

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Hard Nose the Highway is the seventh studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1973. The album contains the single "Warm Love," a fan favorite.

It is his first solo album to contain songs not written by Morrison. A cover version of the song "Bein' Green", usually associated with Kermit the Frog is included, and a take of the traditional song "Purple Heather".

Recorded during a series of prolific recording sessions, there was more than enough material to fill a double-album. Morrison proposed the idea to Warner Bros. Records, but he was ultimately convinced to release a single LP. During the recording sessions held between August and November 1972, there were nearly thirty songs recorded in all, at least three quarters of them original compositions. A few leftover tracks were saved or re-recorded for future albums like Veedon Fleece, but most would not see release until 1998's compilation of outtakes, The Philosopher's Stone, when nine of the songs would be used. Biographer Clinton Heylin suggested that "only 'Warm Love' and 'Hard Nose the Highway' could have sat comfortably alongside 'rejects' like 'Madame Joy', 'Bulbs', 'Spare Me a Little', 'Country Fair', 'Contemplation Rose' and 'Drumshanbo Hustle'."

By Morrison's own account, this was the first album that was completely produced under his complete control. The recording sessions even took place in a recording studio he had built next door to his home in Fairfax, California. He remarked on the album: "As a concept for the album, I was just trying to establish how hard it was to do what I do. Plus there were some lighter things on the other side of it. One side has a kind of hard feeling while the other is soft."

"Snow in San Anselmo" is the opening song and features the backing vocals of the Oakland Symphony Chamber Chorus. Morrison says the song is, "just a sketch on when it snowed in San Anselmo. It's about the images that were happening when it was snowing there for the first time in thirty years."

"Warm Love" was released as a successful single and was also a favorite concert performance in the 70s. It featured the catchy line, "and it's ever present everywhere, Warm Love."

The title song, "Hard Nose the Highway" is explained by Morrison as: "the theme running through the whole song is 'Seen some hard times' which I have 'Drawn some fine lines' which I definitely have, and 'No time for shoe shines' when you're trying to make a living."

"Wild Children" is actually about the post-war children growing up in other countries and getting their images—from American anti-heroes such as those portrayed by James Dean, Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger and playwright Tennessee Williams.

"The Great Deception" is according to biographer, Richie Yorke: "One of the most stinging indictments from any observer, let alone a rock artist, of the tragic hypocrisy of so many participants in the sub-culture, in particular the big-time rock stars of this era."

"Being Green" is the first non-original composition Morrison had included on any album for Warner Bros. so far and was taken from the popular American children's TV show, Sesame Street, which he must have watched with his young daughter, Shana. He says about his interpretation of the song, "That was just a statement that you don't have to be flamboyant. If somebody doesn't like you just because you're a certain thing, then maybe they're seeing the wrong thing."

A reviewer said about the ten and a half minute "Autumn Song": "I can't deny that it's the funkiest song about the splendors and moods of fall that has ever glided through my ears."

The ending song, "Purple Heather" is the traditional "Wild Mountain Thyme" written by F. McPeake as a variant of Robert Tannahill's "The Braes of Balquhidder", and re-arranged by Morrison.

According to Ritchie Yorke, who published his biography, Into the Music in 1975, the album enjoyed rave reviews at the time of release. He cited one dissenting critic Charlie Gillett, who wrote in Let It Rock: "The trouble with Hard Nose the Highway is that although the music is quite often interesting, it doesn't have a convincing emotional basis...Despite the lack of inspiration and of melodic focus, the record is attractive to listen to. But Van Morrison has set high standards for himself and Hard Nose the Highway doesn't live up to them."

Robert Christgau rated it only a B? and mostly dismissed it with: "The relaxed rhythms are just lax most of the time, the vocal surprises mild after St. Dominic's Preview, the lyrics dumbest when they're more than mood pieces, and the song construction offhand except on 'Warm Love'."

Stephen Holden in his 1973 Rolling Stone review said: "Hard Nose the Highway is psychologically complex, musically somewhat uneven and lyrically excellent. Its surface pleasures are a little less than those of St. Dominic's Preview and a great deal less than those of Tupelo Honey, while its lyric depths are richer and more accessible than those of either predecessor. The major theme of Hard Nose is nostalgia, briefly but firmly counter-pointed by disillusion."

Later assessments in The Rolling Stone Record Guide (1979) and The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992) were less generous. In the former, Hard Nose was listed as Morrison's only one-star album to date; reviewer Dave Marsh called it "a failed sidestep, a compromise between the visionary demands of Morrison's work and his desire for a broad-based audience." In the later edition, Paul Evans called the record the "vaguest and weakest" of Morrison's 1970s output.

In the opinion of biographer Erik Hage, "Hard Nose the Highway seems to have suffered a lot of unnecessary criticism—many commentators consider it his worst and most uninspired album—perhaps because it followed such a remarkable run of LPs, and because two truly forward-thinking albums had come before and after it (1972's Saint Dominic's Preview and 1974's Veedon Fleece)."

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International Buyers Welcome

Please Note:

Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.

Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.

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All records are shipped in Heavy duty record shipping boxes with inner cardboad support, record removed from cover to prevent splitting seams during shipping.

No charge for shipping on all records after the first purchase. 1-50 all ship for the one shipping charge!

And as always, if you are not satisfied with our description of the condition of your purchase - we offer a full refund and pay shipping to return the item !

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A little about me and the items I sell

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I started collecting records and music memorabilia in about 1968. While traipsing around Southeast Asia for Uncle Sam, music was that lifeline to home and the world we came from. When I returned home to New Jersey, I became involved in the music industry and music became a passion. Needless to say I am not a kid anymore and I want to find good homes for these treasures and not see them end up at the Yard Sale of my life! What you see at my store is a collection of these treasures. Over the past 30 years I have sold off many very rare and hard to find items and have many, many more to offer. My passion for the rarest of rare and the finest quality available is still reflected in what you are offered here! Enjoy!!

Marquee D'Sounde ?

The Marquee D'Sounde was a music promotion company that I formed in the 70's. An obvious play on words, with the Marquis' De Sade and Marquee of Sound. It promoted a variety of music related venues, hence the Marquee for displaying our offerings. At record trade shows in the late 70's and early 80's as well as in Goldmine magazine the name Marquee D'Sounde became synonymous with the best quality available in collectibles! As you can see from the Feedback, I provide Quality Items and fast reliable service with secure packaging. Many buyers are repeat buyers!

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A Brief Discussion On Condition

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Historically sealed albums have been selling for huge prices simply because they are sealed. Sealed albums are in many cases a later pressing bought in some bargain bin or reissues that have since gone out of print. Prime examples are the ones with the “Nice Price” stickers. You can be assured these are later pressings off of old masters. Not always but quite frequently. Rarely did the first pressing of any record make it to the bargain bin unless the record was a flop. That’s not to say that a flop back then isn’t a treasure today. We find that frequently and in those cases a sealed album is a treasure.

Back in the day every record distributor had a sealing machine and would reseal albums. These would end up in the bargain bins. That is why you see the stretching on the corners of many of them offered on eBay. Original sealed albums will usually be squared on the cover and not have signs of stretching around the corners. Unless you plan on leaving the album sealed and reselling it, you are better off with a true Near Mint to Mint pressing from a reputable record dealer. You know what you get.

All of these claims regarding complicated record cleaning systems mean you are getting records that have not had the care they should have had. If the record was cared for properly it won't need these complicated cleanings! A quick spin on the VPI will remove any soiling not caused by abuse.

A properly cared for album (NM or M) should look as close as possible to the record that came out when it was first opened.

Most records come from my personal collection accumulated during my years in the music industry. When purchased new or received as a promotional copy, the album or single was placed in a plastic outer sleeve and sometimes a plastic inner sleeve. When possible the records will include these plastic sleeves.

Many were never played!

I rate rather conservatively but work closely with Goldmine standards. My Near Mint ratings are generally what everybody else rates as Mint or Brand New.

I try very hard to give accurate descriptions of the records and check them prior to shipment to ensure that the condition advertised is indeed what I ship. If there is something that I missed I will notify you prior to shipment. In turn, if you receive your record and the condition is not what you expected, let me know and we will arrange to return the record with a full refund.

Shipment Information

All records are carefully packaged and shipped in heavy duty commercial grade #200 corrugated Record shipping boxes!

Buyer Instructions

Payments:

All payments are expected within 10 days. All payments must be received in US funds. Preferred payment method is Paypal.

Feedback:

I will leave feedback for you once I have received confirmation that you have received your item and that the item met your expectations. Our transaction is not over until you are satisfied. Once you leave feedback, I will leave positive feedback for you.

Contact me if there are any problems or questions.

Thank you for stopping by!!

Be sure to add me to your favorites because I have thousands more rare and wonderful albums, singles and memorabilia coming!

Looking for that special album, CD or single? Email me and I'll let you know if it is available!!