Full Force Gale

"Full Force Gale" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was included on his 1979 album Into the Music.

"Full Force Gale"
Single by Van Morrison
from the album Into the Music
A-side"Full Force Gale"
B-side"Bright Side of the Road"
Released1979
RecordedSpring 1979 at the Record Plant Studios, Sausalito, California
Genre
Length3:14
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Van Morrison
Producer(s)Van Morrison
Van Morrison singles chronology
"Bright Side of the Road"
(1979)		 "Full Force Gale"
(1979)		 "You Make Me Feel So Free"
(1980)

Recording and composition

"Full Force Gale" was recorded in spring, 1979 at the Record Plant Studios, Sausalito, California for the album Into the Music.[2]

The song has a moderately fast 4/4 tempo. It is in the key of D major. The song's introduction uses the chords D–A–G–A–D–G–D–A, while the verses use the chord progression D–A–G–D–A–G–D–A–G–A–D–A. The bridge uses the progression Bm-G-A.[3] The song features a slide guitar solo by Ry Cooder.[4]

In the lyrics Morrison describes the feeling of encounters with "the Lord". Biographer Peter Mills said that "It is a physical effect – he is "lifted up again" as if by a natural force, the full-force gale being a simile for this: 'Like a full force gale'". Because of this Mills concluded that Into the Music has religious elements to it: "Into the Music is New Testament, dealing with forgiveness, love and kindness."[4]

When biographer Steve Turner asked the singer about the theme of rebirth that occurs quite often in his songs, Morrison answered, "I wrote a song called 'Full Force Gale' in which I said 'No matter where I roam/I will find my way back home/I will always return to the Lord'. That answers it for me. No matter what I might say at the present, that's my feeling about that."[5]

Response

Record World said that "Van's stirring vocal has a great mate in the person of Toni Marcus and her heavenly electric violin."[6]

Allmusic's reviewer, P.G. Ward, calls it: "Essentially a brisk pop tune, Morrison sings it with great fervour and commitment, delivering simple couplets such as 'In the gentle evening breeze/In the whispering shady trees/I will find my sanctuary in the Lord' with immense skill. The arrangement is also magnificent, with the fiddle part a particular joy..." He goes on to say: "Into the Music is one of Van Morrison's finest albums, and 'Full Force Gale' is arguably its finest track."[7]

As described by Brian Hinton, "'Full Force Gale' has the cheerful punch of the best gospel singing, and sees Van 'lifted up by the Lord' ... as with Wordsworth, the divine is perceived not through religious teachings but through nature ... "[8]

Appearance on other albums

Personnel

Covers

Notes
  1. "Discog Fever - Rating and Reviewing Every Van Morrison Album (Part 2)". The Great Albums. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  2. Heylin. Can You Feel the Silence?, p. 523
  3. Van Morrison Anthology, pp. 74-77
  4. Mills. Hymns to the Silence, p. 325
  5. Turner. Too Late to Stop Now, p. 142
  6. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. 19 January 1980. p. 21. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  7. Ward, P.G. "Full Force Gale at allmusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  8. Hinton. Celtic Crossroads, p. 220
  9. Handelman, David. "Elvis Costello's 21-artist salute". Salon.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2009.

References
  • Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074-169-X
  • Heylin, Clinton (2003), Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, London: Viking, ISBN 0-670-89321-8
  • Mills, Peter (2010), Hymns to the Silence: Inside the Words and Music of Van Morrison, London: Continuum, ISBN 978-0-8264-2976-6
  • Turner, Steve (1993). Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now, Viking Penguin, ISBN 0-670-85147-7
  • Van Morrison Anthology, London: Wise Publications, ISBN 0-7119-2592-5
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