The Complete Them 1964–1967

The Complete Them 1964–1967
Compilation album by
Released4 December 2015
Recorded1964–1966
Length201:00
LabelLegacy
ProducerDick Rowe, Bert Berns, Tommy Scott
Them chronology
The Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison
(1997)
The Complete Them 1964–1967
(2015)

The Complete Them 1964–1967 is a compilation album by the Northern Irish band Them. It includes nearly every song recorded by the group when Van Morrison was the lead vocalist. It contains liner notes written by Morrison and was released through his production company, Exile Productions. Unlike the previous compilation,The Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison, this collection is chronologically sequenced and contains an extra disc featuring demos, alternate versions, rare tracks, and sessions recorded by the BBC, many of which were previously unreleased.[1][2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
American Songwriter[3]
Louder[4]
Uncut[5]

Bud Scoppa of Uncut remarked that two-thirds of the album "provide ample proof of [Morrison's] preternatural genius," giving it a four-star rating.[5] Louder's Jon Harrington rated the album 4.5 stars, referring to the release as "most comprehensive round-up of Van Morrison's Them ever issued."[4]

The album received a five-star rating from American Songwriter, whose reviewer Hal Horowitz stated, "the historic value of the compilation and the surfeit of previously unreleased tracks makes this essential for Morrison newcomers and longtime fans."[3] Mark Deming of AllMusic opined, "As a history of an underappreciated band's greatest era or the first steps of one of rock's most individual artists, The Complete Them: 1964–1967 is essential listening."[1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Van Morrison.

Disc 1 – The Complete Them 1964–1967
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Start Crying Now"James Moore, Jerry West2:03
2."One Two Brown Eyes" 2:34
3."Baby, Please Don't Go"Big Joe Williams2:40
4."Gloria" 2:35
5."Philosophy" 2:35
6."Here Comes the Night"Bert Berns2:46
7."All for Myself" 2:47
8."One More Time" 2:48
9."How Long Baby"Gillon3:37
10."Mystic Eyes" 2:41
11."If You and I Could Be as Two" 2:51
12."Little Girl (album version)" 2:47
13."Just a Little Bit"Rosco Gordon2:21
14."I Gave My Love a Diamond"Bert Berns3:02
15."You Just Can't Win" 2:21
16."Go on Home Baby"Bert Berns2:32
17."Don't Look Back" (rechanneled+)John Lee Hooker3:20
18."I Like It Like That" 3:16
19."I'm Gonna Dress in Black"Gillon a.k.a. Tommy Scott, M. Howe3:29
20."Bright Lights, Big City"Jimmy Reed2:30
21."My Little Baby"Bert Berns, Wes Farrell2:00
22."(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66"Bobby Troup2:22
23."(It Won't Hurt) Half As Much"Bert Berns3:01

All lyrics are written by Van Morrison.

Disc 2 – The Complete Them 1964–1967
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Could You, Would You" 3:08
2."Something You Got"Chris Kenner2:31
3."Call My Name" (album version)Scott2:20
4."Turn On Your Love Light"Don Robey, Joseph Wade Scott2:19
5."I Put a Spell on You"Screamin' Jay Hawkins2:36
6."I Can Only Give You Everything"Scott, Phil Coulter2:39
7."My Lonely Sad Eyes" 2:28
8."I Got a Woman"Ray Charles3:12
9."Out of Sight"Ted Wright a.k.a. James Brown2:21
10."It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"Bob Dylan3:47
11."Bad or Good" 2:06
12."Hello Josephine"Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino2:04
13."Don't You Know"Scott2:22
14."Hey Girl" 3:00
15."Bring 'Em on In" (album version) 3:13
16."Richard Cory"Paul Simon2:43
17."Friday's Child" 3:27
18."The Story of Them (Part 1)" 3:52
19."The Story of Them (Part 2)" 3:41
20."Baby What You Want Me to Do"Reed3:26
21."Stormy Monday"T-Bone Walker2:40
22."Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough"Jimmy Witherspoon2:12

All lyrics are written by Van Morrison.

Disc 3 – The Complete Them 1964–1967
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Start Crying Now (Demo)" 1:36
2."Gloria (Demo)" 3:05
3."One Two Brown Eyes (Demo)" 2:40
4."Stormy Monday Blues (Demo)" 5:11
5."Turn On Your Love Light (Alternate Version)" 4:46
6."Baby, Please Don't Go (Take 4)" 2:40
7."Here Comes the Night (Take 2)" 3:01
8."Gloria (Live on BBC Saturday Club)" 2:39
9."All for Myself (Live on BBC Saturday Club)" 3:07
10."Here Comes the Night (Live on BBC Saturday Club)" 2:53
11."Little Girl (Alternate Version)" 2:47
12."Go on Home Baby (Take 4)" 2:38
13."I Gave My Love a Diamond (Take 8)" 3:09
14."(It Won't Hurt) Half As Much (Take 2)" 3:12
15."My Little Baby (Take 1)" 2:17
16."How Long Baby (Take 1)" 3:38
17."One More Time (Take 14)" 2:52
18."Gloria (Live on BBC Saturday Club, Version 2)" 2:52
19."Here Comes the Night (Live on BBC Saturday Club, Version 2)" 2:47
20."One More Time (Live on BBC Saturday Club)" 2:53
21."Call My Name (Single Version)" 2:18
22."Bring 'Em on In (Single Version)" 3:42
23."Mighty Like a Rose"Morrison4:00
24."Richard Cory (Alternate Version)" 3:47

References

  1. ^ a b c Deming, Mark. "The Complete Them: 1964–1967 – Them". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  2. ^ "Legacy Recordings Set to Release THE COMPLETE THEM 1964–1967, the Definitive 3CD Anthology of van Morrison's Groundbreaking First Recordings". Legacy Recordings. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b Horowitz, Hal (15 December 2015). "Them: The Complete Them 1964–1967". American Songwriter. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  4. ^ a b Harrington, Jon (22 February 2016). "The Complete Them 1964–1967". Louder. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b Scoppa, Bud (28 January 2016). "Them – The Complete Them 1964 – 1967". Uncut. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2025.