"Piper at the Gates of Dawn" echoes the children's book, The Wind in the Willows, and features Paddy Moloney on uilleann pipes with Phil Coulter on piano.

[3] Music critic Greil Marcus was impressed, writing that, "[like] the rough god he sings about, Morrison is astride each incident in the music, each pause in a greater story," but advises close listening, as "often the most revealing moments —the moments that reveal the shape of a world, a point of view, an argument about life — are at the margins.

"[6] Reviewing the 2019 reissue, All About Jazz asserted that "Healing Game is one of most complete personal and musical statements in Van Morrison's lengthy discography."

[7] The album was reissued again in 2019 as a triple CD, with bonus material from the studio sessions and Van Morrison's performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival on 17 July 1997.

[8] Disc two featured collaborations with John Lee Hooker, Carl Perkins and British skiffle star Lonnie Donegan.