VAN MORRISON: ASTRAL WEEKS & MOONDANCEASTRAL WEEKS (1968)
Again two albums on this list, from 'Van the Man' this time.
Astral Weeks was released on November 1968, it was his second
album, and had nothing to do with the previous one, which was including
the hit song 'Brown Eyed Girl'.
This album was actually recorded in just 3 days, with Van Morrison
having survival problems, and it's a difficult album to listen and to
enjoy. It was recorded at Century Sound Studios in New York City during three
sessions in September and October 1968, although most participants and
biographers agree that the eight songs were culled from the first and last
early evening sessions. Except for John Payne, Morrison and the assembled jazz
musicians had not played together before and the recordings commenced without
rehearsals or lead sheets handed out. It needs well trained ears in order to
appreciate it, and therefore is highly respected in the musical circles. It is
considered to be as one of the most influential albums for many musicians ever
since.
Upon its release, it received very good critics, with Rolling Stone
magazine naming it 'album of the year' among others.
The musical style of the album is a mix of Jazz, Blues, Folk and
Rock. The album didn't have any hit song, failed to have a massive air play in
the radios, and therefore didn't sell very well.
Despite that, it was
placed on numerous widely circulated lists of the best albums of all time and
had an enduring effect on both listeners and musicians.
For example, in 1987 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at No.7 in the
list with the 'best albums of the last 20 years' and at No.19 in the list with
the '500 greatest albums of all time', whilst Mojo magazine placed it at No.2
in the list with the '100 best albums'.
The best moments of the album in my opinion are Madame George and the
very beautiful Ballerina.
I surely don't recommend this album, unless you consider yourselves
'trained listeners' and/or you like jazz music more than I do...
MOONDANCE (1970)
…But I strongly recommend his next album, which was released on Februaly
1970 and it's no other that the famous Moondance. This is probably one
of the best albums Van Morrison ever recorded, if not the best.
After the commercial failure of his 1968 Astral Weeks album, Morrison moved with his wife to an
artistic hamlet in upstate New York and began writing songs for Moondance. There, he met the musicians
he would record the album with at New York City's A&R studios in 1969.
Morrison abandoned the abstract folk-Jazz compositions of Astral Weeks in favour of more
formally composed songs on Moondance,
which he wrote entirely by himself. Its lively rhythm and Blues/Rock music, was the style he would become most known for in his career. The music incorporated Soul, Jazz, Pop, Blues and Irish folk, sounds into songs
about finding spiritual renewal and redemption in worldly matters such as
nature, music, romantic love, and self-affirmation. It was also the first album
for which Morrison was credited as the producer; he later said “no one knew what I was looking for except me, so I just did it”.
Upon its release it received praises from the critics, gained
A+ in many occasions, and had a massive air time in the radio stations almost
everywhere.
Moondance
was the album that actually established Van Morrison as a great
singer/songwriter, and its sales continued for the next 40 years, making this
album a 'classic' in Rock music.
Some tracks you might know from this album are: And it Stoned me, Crazy Love,
Brand New Day, and of course the
widely known Caravan and Moondance.
If you don’t know many things about Van Morrison, here’s the album that
should be your starting point.
Other Van Morrison's records I recommend: Tupelo Honey, Hard Nose the Highway,
It's too Late to Stop now (Live).
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