Van Morrison - Astral Weeks Live At the Hollywood Bowl
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Free Music Notes for Astral Weeks Live At the Hollywood Bowl
Free Music Review: I was there...it was transcendent
Hit: 5 Stars
For forty years, there was never another album like Astral Weeks. It existed on a rarefied musical plane, an album to be loved, to be cherished, and for those who truly love serious "rock" music, an album to be revered and worshipped. Even Van himself--with all of his exceptional output--was never able to duplicate the magic of Astral Weeks. It was not only in a class of its own; it was in a genre of its own. Until now. Last November, Van performed Astral Weeks for the first time in its entirety live. I have seen Van other times over the years; he's never been less than great, but nothing could have prepared me for this. Bringing four decades of experience, development and sophistication to the naive, raw voodoo that WAS Astral Weeks, he created a new, never-before-heard kind of magic. And it was recorded for all the world to hear. No one who has ever truly loved the alchemy of Morrison's art can ever again seriously argue that the man has lost it. This album not only truly proves that Van is at the top of his game, but it demonstrates--effortlessly--that he soars above any other pretenders to the throne. Anyone who claims to love the Belfast Cowboy and doesn't love this album never really had a clue as to what Van was about: if all they get about Morrison is "Brown Eyed Girl," they may as well go back to their Jimmy Buffet albums.
I spent $800 for my wife, my daughter and I to see this show, I've already bought copies of the CD for all my friends, and I can't wait for the DVD. It is worth every penny, and much, much, more. Thank you Van, for being the best of the best!
Free Music Review: For Fans and Newbies Alike
Hit: 5 Stars
First, what to expect. This is not your "classic rock" Van Morrison. No Moondance, Gloria, or Brown-eyed Girl. That said, if you liked Moondance - you're closer to understanding what's on Astral Weeks Live. The music on this album is very easy to listen to. My best guess is that you should classify this as rock, folk, blues, jazz, and easy-listening among others. Most true fans will agree there is no one single category that represents his music, and this album is no exception. When listening to this you will feel slightly romantic as the music takes you freely flowing from chord to chord and verse to verse. For his fans, this album just might be the best Van Morrison they have ever heard. For Newbie's it is a glimpse into what makes a singer-songwriter the likes of Van Morrison so well deserving of his long standing quiet critical acclaim. I was most fortunate to see the Astral Weeks show live last night in NYC at the WaMu. I was left totally floored by the quality of his performance. This album gets you as close to that show as humanly possible. I have seen Van more than a dozen times in the last 20 years and this album clearly demonstrates how far he has come. The music, its arrangement, and Van and his bands presentation are literally flawless. The music will ring familiar bells for his most die-hard fans. For Newbie's there are no songs that had any significant commercial success. Yet for them it will be a path of righteous indoctrination into the world of Van the Man. It remains too late to stop now.Free Music Review: Astral Weeks Revisitied
Hit: 5 Stars
Van Morrison's ASTRAL WEEKS is such a unique work that it took several years before the public began to catch on to its brilliance. Today, forty years after its creation, it stands as one of the greatest albums made. At the nexus of folk, jazz, soul and rock, Morrison created a true work of beauty, he truly captured lightening in a bottle.
Upon hearing that he was going to be releasing a new concert version of this classic, I can't say that I wasn't a little skeptical. While Van remains a solid artist releasing solid work almost annually, he was attempting to tread on sacred ground. My reservations have been blown away by the results here. Morrison is respectful of the overall tone of the original, but this is far from a museum piece. He shakes up the running order without harming the flow and segues and stretches the songs into new places. He was obviously emotionally plugged in to this project. I think the songs offer some new emotional weight to the singer after all these years and he invests these emotions in some cunning vocals.
When the mood strikes to hear some prime Van Morrison in the future, I'll still be more tempted to return to the original version of ASRAL WEEKS, but I'll revisit this as well. I'd rate this right up with Van's other classic live album, IT'S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW, which I would consider one of the best live albums ever released. What could have been a travesty has instead come out a triumph by one of rock's legendary vocalists.
Free Music Review: Stunning; brilliant; stupendous
Hit: 5 Stars
I am old enough that I should have remembered Astral Weeks, but I don't. (I became a Van fan with Moondance, but for some reason I never went backwards into his collection.) It was brought to my attention last March at a Bruce Springsteen concert in Milwaukee, when he brought Richard Davis on stage to play stand-up bass on Meeting Across the River, the brilliant ballad on Born to Run. Davis was on the original recording of that song, but more relevant to this discussion, he was the bass player on the original recording of Astral Weeks. Bruce spent a couple of minutes discussing the record and its influence on him, which sent me thereafter on a search for the album and various writings discussing and interpreting it. (Lester Bangs' retrospective ten years after the album's release is probably the seminal work. It's here: http://personal.cis.strath.ac.uk/~murray/astral.html) During the past year, I have listened to the original countless times, and I have awaited the release of the Hollywood Bowl performance with great anticipation.
It clearly lives up to my extremely high expectations. It is brilliantly performed. The melodies are captivating, the orchestra enveloping. How a 22-year old kid could have created such a masterpiece is beyond my comprehension. If you buy only one record this year, it should be this one.
Free Music Review: Blown Away.
Hit: 5 Stars
Everyone should have a copy of Astral Weeks. It ranks as one of the best rock albums of all time, beautiful arrangements, lyrical depth abound and great vocal delivery by Morrison. But in remaking Astral Weeks decades later (forty), it's Morrison's voice that gives Astral Weeks its transcendence. Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl now has this melancholy ying-yang brought on by Morrison's aged and weathered voice fighting above killer arrangements. Simply put: It's an excellent live disc.
On tracks such as "Beside You," Morrison's bluesy tone is more pronounced and the live band gives it a great push with its nuance playing. "Sweet Thing" (amazing string section) is another killer, like the rest of the album, it seems as if it were written just a few hours ago. And even though the album isn't played in sequence, the new arrangement gives songs like "Slim Slow Slider" a chance to be stretched and toyed with in a way that Morrison has been known to do in his live shows. "The Way Young Lovers Do" doesn't get the same treatment and I truly wish it did. The track carries such a simplistic jazzy tone that I wanted to hear it opened up and expanded, but Morrison's voice is upfront and strong and it works here.
An excellent live disc that stands on equal footing with the original.