Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
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Free Music Notes for Astral Weeks
Free Music Review: CUT ABOVE THE VAN OF POP
Hit: 5 Stars
What I can say about Astral Weeks, is that, to me, if you asked Van Morrison to go back in time and scrap all but one of his albums.. this is the one that he would keep. I just figure that it would be that way. This may be the one album of Vans where he isn't just a vocalist perfoming some songs... this is the one that has his heart and soul in it.
Van Morrison left his band THEM in 1967, when a record industry big wig took him to New York to break into a solo career. Brown Eyed Girl was the single that broke his name out in the states. It seems that the wigs wanted to make Van into some sort of Neil Diamond type of character at that point.. but Van had different ideas all together.
Astral Weeks is a labor of love, and Van had to work some magic just to get this off the ground (the #1 single with Brown Eyed Girl helped..) this record had no radio hits, yet was crucial in establishing Van Morrisons style from there on in.
What makes this record a cut above any of his other work, is the fact that it has a raw feeling to it, yet is extremely proffesional. Van took the bar way beyond rock and roll here, dipping into folk sounds from the old country... something NO ONE was doing at the time.
Now Van experiments with everything, but his earthly taste in music is where he gets his cred... that all began here (and its at its most fresh sounding...true these songs may not have been as pop-worthy as future go-rounds with the same style... but when a performer is really feeling it himself, you can tell the difference... at least you can on this record)
Another thing that should be noted is that the song Madame George was being performed by Van back in his days with THEM. Older versions try it as a rock song, but here it is completely transformed into what it becomes here... and I often wonder if his constant noodling with this song is what became the basis of this record in the first place? Anyway,my point is that, if you consider yourself a fan of Van morrison and have never heard this album before, you've got some homework to do.
Free Music Review: Simply the best of the decade
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought this album when it was first released in 1968.I still have it.I do not play it anymore.I play the cd.I had been a hard core jazzman up to that point.It amazed me.I could not stop playing it.Over and over I played it,finding something new with every listen.The lyrics,the music,unbelievable the mixing of the instruments.How someone so young could have so much confidence in his ability as a poet and a musician.To me,this is hands down the best album to ever come out of the 6o`s. I believed that then and I still do today.I still listen to it reguarly and it still amazes me.The original album goes with me when I head for the other side.Free Music Review: It won't be never dated
Hit: 5 Stars
There is a preview rough review about the lyrics and the oooos and aaaaayyyyyaaaaas that makes Van here. It's all right ma, but there is a wonderful way to listen to this, easier for me than others because I'm born not an english talker... I can hardly understand what Mr. Morrison sings all about, so I let the music flow all over my room, my ears and then my full body, and all I get is a big emotional-thrill. For there is only one low point, Beside You, and it's because of the uninspired arrangements.
You don't have to be a fan of this irish to buy it because it's a must to listen to this disc before you die.
Free Music Review: Seminal Van Morrison
Hit: 5 Stars
After 218 reviews and a solid 4+ average rating not much more can be said about this disc, it is just that good. It is really quite incredible that nearly forty years have passed since this seminal Van Morrison work was released; he's still around offering his Celtic soul to whoever will listen. Hopefully you will listen. Start here to understand the Celtic poet-soul-man. It doesn't get much better than this. Begin by listening to "Madame George," from here you will know if this is for you. What appears at first listen to be ramblings of esoteric themes will eventually unveil itself as the offerings of the beauty in a world gone mad. Van Morrison delivers his spiritual sermon in everyday terms that require attention to detail; the details are in your life. No matter the mood your in if you put this disc on your soul will feel cleansed; it's like Irish Spring for the soul. I'm a musical junkie who has countless stacks of music in various formats, from different eras, from different artists but if I had to pick ten discs to take with me to never have access to the others , this one would make the trip with me. I have some 8,800 tunes and counting(must be selective) on my I-Pod and probably only five Van Morrison discs but this is the beginning and the end; he will probably never achieve what he did with this disc. "Hymms to the Silence" is another disc in this vein and a close second. This disc, "Astral Weeks" is a tapestry without seams, an endless stream of conciousness, exhibiting secrets from within the depths of your inner soul and emotions. Van Morrison has a key that unlocks your innerself, leaving you with a smile on your face in satisfaction for the fact that you are a living and breathing being who grasps life and all it's trials and tribulations. Rejoice in this masterwork, it only comes around every forty years or so by special artists. Free Music Review: I Get Chills Thinking About It
Hit: 5 Stars
I've never read it, but Proust's "Rememberence of Things Past" probably has that same tragically bitter-sweet feeling, and, if not, it should wish it does. Anyway, Astral Weeks is the most romantic, poignant, gorgeous set of psychedelic soul. These don't sound so much as full songs, but more so overheard confessions, interrupted testimonials, random diary readings, all set to sumptuous rhythms. One tune flows into the next, the tempo changes are delicate and nuanced, but somehow jarring. Its self referrential, other wordly, and just so awfully, painfully, wonderfully beautiful. I found this album by chance and, like Miles Davis' Kinda Blue, it just happened to change my life. Its a sad, silly ode to being alive.