As i have said before i am totally addicted to Van Morrison. The guy is a genious.
This is vans first solo album Van released when he finally escaped the clutches of Bert Berns and the Bang label.
I think that this album is special because it was the first album that Van could do his own thing on and really lose him self. They recorded each song as live rather than each musician individually so there is a real atmosphere to the album. In some songs the guitars seem to be a little out of tune, but that really just adds to the whole magic of the album. And its all accoustic.
The album is very spiritual, philosophical and poetic which i guess is typical Van the man, but this is the album where he does it best.
Each song sweeps you into the next. Some sweeping faster than others, some making you want to hear them just once more before you allow the track to flow to the next one. When i put this album on i just feel like doing nothing, but listen and listen and listen.......................!
My favourite song on the album is 'Ballerina'. It starts off sounding like a lullaby, very soft and gentle, Then the vocals come in which to be honest dont make a lot of sense as such, but they kind of take your breath away. Its just a beautiful love song. A song that i find my self putting on repeat and listeneing to over and over again for hours. It gives me goose bumps! Another of my favourites is 'The way young lovers do'. This songs rhthym is a little hard to get your head round especially when trying to learn the song on guitar! Van puts his heart and soul into this rather up beat, dark sounding love song which talks about sitting on clouds and dreaming and dancing the night away. I would have to say that the strangest song on the album is 'madame George'. Its strange because its about a transvestite. Its a nice happy fun song, maybe Van looking back to experiences in his childhood?? "Kids out in the streets collecting bottle tops, going for cigarettes and matches in the shops" Which is what they used to do, collect bottle tops and take them to the shop and swap them for money. A very deep song that gets you thinking.
Conclusion:
You will not be dissapointed with this album. It is, by far, the best of its time with every song giving something different,but with the same raw, live, loose, accoustic sound that just makes you drift away and relax while Van does his thing the best he knows how. Mind blownig.
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Never mind that Van Morrison is one of the most indelible songwriters of the 20th ... more
century--take each album on its own terms. On 1968's seminalAstral Weeks, a twentysomething Van Morrison can be found belting his gospelly, bluesy vocals in just as fine ...
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Never mind that Van Morrison is one of the most indelible songwriters of the 20th ... more
century--take each album on its own terms. On 1968's seminal Astral Weeks, a twentysomething Van Morrison can be found belting his gospelly, bluesy vocals in just as fine...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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