“Astral Weeks” by Van Morrison - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1968 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s ● 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

After having been “tricked” into his first album last year, the Belfastian delved headlong into the mystic with this beguiling, dreamy, acoustic-based folksy extravaganza – closest yet to the album that he’d always wanted to make. Warner Bros assigned producer Lewis Merenstein to the project. He had a background in jazz, and his first port-of-call was veteran bassist Richard Davis – an inspired move. Davis brought in his own supporting cast – at all times throughout this LP the synergy between the players is uncanny, most notably with flutes that could charm a king snake out of a chicken farm and a double bass which, without fail, seems to find just the right supporting notes at just the right time. That these tracks were, by and large, borne of freeform sessions, is testament to the quality of the musicians on-board. This allows Van complete freedom to focus on his soulful, stream-of-consciousness lyrical delivery, the results of which are sublime on giant masterpiece tracks such as “Madame George”, “Astral Weeks” and “Cyprus Avenue”. The album is a sensory delight from start to finish.

The Jukebox Rebel
27–Nov–2015

Tracklist

A1	[07:06] Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (George Ivan Morrison) Folk Rock / Americana
A2	[05:16] Van Morrison - Beside You (George Ivan Morrison) Songwriter
A3	[04:25] Van Morrison - Sweet Thing (George Ivan Morrison) Folk Rock / Americana
A4	[07:00] Van Morrison - Cyprus Avenue (George Ivan Morrison) Blues / Rhythm n Blues
B1	[03:18] Van Morrison - The Way Young Lovers Do (George Ivan Morrison) Jazz
B2	[09:45] Van Morrison - Madame George (George Ivan Morrison) Soul Ballad
B3	[07:03] Van Morrison - Ballerina (George Ivan Morrison) Folk Rock / Americana
B4	[03:17] Van Morrison - Slim Slow Slider (George Ivan Morrison) Songwriter

ratings by TJR