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Van Morrison: Astral Weeks
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In an age when image and self-promotion increasingly dominate the rock industry, Van Morrison remains a proud, belligerent outsider. As an intensely private man and a revelatory performer, he has communicated more deeply within the limits of rock songwriting - and has been less responsive to the obsessional inquiries of the media - than almost any other artist. Ever since connecting with classic American jazz, blues, and gospel music during his Belfast youth, Van Morrison has stayed one step ahead of fellow musicians, fans, and critics. From the explosive teenage days with Them, through the creation of 1968’s seminal Astral Weeks, to the vocal and spiritual experimentation of Veedon Fleece and Into the Music, Morrison has never stopped developing complex lyrical and instrumental visions that defy easy classification. Van Morrison’s status in the rock community has never been higher. Enjoying commercial success, the recognition of a younger generation, and collaborations ranging from John Lee Hooker to Tom Jones, he continues to dazzle and beguile his audience.
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After the dreamy acoustic sound of Astral Weeks, Van Morrison switched gears. For Monndance, he built his arrangements around a powerful horn section, veering more toward the punchy, old-school R&B he loved than Astral's jazzy meanderings. Morrison's singing got more aggressive, too, on the gospel-flavored "Brand New Day" or the glorious "Caravan," the first in a series of tributes to the otherworldly powers of radio. He kept his croony side, though, on the murmuring "Into the Mystic" and, of course, the immortal, swinging title track — a staple of prep schools and lounge acts to this day, and still none the worse for wear.
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Van Morrison stands out in the youth-obsessed, disposable world of modern pop music. A grouchy fireplug of a man, he has earned a loyal following that's always kept guessing as to what direction he'll take next. Since the beginning, Morrison has ignored all fly-by-night fads and in doing so has amassed a timeless body of work. Coming out of Them's primal R&B-fueled Garage Rock, Morrison's 1968 Astral Weeks was a daring, exploratory work that painted a bleak picture of the acid generation, while Moondance (1970) was a breezy celebration of life. These albums have set the stage for an artist who freely mixes soul, folk, blues, jazz, and his native Celtic influences into highly personal, idiosyncratic music. Only a handful of his later albums are masterpieces on the level of No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986), but each release contains at least one brilliant track.
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Van Morrison is an Irish troubadour and 1960s-era rock music legend, best known for hit songs such as "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Moondance." A multi-instrumentalist since his teens, he had hits in the U.K. and the U.S. in the early '60s with his band Them, including "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Gloria." A solo artist since 1966, Morrison has recorded more than three dozen albums and received numerous honors, including induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1993) and the Order of the British Empire (1996). He's known for his blend of folk, jazz and blues and his soulful voice, and his best known songs include the 1970s hits "Wild Night," "Tupelo Honey" and "Domino." His albums since the 1980s have been less focused on pop songs and more informed by an interest in his Celtic roots and spiritual themes, but he still has a solid fan base and the critics still call him a genius. His albums include Astral Weeks (1968), Saint Dominic's Preview (1972), the much-praised live recording It's Too Late to Stop Now (1974), Irish Heartbeat (1988, with The Chieftans), Avalon Sunset (1989), the jazz-infused How Long Has This Been Going On and Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (both 1996), and Magic Time (2005).
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Van Morrison's recognition as a solo artist came after Them had disbanded in 1966 and producer Berns sent the singer a one-way plane ticket to New York to do some recording. Out of those sessions came Morrison's first solo hit--1967's top 10 single "Brown Eyed Girl"--and an accompanying album of alleged "demos" on Berns's Bang Records label called Blowin' Your Mind. A disgruntled VAn Morrison still maintains that the record should not have been released; regardless, it is a superb set that features some of his most fascinating work--including the tracks "T.B. Sheets," written about a friend with tuberculosis, the bluesy "He Ain't Give You None," and initial versions of two songs that would later pop up on Astral Weeks, "Madame George" and "Cypress Avenue."
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Lewis, best known as JPL on "Idol," cashed in his college loans to audition for "Idol" in Hawaii, where his rendition of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" got him through. He went on to win the audience vote in wildcard week after his take on Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation," a performance MTV News called "one of the most memorable in 'Idol' history."
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Astral Weeks