Van Morrison: Astral Weeks
After reading American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story for the 3rd or 4th time, I was really interested in what my favourite comedian/social commentator/satirist saw in this album, so I hit up Newbury Comics and grabbed it for 9 bucks. What a steal!Astral Weeks turned out to be one of those amazing albums that I would classifiy on my desert island collection.
After his work with Them, Van Morrison headed off into a solo career and produced his best, yet least known, work. The music. The lyrics. The rise, fall, and rise again of things. The album, as Hicks found, is very cyclical. It is life itself, beginning with birth and ending with death.
On an 8-track album, it's hard to say "listen to these," especially when the album is meant to be listened to, start to finish. But, "Astral Weeks," "Sweet Thing," and "The Way Young Lovers Do" are all quite enjoyable outside of the context of the album.
In the End: If you've ever liked Van Morrison for "Moondance," "Bright Side of the Road," or "Brown Eyed Girl," then go one step further, please. We're talking a desert island disc, something I swore I would not use lightly.
Technorati Tagged: Van Morrison | Desert Island Discs
posted by askani97 at 12:21 PM
2 Comments:
The Van Morrison/King Harvest - Moondance/Dancing in the Moonlight confusion has been going on for 30 years. Van never did Dancing in the Moonlight. The original hit was by King Harvest and covered by toploader. Van did Moondance.
Thanks.
I did the same thing after reading American Scream and it just made the album Astral Weeks all the more poignant knowing Bill listened to it after finding out he was dying. Beautiful album. RIP Bill Hicks.
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