Dad's Take:
"If I ventured in the slipstream between the viaducts of your dream"...
So starts Van Morrison's brilliant Astral Weeks. To record this influential album, Morrison gathered jazz musicians who had never played together and began recording without rehearsals or lead sheets. These musicians then played as Morrison sang his impressionistic lyrics.
It sounds like this is the formula for a disorganized mess, but the result is a flowing album that is as conceptual musically as lyrically. Unexpectedly, this album comforted me as my grandmother slipped toward death over a six month period, especially early on when it looked like she would be gone within days. With lyrics about life and loss and "another land so far away, so far away, way up in the heavens, in another time, in another place," sung with Morrison's crying, emotional voice, it made me feel like everything would be okay, even though life would never be the same.
Now, I'm not particularly a fan of Morrison's voice, a combination of Jose Feliciano and, I don't know, somebody else. The biggest issue for me is that he pretty much sings every song the same. But, it works so perfectly in these songs, cascading like a poet half singing, half chanting, and half whining his poems. Yes, I know that's three halfs, but the result is something more than a whole, a brilliantly sad-yet-comforting record that dares you to do something besides stop and concentrate on what's being sung and played.
This is literary music, and yet it remains accessible. It's jazzy folk pop blues masterpiece, not quite fitting any genre but transcending them all, a creative feat that has rarely been matched. It would be pointless to single out individual songs. Although each song is distinct and unique, they meld together into a unified piece, each song able to stand alone but better for being part of the whole. I have favorites, like "Astral Weeks," "Ballerina," and "Madame George" (a rare case where a long song doesn't bore me after four or five minutes), but even those are better in the context of the entire album.
Somehow, this record had escaped my attention until a couple years ago, probably because I thought I wasn't really a Van Morrison fan. But this changed everything and on the first listen became one of my favorite records. It made me rethink my feelings about Morrison's voice, which is still not one of my favorites, but delivers the songs and their message better than another voice could. It's hard to imagine these songs sung any other way. Its influence can be heard in songs by Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and countless others.
This is experimental music that worked at a time when many musicians were experimenting and many were failing. Do yourself a favor and give this one a spin, and really listen. Maybe you won't share my enthusiasm, but this should be a part of everybody's musical education.
Brad's Take:
I've never listened to a full Van Morrison album before. In fact, I think I've only heard "Brown Eyed Girl" before now.
There are some really great songs on this album. It's obviously trying to be a bit experimental at times, but it still has enough pop and folk influence that it's easy to listen to.
Whether he's singing softly or soulfully yelling, Van's voice sounds great. He has lots of emotion in voice that makes the songs that much better.
On first listen, "Sweet Thing" was my favorite.
This review is pretty short and sweet (especially compared to my dad), but there really isn't much else to say. It's a short and sweet album, and it's very worth checking out.
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