Over the years, he’s strangely described it as a “ rock opera,” denigrated the heavily improvised arrangements as “ too samey,” and even declared the young man’s yearnings in the lyrics to be “ totally fictional.” He’d come around to Weeks onstage, performing the album during a run of Hollywood Bowl concerts in 2008 - but with the track sequence completely reshuffled.ĭespite its cool reception in 1968 and Morrison’s waffling opinion in the 21st century, Astral Weeks continues to ensnare new listeners to this day. Morrison still seems nonplussed and insecure about the album. He’d never fully return to the style of Astral Weeks. The results tanked commercially, and Morrison would find a way to split the difference between his experimental and commercial sides on future albums like 1970’s Moondance, 1974’s Veedon Fleece and 1986’s No Guru, No Method, No Teacher to much applause. In its loose swirl of imperfections, the music seems to lift a few inches off the ground. The mostly unrehearsed musicians vamp together in strange, slippery timing. Like any Verve or Blue Note classic, Weeks was recorded almost completely live it was tracked in only three days. Drummer Connie Kay hailed from the East Coast bop legends Modern Jazz Quartet upright bassist Richard Davis had made waves on Eric Dolphy’s 1964 free-jazz classic Out to Lunch!. Without any obvious hit singles, Astral Weeks nevertheless features some of Morrison’s most enduring work, including “Cyprus Avenue,” “The Way Young Lovers Do” and the poignant story-in-song “Madame George.When the singer headed to New York’s Century Sound Studios that fall, he wasn’t set up with pop or R&B session cats, but with jazz veterans. Records the following year and release Astral Weeks in November of 1968.Ĭut in New York City in less than two day, Astral Weeks is one of the innovative and influential albums of the era. He hit the Top 10 in 1967 with “Brown Eyed Girl.” He signed to Warner Bros. “Gloria,” also penned by Morrison, has gone on to become a rock & roll classic.Īfter Them disbanded, Morrison embarked on a solo career. The group scored with such early hits as “Don’t Start Crying Now,” “Baby Please Don’t Go” and “Here Comes The Night,” a Morrison original and the group’s first Transatlantic hit. Returning to Belfast, he formed Them, one of the great British rock bands of the period. In 1960 he joined the Monarchs and toured U.S. By age 11 he had mastered guitar, saxophone and harmonica and was performing with skiffle bands in local dance halls. Warren Smith, Jr.: Percussion and Vibraphoneīorn in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Van Morrison was steeped in the sounds of American blues and R&B from his youth. All selections published by Van-Jan Music (BMI), except “Beside You” and “Madame George” published by Web IV Music (BMI)

Van morrison astral weeks album