It\u2019s an argument as old as the two records themselves: is Astral Weeks<\/i> the quintessential Van Morrison album, or is it Moondance<\/i>? There\u2019s no shame in coming down on either side of that dilemma, though the answer for this particular listener is, no question, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the mighty Moondance<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The big difference when you get down to it is this: Astral Weeks<\/i> is a vibe record. It\u2019s an all-encompassing universe of its own in which Morrison dazzles you with lyrical flights and passionate singing that mask the reality that his compositions here are so free-flowing as to be, at times, nearly formless. And Moondance<\/i> is an album made up of songs\u2014captivating, astonishing, at times almost unfathomably great songs.<\/p>\n
Opener \u201cAnd It Stoned Me\u201d is both a stone classic, and a beautiful summation of what Morrison is all about: searching out and living inside little moments of transcendence. In this case, the moment arrived on a fishing trip with a buddy, but it could have been anywhere, really. The little details of the lyric\u2014filled with images of water flowing\u2014beautifully complement the rippling piano and the warm, comforting sax as Morrison sings soulfully of his mythic backwoods adventure.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoondance\u201d gives the transcendence Morrison is seeking female form as he sings of his quest for \u201ca magic night\u201d with the object of his affectionate advances. Every arrangement on this album is both loose and precise, organic-feeling and carefully thought out; here the secret weapon is flute, the way it dances around the basic melody and adds an exotic flair to moment after moment across the expanse of this 4:34 masterpiece. <\/p>\n
As if that didn\u2019t raise the temperature enough, Morrison goes into full-on seduction mode for \u201cCrazy Love,\u201d a lovely, pleading romantic ballad whose female background vocals counterpoint his every entreaty, turning the song into a conversation. With \u201cCaravan\u201d we\u2019re back in Morrison\u2019s wheelhouse, mystical-feeling soul-folk music, a precise conglomeration of acoustic elements\u2014in particular punchy, playful sax\u2014surrounding a magnificently memorable wordless refrain (LA-la-LA-la, la-la-LA). Side one of the vinyl finishes with \u201cInto The Mystic,\u201d in many ways Morrison\u2019s theme song. \u201cMoondance\u201d or \u201cDomino\u201d or \u201cBrown-Eyed Girl\u201d might have been bigger hits, but this is the song that captures the essence of his unique aesthetic: \u201cLet your soul and spirit fly into the mystic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second half opens with the bright and sprightly \u201cCome Running,\u201d the horns giving it a bit of a soul revue feel as Morrison adds a touch of swagger to the refrain \u201cYou\u2019ll come running to me.\u201d \u201cThese Dreams Of You\u201d is another upbeat number with an especially warm and catchy sax line, leading into \u201cBrand New Day,\u201d a slower, soaring piece with mystical overtones about \u201clight from the sky,\u201d featuring another rich, gospel-tinged conversation with his female background vocalists.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u201d opens with a harpsichord-and-flute jam (!) before evolving into a rather jaunty Celtic circle dance. An insistent bass line and handclaps form the warm, pulsing heart of closer \u201cGlad Tidings,\u201d whose music backs up its title. \u201cWe send you glad tidings from New York,\u201d sings Morrison, \u201cOpen up your eyes so you can see.\u201d It\u2019s that mystic vision thing, but more than that, it\u2019s an anthem for optimism: \u201cMeet them halfway with love, peace and persuasion \/ and expect them to rise to the occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arrangement after sparkling, buoyant arrangement leaves Moondance<\/i> so infused with the joy of creation that it\u2019s nearly impossible not to smile while listening to it. There is a constant enthusiasm in Morrison\u2019s voice and persona here, a total belief in the value and power of what he\u2019s doing that permeates every note, every word, every carefully considered yet seemingly organic little musical element. Moondance<\/i> is the sound of a great artist in the absolute prime of his creative life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6941],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-44969","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-van-morrison","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44969"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44969"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}