Van Morrison
Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Listen to the Lion Records
5 stars (out of 5)
I could write a book about this CD and its 1968 predecessor - why don't one of you bestow upon me some patronage so I could do just that? - but I'll try to keep it as short as possible.
First of all, get your hands on the original album and listen to it a few times and you'll, hopefully, know why the release of a live version 40 years hence is such a big deal. It's an album that has served as something like a sacred incantation, or a calming, soothing drug, for the mere thousands who have "gotten" it over the years, and it's the greatest work by the world's greatest singer-songwriter not born in Hibbing, Minn.
This album, the live one released in February, marks a return to form for Van who had been struggling on stage with sub-par newer material and bands that weren't up to following him to places he used to go. And this album got this writer out of a serious bout of mind-fog and writers' block earlier this year.
No one else's voice can heal the soul quite like Van's, and all throughout each song on this album there are examples of that. From mumbling and whooping through his harmonica into the mic, to starting a line late so he has to rush to catch up, to hitting high notes with an unmatched sense of drama, to repeating a word or phrase over and over, to spontaneous scatting, to just being silent, Van's arsenal has never been more full.
He imposes a sense of dread and desolation on "Beside You" and "Slim Slow Slider" but leaves you feeling hopeful and strong in spite of it. Nothing is more urgent than his vocal on "The Way That Young Lovers Do," and no one else can sound that urgent while being totally in command.
No one else has written and performed love songs of the structure and feel of "Astral Weeks," "Sweet Thing" and "Ballerina" and no one has done the same for nostalgia and regret as Van does on "Cyprus Avenue" and "Madame George."
There are two non-Astral songs tacked onto the end of the CD, the introspective "Listen to the Lion" and "Common One," which is the middle call and response section taken from previous performances of "Summertime in England," a full version of which would have been more than welcome.
Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Listen to the Lion Records
5 stars (out of 5)
I could write a book about this CD and its 1968 predecessor - why don't one of you bestow upon me some patronage so I could do just that? - but I'll try to keep it as short as possible.
First of all, get your hands on the original album and listen to it a few times and you'll, hopefully, know why the release of a live version 40 years hence is such a big deal. It's an album that has served as something like a sacred incantation, or a calming, soothing drug, for the mere thousands who have "gotten" it over the years, and it's the greatest work by the world's greatest singer-songwriter not born in Hibbing, Minn.
This album, the live one released in February, marks a return to form for Van who had been struggling on stage with sub-par newer material and bands that weren't up to following him to places he used to go. And this album got this writer out of a serious bout of mind-fog and writers' block earlier this year.
No one else's voice can heal the soul quite like Van's, and all throughout each song on this album there are examples of that. From mumbling and whooping through his harmonica into the mic, to starting a line late so he has to rush to catch up, to hitting high notes with an unmatched sense of drama, to repeating a word or phrase over and over, to spontaneous scatting, to just being silent, Van's arsenal has never been more full.
He imposes a sense of dread and desolation on "Beside You" and "Slim Slow Slider" but leaves you feeling hopeful and strong in spite of it. Nothing is more urgent than his vocal on "The Way That Young Lovers Do," and no one else can sound that urgent while being totally in command.
No one else has written and performed love songs of the structure and feel of "Astral Weeks," "Sweet Thing" and "Ballerina" and no one has done the same for nostalgia and regret as Van does on "Cyprus Avenue" and "Madame George."
There are two non-Astral songs tacked onto the end of the CD, the introspective "Listen to the Lion" and "Common One," which is the middle call and response section taken from previous performances of "Summertime in England," a full version of which would have been more than welcome.
It would be reasonable to expect one to detect flaws in Van's approach this far on, but age seems to have only made him better, especially when performing his best work. One hopes this towering achievement makes Van and other artists less likely to stay at arm's length from the great works of their youth.
