Van Morrison

Sweet thing is an all timer, this album is incredibly authentic

I am surprised out of all the Folk and Folk-adjacent artists I have heard, I never really dug into Van Morrison despite being familiar with him for easily 3 or 4 years now. As I always say, better late than never to get into this music and I guess now is the time for me to finally hear Astral Weeks. This album doesn't even compare to Moondance for myself but is a good showcase of Van Morrison doing more long and drawn out pieces rather than the short yet impactful songwriting of Moondance. Each of these tracks feel like their own short stories as they are filled with some beautiful acoustics and that signature Van Morrison vocals. This album can definitely feel like a bit of a drag because of how long the average song is here, but I think it is worth the full admission of the 46 minute runtime. It makes for an experience you don't often see in Folk music as a whole, yet somehow really works. While Astral Weeks didn't blow me away by any means, it is a pretty impactful album in the general umbrella that is Folk as a whole as it shows the music can be more than short spurts and can withstand long and meaningful runtimes.

Van Morrison believed he deserved more fame. To be bigger than the stones. Maybe he was onto something.

Not a bad album

A perfectly soulful live album, with great arrangements and song selection. Van in superfine form

Irish soul poured out on this record

Keeps you in the same melodic mood from the beginning until the end

An interesting album where Van really explores his jazzier side. Some good stuff in here, but Moondance is better.