Morrison, Van
Astral Weeks
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

Sealed 2017, 180gm Clear Vinyl. "Astral Weeks Is Generally Considered One Of The Best Albums In Pop Music History, But For All That Renown, It Is Anything But An Archetypal Rock & Roll Album. It Isn't A Rock & Roll Album At All. Van Morrison Plays Acoustic Guitar And Sings In His Elastic, Bluesy, Soulful Voice, Accompanied By Crack Group Of Jazz Studio Players: Guitarist Jay Berliner, Upright Bassist Richard Davis, Modern Jazz Quartet Drummer Connie Kay, Vibraphonist Warren Smith And Soprano Saxophonist John Payne (Also Credited On Flute, Though That's Debatable -- Some Claim An Anonymous Flutist Provided Those Parts). Producer Lewis Merenstein Added Chamber Orchestrations Later And Divided The Album Into Halves: "In The Beginning" And "Afterwards" With Four Tunes Under Each Heading. Morrison's Songs Are An Instinctive, Organic Mixture Of Celtic Folk, Blues, And Jazz. He Fully Enters The Mystic Here, More In The Moment Than He Ever Would Be Again In A Recording Studio. Astral Weeks Is A Justified Entry In Pop Music's Pantheon. It Is Unlike Any Record Before Or Since; It Mixes Together The Very Best Of Postwar Popular Music In An Emotional Outpouring Cast In Delicate, Subtle Musical Structures." AllMusic Review By William Ruhlmann