Artist: Van Morrison
Album: Astral Weeks
Year: 1968
Van Morrison's Astral Weeks is an album I've tried to get into several times over the years, but it just hasn't really connected with me. Probably the most famous of all pre-U2 Irish musicians, Morrison has a distinctive, bellowing voice, and on this album, he attempts to combine Celtic folk, poetic lyrics, and freeform jazz accompaniment into something wholly singular. And for the most part, he succeeds in achieving exactly that.
The problem for me is that I really don't care for Morrison's voice. I think it works well on poppy songs like "Brown Eyed Girl" (not from this album), but on Astral Weeks, the songs just ramble on more or less aimlessly for six minutes at a time with Morrison's strained voice being the primary instrument in the mix. Some of the accompaniment is really, really pretty (as on "Madame George" and "Beside You") but for me, the whole thing falls really flat.
I really, really wish I liked this album. It seems like something that would be up my alley. The lyrics are interesting and (allegedly) profound and the accompaniment is really well done. I like a lot of musicians that cite Van Morrison as a major influence (The Frames come to mind). But I guess this one just isn't for me. Sigh...
Rating: Not worth a listen
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