Looking back on Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”

In The Beginning

This album is curious and meditative, it is a classic. The lyrics have an improvised feel, they just pour out of him. The music seems to have a genuine anything-goes approach, and all is blissfully strange. Is this some sort of bizarre Irish mysticism, because it sure doesn’t sound like “Brown Eyed Girl,” and that indeed is a good thing, no, a great thing! Van was a rather young lad when he cut this album in roughly two days; is he often referring to his youth in the lyrical content? It seems genuinely soulful and everything drifts by with such ease, that my balls indeed finally dropped and then some.

“Sweet Thing” has such undeniably delicious string touches that I don’t even know who I am anymore. We’re talking instant hypnosis, ladies and gents. “Sweet Thing” is an album highlight and makes my boner swell in absolute terror based upon the musical rewards that I do reap by each repeated listen, like a motherfucker and then some from beyond the third moon, fucking the center of the Sun with my tail wrapped in your shit and bleeding violently. Now! Moving on…

Afterwards

My second favorite cut is the all-time classic “Madame George.” This is the sort of cut that makes Kanye West look like Andy Griffith on Holiday, sweetie-pants. “Madame George” must be the most autobiographical cut on the album, it simply must! It’s like the dancehall scene in Michael Cimino’s “Heaven’s Gate,” but this time, they are all zombies. It’s like looking at a David Hockney painting, man! Yeah, man! Yeah! Again, an artist so young in his career and in terms of years is somehow able to sound so convincingly world weary is something that is just brilliantly impressive to my ears. “Madame George” is one of those cuts that can be repeated over and over, thanks in part to the lyrical ambiguity and mingled with the graceful instrumentation, including the invigorating violin and Van’s endless guitar strumming.

I must admit that I enjoy “Slim Slow Slider” quite aplenty as well, and this is a cut that ends the record on a curious Jazzy note, and one must certainly admit to as much. All of this quite interesting, since Van’s vocal delivery on this cut is pure Blues. He’s like John Lee Hooker in places, shotguns in suitcases. All is a blissful and timeless musical poetry on this record, and while Van Morrison would go on to have equally impressive outings, would anything ever get as personal or as inviting than what is found here on “Astral Weeks?”

Cheers mate! (Bob’s Your Uncle).

Sweet Thing with Van large and in charge…