Van Morrison Revisits "Astral Weeks"

[mjzee]

Van Morrison says he never listens to his own albums after he oversees the final steps of the recording process, and when we spoke last month, Mr. Morrison told me he probably hadn't listened to the original "Astral Weeks" from beginning to end in 40 years. But last November he did revisit his acclaimed 1968 masterpiece, performing it at two sold-out concerts in Los Angeles. "Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl," the new recording made from those shows, captures a fascinating performance by an incomparable artist.

During our phone conversation, Mr. Morrison, now 63 years old, was in a lively mood, seemingly energetic and enthusiastic, his biting humor muted. With a flip remark, he tried to conceal where he was calling from (Bath in southwest England, it turns out), and when I asked him why he decided to revive "Astral Weeks," he said he wanted "to get a grip on the fact that the thing was ignored the first time around." Then he added that he wanted to get his "own mileage out of it," perhaps referring to his new label, Listen to the Lion Records, which released the live recording today. (Nor has he again relegated "Astral Weeks" to his past. He and the musicians who appeared at the Hollywood Bowl will be performing the music in New York this weekend and on March 3 and 4. See www.vanmorrison.com for details.)

More here:

Van Morrison

[.:.impossible]

I heard a couple of tracks on the radio yesterday and remembered how much I liked listening to Astral Weeks. This was before I knew who Richard Davis, Connie Kay, Warren Smith were...

It would be great if Richard Davis could make the gig in NYC.

[Chuck Nessa]

and when I asked him why he decided to revive "Astral Weeks," he said he wanted "to get a grip on the fact that the thing was ignored the first time around."

[BruceH]

and when I asked him why he decided to revive "Astral Weeks," he said he wanted "to get a grip on the fact that the thing was ignored the first time around."

Yeah, that stood out for me too. Is he completely nuts, or what?

[JSngry]

Well, it was not a hit by any stretch of the imagination, was it? Not compared to what would soon follow. I read that it didn't even make the Billboard album charts or something! Hell, it didn't even go gold until 2001. Critical acclaim from the git-go, yeah. but like they say, that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee...

We're talking an almost 40 year gap here. Surely not all of those 40 years constitute "the first time around"?

[RDK]

Jim is absolutely correct: it was not a hit record at first.

[WorldB3]

Good time to revisit one of the the greatest record reviews of all time by Lester Bangs on this record.

http://personal.cis.strath.ac.uk/~murray/astral.html

[BruceH]

I love that Stranded book. An old, old favorite.

[Ken Dryden]

Pardon me, but I'll ignore Van Morrison this time around, too. I've never liked his singing.

Nothing is more pathetic than his attempts to sing on a Chet Baker DVD, reading the words off the sheet music, as does the much overhyped Elvis Costello.

[felser]

I love that Stranded book. An old, old favorite.

Greil Marcus ROCKS. I love the 'Mystery Train' book.

[kenny weir]

Pardon me, but I'll ignore Van Morrison this time around, too. I've never liked his singing.

Nothing is more pathetic than his attempts to sing on a Chet Baker DVD, reading the words off the sheet music, as does the much overhyped Elvis Costello.

This is wide-ranging forum for jazz fans, many of whom have wide-ranging tastes. Grateful Dead, prog rock, Van Morrison, Heart Attack, Flipper, Black Flag, Sonic Youth - and a whole load more. Doesn't mean you have to express your distaste every time someone you don't dig gets some O cyber time.

[felser]

Well, it was not a hit by any stretch of the imagination, was it? Not compared to what would soon follow. I read that it didn't even make the Billboard album charts or something!

Correct, it did not make the Billboard Top 200 album charts at all. 'Moondance' went to #22. Morrison has only ever had one top 20 album, "St. Dominic's Preview", which made #15.

[felser]

Pardon me, but I'll ignore Van Morrison this time around, too. I've never liked his singing.

Nothing is more pathetic than his attempts to sing on a Chet Baker DVD, reading the words off the sheet music, as does the much overhyped Elvis Costello.

This is wide-ranging forum for jazz fans, many of whom have wide-ranging tastes. Grateful Dead, prog rock, Van Morrison, Heart Attack, Flipper, Black Flag, Sonic Youth - and a whole load more. Doesn't mean you have to express your distaste every time someone you don't dig gets some O cyber time.

But the beauty of an open forum is that you have the freedom to express your distastes! I admire Costello for turning five good years of music ('77-'82) into a 30+ year career and a marriage to the lovely and talented Diana Krall.

Edited March 1, 2009 by felser

[Chuck Nessa]

Jim is absolutely correct: it was not a hit record at first.

As a record retailer at the time, I shoved hundreds of 'em into bags. It was huge in any store I was working.

[felser]

Jim is absolutely correct: it was not a hit record at first.

As a record retailer at the time, I shoved hundreds of 'em into bags. It was huge in any store I was working.

Probably did well in the large urban markets that would have had "underground" radio stations like Chicago, where I believe you were. Probably never got heard in the hinterlands which were still exclusively AM Top 40 stations. I was even in a city that had a good underground station (Cincinnati, WEBN), and I don't remember hearing it, though I was 13 years old and would not have liked or understood it if I had heard it. Not sure how much I actually like or understand it even now, but I do admire it.

Edited March 1, 2009 by felser

[Chuck Nessa]

Nope. Talking about college towns. Bloomington, Madison, etc. That's where these records sold.

[felser]

Nope. Talking about college towns. Bloomington, Madison, etc. That's where these records sold.

Gotcha. Makes sense. Were there college radio stations playing it in those towns, or was it word of mouth and the fledgling rock press? I shudder to think what someone like Jon Landau would have done in a review of that one.

Edited March 1, 2009 by felser

[kenny weir]

Pardon me, but I'll ignore Van Morrison this time around, too. I've never liked his singing.

Nothing is more pathetic than his attempts to sing on a Chet Baker DVD, reading the words off the sheet music, as does the much overhyped Elvis Costello.

This is wide-ranging forum for jazz fans, many of whom have wide-ranging tastes. Grateful Dead, prog rock, Van Morrison, Heart Attack, Flipper, Black Flag, Sonic Youth - and a whole load more. Doesn't mean you have to express your distaste every time someone you don't dig gets some O cyber time.

But the beauty of an open forum is that you have the freedom to express your distastes! I admire Costello for turning five good years of music ('77-'82) into a 30+ year career and a marriage to the lovely and talented Diana Krall.

Sure - no problem. Just seems a time-consuming way of affirming one's own good taste.

[Hot Ptah]

I heard a couple of tracks on the radio yesterday and remembered how much I liked listening to Astral Weeks. This was before I knew who Richard Davis, Connie Kay, Warren Smith were...

It would be great if Richard Davis could make the gig in NYC.

It is interesting to read Richard Davis' interview comments about Astral Weeks over the years. To sum them up, he never expresses much enthusiasm about it. He has commented that Van Morrison kept to himself throughout the session, sitting physically apart from the other musicians and not speaking to them. He has expressed surprise at how interviewers keep bringing the album up over the years, how it never seems to be forgotten.

[Hot Ptah]

Pardon me, but I'll ignore Van Morrison this time around, too. I've never liked his singing.

Nothing is more pathetic than his attempts to sing on a Chet Baker DVD, reading the words off the sheet music, as does the much overhyped Elvis Costello.

I am not a huge fan of Morrison or Costello, but I thought that the Costello/Chet Baker combination on the "Shipbuilding" track was very effective.

[RDK]

Pardon me, but I'll ignore Van Morrison this time around, too. I've never liked his singing.

Nothing is more pathetic than his attempts to sing on a Chet Baker DVD, reading the words off the sheet music, as does the much overhyped Elvis Costello.

Just more pretentiousness from the jazz cognoscenti. Personally I'll take Morrison's oeuvre over Baker's any day.

[jlhoots]

Astral Weeks was / is one of the great records of the 60's, & I've been listening to it since it came out.