Astral Weeks, Van Morrison, 1968, :47
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I've listened to this album before, all the way through, once, and I didn't get into it. I've heard a few of the songs separately since then, and still nothing But this time, this album finally got through to me. Maybe all the jazz I've been listening to helped me hear it. It's hard to say anything about this album. That upright bass, leading the band, and Van's voice somehow magically blended together in a way that is very rare. I read that Van hated the strings which were added later, but I think they lend an unearthly quality to the songs, as if they aren't jazz or folk or rock, but some heretofore unheard-of blend. This album takes you into the mystic and you're real real gone. Like a sort of enlightenment, and it stones you. Or the healing has begun, and ye get healed. Favorite tracks: "The Way Young Lovers Do," "Sweet Thing."
