Van Morrison Astral Weeks

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TAS Recommended! Rated a 'Best Audiophile Label Recording' in the November 2009 issue of The Absolute Sound!
TAS Rated 5/5 Music, 4.5/5 Sonics in the April/May 2009 Issue of The Absolute Sound!
Astral Weeks is the second studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was recorded at Century Sound Studios in New York during September and October 1968, and released in November of the same year by Warner Bros. Records.
The album's music blends folk, blues, jazz, and classical styles, signalling a radical departure from the sound of Morrison's previous pop hits, such as "Brown Eyed Girl" (1967). The lyrics and cover art portray the symbolism equating earthly love and Heaven that would often feature in the singer's subsequent records. His lyrics have been described as impressionistic, hypnotic, and modernist, while the record has been categorized as a song cycle or concept album.
Astral Weeks did not originally receive promotion from Morrison's record label and was not an immediate success with consumers or critics. Its standing eventually improved greatly, with praise given to Morrison's singing, arrangements and songwriting, and the album has been viewed as one of rock music's greatest and most important records (a reputation the singer himself has dismissed). It was placed on numerous widely circulated lists of the best albums of all time and has had an enduring effect on both listeners and musicians.
1968's "Astral Weeks" remains not only Morrison's masterpiece, but one of the greatest records ever made. A haunting, deeply personal collection of impressionistic folk styled epics recorded by an all star jazz backing unit, its poetic complexity earned critical raves but made only a minimal commercial impact.
"There was no precedent for it in Van Morrison's previous vocal and songwriting success: the bright, rolling pop of his 1967 Top Ten hit, "Brown Eyed Girl"; his earlier spell as the leader of Irish R&B punks Them and writer of the garage-rock standard "Gloria." And Morrison  a notoriously private man for whom singing and songwriting have long been a form of emotional armor as well as release — never sounded as warm and ecstatic, more sensual and vulnerable, as he did on Astral Weeks." - www.rollingstone.com
"Once the needle drops, it's as if the music is being piped in from the heavens. Vocals are lifelike, levels non-fatiguing, and instruments richly detailed." - Bob Gendron, The Absolute Sound, April/May 2009, Issue 192

Features:

• Pressed on 180 Gram Vinyl
• Features All Original Packaging
• Single Pocket Gatefold Jacket with Insert

Selections:

Side A: In The Beginning
1. Astral Weeks
2. Beside You
3. Sweet Thing
4. Cyprus Avenue
Side B: Afterwards
1. Young Lovers Do
2. Madame George
3. Ballerina
4. Slim Slow Slider