^^thought this post was gonna be by bimble
― Because it's a snow machine (deej), Tuesday, 11 November 2008 09:59 (fifteen years ago) link
Funny how so many people agree they can't listen to the entire album regularly, but only their favorite parts. Also funny how we can't agree on what the "good parts" are.
― Cunga, Tuesday, 11 November 2008 10:20 (fifteen years ago) link
good stuff herehttp://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/article/2015/03/24/van-morrison-astral-weeks/“The untold story of how Van Morrison fled record-industry thugs, hid out in Boston, and wrote one of rock’s greatest albums.”
― tylerw, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 14:32 (nine years ago) link
That's a pretty great story. And I wish the money, time, and energy that went into "Astral Works Live!" a few years ago had instead gone into releasing these tapes:
During one of these Catacombs performances, Morrison’s new friend Peter Wolf set up a tape recorder in the corner, capturing the entire concert on a reel-to-reel. Morrison performed nearly all of Astral Weeks these nights with the Boston trio, and Wolf has the audio to prove it. The existence of the tapes has become, for Morrison fans, a kind of holy grail. When I asked Wolf if anyone has ever heard the recordings he made, Wolf paused for a moment. “Not,” he finally said, “for a very, very, very long time.”
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 24 March 2015 14:50 (nine years ago) link
yeah that is crazy. wonder if we'll ever get to hear that?
― tylerw, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 14:51 (nine years ago) link
there was a bit in an old boston phoenix article on wolf's apartment --"Walls of music and books, art, antiques (he has a 1955 Seeburg jukebox in mint condition, for one). Mementos everywhere, some more obvious than others: zebra shoes from J. Geils's 'Sanctuary' tour; a tape reel sitting on a stack of books with the first recorded version of songs that would end up on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks."take care of that reel, dude!
― tylerw, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 14:53 (nine years ago) link
little bit more from the author of the boston magazine piecehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/CA3ucCMWUAAFKyN.jpg
― tylerw, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 15:11 (nine years ago) link
Instead we get Van's new duets album, which this critic actually liked. Not sure if any Astral Weeks songs are redone on it.
http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/take-two-van-morrisons-duets/
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 15:14 (nine years ago) link
Not sure about several things after reading that...but will check it out (glad she mentioned his early solo stuff; Bang Masters is pretty fun).
― dow, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 15:26 (nine years ago) link
who knows, i've been pleasantly surprised by the 21st century van i've heard (but my expectations have been low)
― tylerw, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 15:27 (nine years ago) link
Also, speaking of duets, some good 'uns with John Lee Hooker (incl. on the Hook's great kosmic house party Never Get Out of These Blues Alive).
― dow, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 15:28 (nine years ago) link
They were right behind my head on the bookshelf in his place the whole time.
"HEY PETER, LOOK OVER THERE!" (yoink!)
Major missed opportunity.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 24 March 2015 15:30 (nine years ago) link
some supplementary stuff from the author: http://ryanhamiltonwalsh.tumblr.com/post/114507400511/venturing-in-the-slipstream
― tylerw, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 17:58 (nine years ago) link
Great article! So much more revealed in 2 pages than the entire Boston section of the Clinton Heylin Van bio. I hope Foyle's working on a book - seems like he's got tons more.
― Brio2, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 18:11 (nine years ago) link
I mean Walsh
― Brio2, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 18:12 (nine years ago) link
yeah seems like he wants to expand it -- for a guy as famous as van morrison, a lot of his life is pretty murky. also important- janet planet's etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/lovebeadsbyjp
― tylerw, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 18:18 (nine years ago) link
^^Ha! I dug out Tupelo Honey last night and got to thinking about what happened to her after seeing all those photos of she & Van together in the artwork.
― Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Tuesday, 24 March 2015 18:50 (nine years ago) link
can't say "selling love beads on etsy" is a huge surprise twist ending to the janet planet story. it's not exactly m night shyamalan territory.
― Brio2, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 19:31 (nine years ago) link
i've been listening to the duets record a lot for... reasons. anyway it's pretty all right overall but still feels kind of unnecessary, as i'd say the original production and instrumentation of the '80s and '90s songs he revisits is part of their appeal. low point is joss stone kinda just dully bleating over "wild honey," one of my favorite van songs.
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Tuesday, 24 March 2015 19:33 (nine years ago) link
Not looking forward to hearing Buble with him.
That Walsh article is a great read.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 14:51 (nine years ago) link
that's one of the better ones tbh, but it's because "real real gone" is a great enough song to withstand buble
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Wednesday, 25 March 2015 15:58 (nine years ago) link
Buble's "Moondance," which my sister used to blast 10 years ago, is not terrible.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 25 March 2015 16:18 (nine years ago) link
trying to think of any really outstanding van covers (that aren't "gloria") ... i guess bowie's here comes the night qualifies, though van didn't write it.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 16:27 (nine years ago) link
huh, that's interesting - he writes one song that everyone in the world covered, then nobody ever covers him again.
― Brio2, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 16:34 (nine years ago) link
i mean - that's pretty common for one-hit wonders I guess but odd for a guy held up as a great songwriter with dozens of albums in the same league as often-covered dudes like Neil Young and Leonard Cohen
― Brio2, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 16:37 (nine years ago) link
i guess i'm ok w/ the mellencamp/ndegoecello wild nights... robyn hitchcock does a couple of nice veedon fleece covers
― tylerw, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 16:42 (nine years ago) link
Sandy Dirt (an Al Larsen spinoff band iirc) does a very nice version of "Slim Slow Slider", not on Youtube though
I also see that Peter Laughner covered that on his "last tape"
― sleeve, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 16:55 (nine years ago) link
that article is fascinating btw
I've probably listened to Veedon Fleece and the Bang sessions records more than anything at this point. I overdosed on Astral Weeks at one point and don't pull it out much any more - though I did a late night long drive at Xmas with Astral Weeks blasting as my family somehow slept and it was fantastic. TB Sheets and the O.G. Madame George on Bang still kill me every time.
― Brio2, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 17:06 (nine years ago) link
I put Astral Weeks on last night and read parts of that (un-fucking-believably great) Bangs essay to my wife, we got choked up
― sleeve, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 17:11 (nine years ago) link
bangs also did notes for the 2-record reissue of Them albums, but even better (cos more music) is the 2-CD The Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison, which about spoiled me; couldn't go back to his solo career for a while. Nevertheless, besides the ones already mentioned here recently, his '74 double-live with the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, Too Late To Stop Now is a must; ditto St. Dominic's Preview, Into The Music, and, while it isn't quite up to those standards, Wavelength is good too.
― dow, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 19:38 (nine years ago) link
here's that bangs essay... http://zito.biz/memorial/lb/bylesterbangs/onThem.htm
― tylerw, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 20:02 (nine years ago) link
re: Covers--Are we forgetting Rod's version of "Have I Told You Lately?"
A bunch of people have done "Crazy Love", including Bryan Ferry(!) on the soundtrack to She's Having A Baby(!!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvbspVa2ZIY
― Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 25 March 2015 20:18 (nine years ago) link
welllllll i was trying to think of "really outstanding" van covers.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 20:19 (nine years ago) link
dexys.
― new noise, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 20:22 (nine years ago) link
lol at paste magazine picking glen hansard's astral weeks as the best one here -- yeccch, not even gonna listen: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/08/10-best-van-morrison-covers.htmlthis is kinda happening though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DxrEt3MtLk
― tylerw, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 20:23 (nine years ago) link
Oh, come to think of it, Maria McKee did a really good version of "The Way Young Lovers Do."
― dow, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 20:25 (nine years ago) link
That Ferry cover isn't that bad.
The Dexys' "Jackie Wilson" is aces.
― Don A Henley And Get Over It (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 25 March 2015 20:30 (nine years ago) link
McKee also did a pretty great version of "My Lonely Sad Eyes."
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 25 March 2015 20:36 (nine years ago) link
does art garfunkel's "i shall sing" count, being the first-released/definitive version? such a banger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoktzdzCwMg
― J. Sam, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 21:10 (nine years ago) link
more like asstral squeaks (farts)
― ienjoyhotdogs, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 21:35 (nine years ago) link
lock thread
― tylerw, Wednesday, 25 March 2015 22:42 (nine years ago) link
Astral Weeks (1968)- With the chance to make his own record, Morrison came up with this, basically soft rock recorded with jazz musicians (including the Modern Jazz Quartet's Connie Kay on drums). Which might sound not too different from what Simon & Garfunkel were doing at the time, but where Simon's work is carefully composed, arranged and produced, Morrison relies on sponaneity. The liner notes brag that Morrison cut the album in two days, and you know, it sounds like it: the lyrics are stream of consciousness, and usually the tunes seesaw endlessly between two or three chords. The musicians sound like they don't know what he's getting at, and the fact that most of the songs have no clear melody doesn't help. Morrison's fans often cite this as their favorite album, because there aren't a lot of distractions from his distinctive, half-spoken vocals. But if you're just getting into him, you're probably better off with Moondance -- unless you're a fan of New Age music. (DBW)http://www.warr.org/vanmorrison.html#AstralWeeks
― Jazzbo, Thursday, November 6, 2008 5:01 PM (6 years ago)
lol, i remember reading this review at that site back when i was in high school. didn't quite appreciate its tone-deafness back then.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 25 March 2015 22:55 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be3OkvBZaIY
― sʌxihɔːl (Ward Fowler), Wednesday, 25 March 2015 22:56 (nine years ago) link
xp driving at night to Astral Weeks while family sleeps = sorta perverse, but I can see the appeal
btw has anyone mentioned the Dexy's "Jackie Wilson Said" as a great VM cover??
― bernard snowy, Thursday, 26 March 2015 03:40 (nine years ago) link
.... I see now that they have #playingcatchup
― bernard snowy, Thursday, 26 March 2015 04:33 (nine years ago) link
I guess reading the Greil Marcus book on Van Morrison depends on how much you like or can deal with Marcus's methods
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/books/review/Gerstenzang-t.html?_r=0
“When That Rough God Goes Riding” is more a series of nonfiction short stories than a straightforward analysis. Marcus devotes virtually every chapter to a wide-ranging discussion of a Morrison album, song or live performance. Fittingly, just as the singer peppers his songs with eclectic allusions to Muddy Waters and William Blake, Marcus, too, brings in endless cultural signifiers, the better for us to understand the music. This means comparing Morrison’s version of Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” to Raymond Chandler’s writing: “It begins like the first page of a detective novel, with three clipped, odd bass patterns, like a knock on the door, but with an odd fatalism.” Throughout the book, Marcus also makes reference to artists as disparate as the comic Robert Klein, the director Neil Jordan and the novelist Jonathan Lethem, so that we might get a sense of Morrison’s complex appeal. Mostly, these comparisons feel strangely accurate. Sometimes, as when Marcus compares the music to Bob Beamon’s astonishing long jump, he’s, uh, stretching things a bit.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 26 March 2015 14:09 (nine years ago) link
This is a pretty nice one. Not as great as a '67 soul cover of a Van tune might have been, but I'll take it. Oddly drops the "jellyroll" line. Too dirty?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQbc_f8ACc4
― Brio2, Thursday, 26 March 2015 15:39 (nine years ago) link
That's one of my favorite Van songs -- for me, it's up there with most of Astral Weeks -- and I've always loved Scott's "Are You Lonely For Me Baby?"
This is tremendous. Thank you for posting.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 26 March 2015 16:01 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, I actually stumbled on this cover trying to track down a 45 of "Are You Lonely For Me Baby" - such a great tune.
― Brio2, Thursday, 26 March 2015 16:25 (nine years ago) link