http://i.imgur.com/EZ6lLEI.jpg
Into the Music7th place7 votes, 200 points
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:14 (six years ago) link
big vote jump with the last two
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:18 (six years ago) link
into the music is perfect from start to finish
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:19 (six years ago) link
Yes. I included every album that got votes.
I figured Into The Music would be higher.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:21 (six years ago) link
yeah, figured top 5 for sure
― Gaspard de la Nuit: III. ScarJost (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:22 (six years ago) link
Without giving too much away, Into The Music is probably not weird enough for ILM Van voters.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:26 (six years ago) link
idk man those last two tracks are p weird
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:27 (six years ago) link
i almost voted "steppin' out queen" as my no. 1 track bc it's just a perfectly-arranged, everything-in-its-right-place van song
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:28 (six years ago) link
yeah "you know" is v weird
― Gaspard de la Nuit: III. ScarJost (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:28 (six years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/iZXgDPh.jpg
It's Too Late To Stop Now6th place8 votes, one #1277 points
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:29 (six years ago) link
way too low, best live album i've ever heard
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:29 (six years ago) link
was my #2, has grown even more in my estimation after the recent expanded version
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:39 (six years ago) link
I generally don't listen to live albums and have never listened to that one, though in the past year I've reversed course but I still only really listen to live albums by FM rock bands like UFO & Rainbow
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:41 (six years ago) link
(I do listen to live jazz albums tho)
i guess i should have referred to it as the best live rock album i've ever heard bc once you include jazz, yikes. but joan if you are ever feeling it it's too late is a master class in bandleading, and in also having the best band in the fucking world
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:43 (six years ago) link
The Cyprus Avenue on Too Late to Stop Now is so great I could plotz.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:45 (six years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/grD91Lh.jpg
Common One5th place10 votes, one #1306 points
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:48 (six years ago) link
i was the no. 1, a few years ago i finally scored a copy of this record and it became sort of a ritual to zone out to it once a week; the bookends are so meditative that you feel like you're sinking into something incalculably vaster than yourself
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:51 (six years ago) link
also afaik van never got this fusion-y again so it's v singular in his catalog
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:52 (six years ago) link
It definitely represents the apex of weird Van. I'm usually OK with that but When Heart Is Open is where I get off.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:55 (six years ago) link
I'm going to be curious to hear the Van fans' take on the last couple decades once this poll is complete. I'd only owned Days Like This (not sure why, and it was vv forgettable) and the Mose Allison tribute w/Georgie Famr and Ben Sidran, Tell Me Something.
― nomar, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:58 (six years ago) link
nah man that's the deepest region of the mystic! xp
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:58 (six years ago) link
That one was pretty decent albeit probably too faithful to the source material.
― nomar, Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:59 (six years ago) link
ilm turned me onto Common One maybe a year ago, and I soon found a copy while stuck in san clemente for a few hours. I play it more than any other van album lately, and I am in love with harmonica Van on When Heart Is Open.
― Gaspard de la Nuit: III. ScarJost (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 3 August 2017 17:59 (six years ago) link
Van fans' take on the last couple decades once this poll is complete
Born To Sing No Plan B was a great discovery for me thanks to this poll.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:00 (six years ago) link
Here's a surprise...
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:05 (six years ago) link
Magic Time is really good, Keep Me Singing is solid if not particularly notable
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:05 (six years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/OPzqxea.jpg
Moondance4th place13 votes, five #1452 points
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:07 (six years ago) link
great album that probably suffers from "led zeppelin IV" disease a bit
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:08 (six years ago) link
Yes. Plus side 2 is nowhere near as good as side 1. But not much is.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:10 (six years ago) link
Moondance, you deserve more discussion but we need to move on.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:20 (six years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/u9tAJyL.jpg
Saint Dominic's Preview3rd place15 votes, one #1474 points
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:22 (six years ago) link
straight fire beautiful album
― Universal LULU Nation (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:22 (six years ago) link
This was my #1. Even though I Will Be There, Gypsy and Redwood Tree are minor Van, the others are about as major as he gets.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:23 (six years ago) link
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, August 3, 2017 1:10 PM (fourteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
idk i think side 2 is nearly as good and the tracks don't suffer from the same overexposure. it's a classic album and earned a deserving #1 vote from me
― rock and roll tucci coo (voodoo chili), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:25 (six years ago) link
side 2 of moondance could be blank and that record would still be a masterpiece
I'm a St. Dominic's dissenter, it never seemed in the same class as the others of that period
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:26 (six years ago) link
WILL VEEDON FLEECE BEAT ASTRAL WEEKS
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:27 (six years ago) link
Redwood Tree > Jackie Wilson Said
― Gaspard de la Nuit: III. ScarJost (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:28 (six years ago) link
excuse me "gypsy" is NOT minor van
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:29 (six years ago) link
side 2 of Saint Dominic's is amazing. I learned from this poll that I don't like Moondance very much anymore.
― Gaspard de la Nuit: III. ScarJost (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:29 (six years ago) link
otm
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:30 (six years ago) link
Everyone is one of the best tracks!
― Gaspard de la Nuit: III. ScarJost (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:31 (six years ago) link
But Glad Tidings!
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:33 (six years ago) link
Great rollout already.
― Gaspard de la Nuit: III. ScarJost (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, August 3, 2017 1:31 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Thursday, August 3, 2017 1:33 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
otm x2
― rock and roll tucci coo (voodoo chili), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:35 (six years ago) link
van's records tend to open so strongly that i think i've unconsciously attached their initial notes and lyrics with specific times and places in my life. "half a mile from the county fair and the rain came pouring down" takes me right back to hearing moondance through my headphones while hanging out in my dad's office when i was 15; it was my first van record and it was one of the first times i had encountered a song that seemed to be conveying much more than the simplicity of its text implied. the "doo doo doo do do" in "jackie wilson said" also immediately converts me back into a 24-year-old who was pretty head-over-heels in love, which, even though it backfired p quickly afterward, is a v nice feeling to have preserved
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:37 (six years ago) link
You can probably guess the last 2. They were thisclose until the last day when one pulled ahead.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:40 (six years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/ZNL6h2J.jpg
Veedon Fleece2nd place17 votes, three #1602 points
http://i.imgur.com/l2f4iFI.jpg
Astral Weeks1st place19 votes, 9 #1696 points
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:43 (six years ago) link
696 points
nice/ecin
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:44 (six years ago) link
Recap:12 Hard Nose the Highway--28 points12 T.B. Sheets--28 points12 Tupelo Honey--28 points11 Enlightenment--30 points11 No Guru, No Method, No Teacher--30 points10 Avalon Sunset--33 points10 Angry Young Them--33 points9. Irish Heartbeat--71 points8. His Band and the Street Choir--191 points7. Into the Music--200 points6. It's Too Late To Stop Now--277 points5. Common One--306 points4. Moondance--452 points3. Saint Dominic's Preview--474 points2. Veedon Fleece--602 points1. Astral Weeks--696 points
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 3 August 2017 18:51 (six years ago) link
Veedon Fleece is so good, one of my faves by Van.
― Ich bin kein Berliner (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, 16 October 2018 11:43 (five years ago) link
^agree about Veedon Fleece. Anyway, here's a great version of Bulbs from a German TV show in the mid 70s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFc7uVEYAsw
― that's not my post, Tuesday, 16 October 2018 16:59 (five years ago) link
Jesus, I just got cut nearly in half by Tir Na Nog. I've been reading Peter Matthiesen's The Snow Leopard, which is partly a travelogue of a trek in the Himalaya to study bharal, partly a discourse on the origins of Buddhism, and partly a gentle prayer of devotion for his wife who had died the year before, and it's an incredibly moving book, full of the white light of understanding and humility. The song dovetails so neatly with those themes of finding solace in eternity (albeit from a different mythological viewpoint) and the possibilities inherent in the idea of reincarnation - let alone Van's open, enveloping deliver - it reduced me to tears. Ach.
Regard as one, this life, the next life, and the life between - Milarepa.
― Good cop, Babcock (Chinaski), Friday, 5 July 2019 13:32 (four years ago) link
^Beautiful post. I read The Snow Leopard many years ago - this is making me want to revisit it. One of the great things about ILM.
― that's not my post, Friday, 5 July 2019 22:45 (four years ago) link
I would like to thank this poll for turning me on to Veedon Fleece, what an album
― sleeve, Friday, 5 July 2019 22:50 (four years ago) link
^^^ what sleeve said, this thread made me discover veedon fleece which by now i prefer to astral weeks.
― je est un autre, l'enfer c'est les autres (alex in mainhattan), Saturday, 6 July 2019 06:24 (four years ago) link
^^^Though I would say a lot of it may be that Veedon Fleece is fresher, whereas I’ve had 20+ years with Astral Weeks.
― Mazzy Tsar (PBKR), Saturday, 6 July 2019 13:04 (four years ago) link
You came into my lifeAnd you filled me and you filled meOh, so joyous by the clear cool crystal streamsWhere the roads were quiet and stillAnd we walked all the way to Tir Na Nog
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Friday, 15 January 2021 23:19 (three years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/5gHutpK.jpg
51. Coney Island2 votes, 48 pointsOne #1 vote
One voter otm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn2CeHlKrTw
― Noel Emits, Sunday, 15 August 2021 17:20 (two years ago) link
After all the Covid nonsense, I couldn't really stand to listen to Van any more, but then a few days ago this came up on my YouTube feed and I was conquered one more time. There's actually lots of awesome live Van footage on YT, from loads of different eras, and I've begun to see certain similarities between Van and Miles Davis, especially their brilliance at putting together and leading bands (and of course their wary, guarded, unsmiling public personas). Anyway what a group he's got here - and doesn't this version completely SMOKE the studio recording - and I've never seen a clearer view of his osmotic tongue pressure in full effect, especially on the 'Voice of America' line - he's a master at making the deliberate seem spontaneous. Love the moment when he catches a cameraman moving around behind him and gives him a brief but deadly stare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6oZK004AWM
― Ward Fowler, Thursday, 15 February 2024 14:34 (three months ago) link
I don't know this chap Glen Hansard's music (might be for the best) but this is an incredible story, worth sticking to the end to hear Van's final kiss-off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29abxJgCyOI
― Ward Fowler, Thursday, 15 February 2024 14:37 (three months ago) link