release date: Nov. 1968
format: cd (1987 reissue)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,54]
producer: Lewis Merenstein
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK
Tracklist: 1. "Astral Weeks" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Beside You" - 3. "Sweet Thing" (5 / 5) (live) - 4. "Cyprus Avenue" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "The Way Young Lovers Do" - 6. "Madame George" (5 / 5) - 7. "Ballerina" - 8. "Slim Slow Slider"
2nd studio album by Van Morrison originally released by Warner Bros. Morrison's contractual obligations with Bang Records was a heavy thorn to get rid off and it had prevented him from performing and releasing his own material for some time [about his dispute with Bang], but eventually he made a more conscious signing with Warner Bros., which basically led him release the songs he wanted to. And what a change in style and sound compared to his work with Them and compared to his debut album released one year earlier.
The first reviews weren't all that positive, but that all changed during the 1970s, and the album is commonly regarded as a milestone of the late 1960s with its original blend of styles, and it has been mentioned by many stars of modern music - if not the very best of all, a highly influential album.
Naturally, the album is included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The album is definitely in my top albums list of the year - for several years I had it fourth... then third, but frankly, today I have no doubts in putting this album at the very top and by that surpassing Hendrix' fourth album Electric Ladyland, The Beatles' White Album and the great debut by The Band - all great albums of 1968. For many years it was just outside my personal top 3 favourite albums by Morrison - surpassed by Moondance and Hymns to the Silence, but it may just be his best. In my opinion, it's an album that only grows with the knowledge of its very existence and essence. Then it may just grow with knowledge.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, The Independent 5 / 5 stars ]
1968 Favourite releases: 1. Van Morrison Astral Weeks - 2. Jimi Hendrix Electric Ladyland - 3. The Beatles The Beatles [The White Album]
