Astral Weeks (studio album) by Van Morrison

Another great release from Van Morrison that once again demonstrates his wonderfully diverse instrumentation as well as his poetic lyrics. The two tracks that showcase this the best are Astral Weeks and Madame George. Both are absolute masterpieces and display everything that is phenomenal about Van Morrison as an artist. The music on here is complex with lots for the listener to discover if they would like to explore deeper and it is also relaxed and peaceful which makes for a great record no matter how you like to listen to music. Instrumentally, this record is beautiful with strings, saxophones, flutes and many more making up a fantastic array with all members giving brilliant performances with Van Morrison leading everything with a strong vocal display. Despite this, I do find a few moments on here to be quite slow and that does make the record drag a little for me. A few songs are a little bit weaker than the strong stuff on here with Beside You being probably the lowest point. Overall, a fantastic musical album with loads of lyrical and instrumental quality to give you a thoroughly satisfying listen.

an album that is difficult to understand... first of all, it is without a doubt a masterpiece... an unwary listener who hears this album might hate it... but whoever is aware of its quality and has the necessary time, will discover one of the best albums ever...

Incredible album. Poetically powerful and emotionally evocative, although some minor flaws are present, as expected with any work.

I can't say that I love this album now, but it slightly grew on me over time and now I really appreciate these peaceful instrumentals and wild vocals, I still get a little tired while listening to this album, but I get enjoyment out of it, that I haven't before

one of the most emotionally vulnerable and touching albums i've ever listened to, although difficult to understand. while most artists paint with a brush and a canvas, Van does it with words.

Beautiful instrumental arrangements, but the vocals, however great, don't match the songs at all. They destroy all the peaceful atmosphere.

Solid album

From DJFresh-Rock 05/01/2022 19:47

This is a superbly soporific album. Gentle throughout, but without straying into chillout territory - you wouldn't find this on any early-90s moods compilations. Personally, I feel the lack of diversity of the tracks' sounds works in the album's favour, tying together the vibe nicely. Van Morrison has had a long and illustrious career, but it's possible he's never produced anything as beautiful as this record.

Beautiful. Trance-like. Hypnotizing. Like a big pool of pretty sounds.

There are some great highlights on this one, but overall this sounds for me a little too samey and it's hard to stay focused throughout the album. Tracks are too long and after few songs I had enough.