★★★★☆
Preface
Moondance alone is more than enough to eternalize this album. a lot of jazz, soul, blues, Celtic and R&B influences blending in together, I enjoyed it but most of the songs are harder to be taken “seriously” for me. it has great poetry and accurate descriptive arrangements. it’s reverb-y, intimate and dreamlike. a sense of nostalgia, romance, and mystery is always present. the moon, the night, singing, longing. the instruments are weird but their presence glues the pieces together and his vocal delivery is the cherry on top. good album despite not every song on it aging well. it does still sound a lot like the 70s, not that it’s a bad thing but it’s a “period sound” regardless of how good it sounds.
Review
And It stoned Me, upbeat, verbose and bluesy. the lyrics are almost spiritual but still “earthy”. they smell like the countryside. it’s ambiguously mystical, even poetic. I like the arrangement. I’ve had heard Moondance before so many times, it’s one of my two favorites from Van Morrison (alongside Tupelo Honey). it’s effortlessly cool and the horns are unique. it’s danceable, it doesn’t need words to be describe, it just sounds simply joyous. playful, romantic, a light touch of breeze on the back of your neck. it’s celebratory. the rhythm is swingy and the syncopated words alongside the playful melody dance with it perfectly. it’s the kind of song you’d wanna hear in your wedding. I can’t get enough of it, and there aren’t many songs I can say the same thing about. absolute masterpiece. the double bass gives it the dancing 50s feeling, and the flute makes it sound mystic and jungly.
You know the night’s magic seems to whisper and hush
You know the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?
Crazy Love is mid-tempo and vulnerable. the melody sounds a lot like Tupelo Honey! it’s blissful and fearful at the same time. the words are refined.
I can hear her heart beat from a thousand miles
And the heavens open every time she smile
When I come to her, that’s where I belong
it’s a decent breathing section after two upbeat pieces. however, Caravan resets the tone to the initial state once again. it starts jazzy and playful. every element is very loose, the wordings are so spacious. the drum and bass leave a lot of wiggling room for the instruments. vocals are also more expressive so far. Into The Mystic has always been frightening for me for some reason. I always avoided it, it’s too spiritual and transcendental and I fear missing out on the meaning. creepingly enough, I found these lines in the song:
I wanna hear it, I don’t have to fear it
And I wanna rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
Then magnificently we will float
I wish the outro was longer. maybe it is on some live versions.
Come Running has a limping rhythm, the instrumentation sounds goofy, it reminds me of Tom & Jerry or Jerry Lewis. that certain good and naïveté of an older generation. it’s peaceful but ignorant and slightly irrelevant. like a certain lost innocence. lost to confusion, to the crowdedness. to complexity and everyday worries. I like how it ends. These Dreams Of You could not come at a greater time, I just had a dream two nights ago where I woke up in the middle of the night. it took my body several minutes to “believe” that it’s been a dream, despite knowing I’m awake. I burst into tears with guilt, asking myself why I had to wake up and interrupt the dream. the sax solo, oof!
These dreams of you, So real and so true
Go to sleep don’t ever say one word
Close your eyes, you are an angel sent down from above
Brand New Day is slow again, I’m liking how the album goes up and down. I welcome a change of pace here. the piano work is beautiful. the words are uplifting, celebrating the beauty and potential of a new beginning. the choir deserves attention and the instrumentation is bright.
And the sun shines down all on the ground
Yeah, and the grass is oh so green
And my heart is still and I’ve got the will
And I don’t really feel so mean
Everyone definitely explores some new sonic territories! it has a weird array of instrumental textures, the rhythm is weird too. everything does feel tightly coherent though. Glad Tidings is happy. the harmonies start off rather odd but falls into place and starts sounding like Van Morrison after the first minute. it’s too simple, I like the guitars in it.