Van Morrison, “Moondance”

Tom Heerman:

This record brings up some memories, vivid and sweet. I was just a 10 year old when it came out, and I could not have cared less. I was aware of “Brown-Eyed Girl,” I think, since it was on its way to 10 million radio airplays (factoid). So I had been exposed to Van’s voice. But it was in about 1976 when I really listened to Moondance. I remember thinking his singing was pitchy and kind of embarassing. He was not James Taylor or Paul McCartney, and I thought that meant he was a bad singer. And I think we all have to make the leap when hearing a new soulful voice. At some point, the things our ears hear as mistakes become art, and the note-bending turns into soul. That happened.

And his creative visions set against the snappy R&B horns and the incredible pop tunes make this record one of the greatest ever. Van was at the height of his creative powers, and sounds supremely confident in his ability to just send out his innermost feelings of love, nostalgia, and dreams. It’s truly a rarity when a genius melody maker is also a brilliant mystical lyricist.

The amazing songs are hard to rank, since they all soar. “I want to rock your gypsy soul. Just like way back in the days of old. And magnificently we will flow into the mystic.” If you don’t yet own this record, you are in for a good stretch of your life. Side 1 is off the charts, every song is a 10 out of 10. Side 2 has two more perfect 10s.

Grade: 33.

Chris McJaggerly:

When it comes to spirituality, I’m a tough sell. An artist who tells me he’s trying to touch my soul generally invokes my gag reflex. Van Morrison is an exception. For reasons I can’t explain, his invocations of the eternal and mystical seem authentic and draw me in. Christ, if Cat Stevens sang “we were born before the wind” and the rest of the spiritual babble on “Into the Mystic,” I would smash in the subwoofers with a Louisville Slugger. When Van sings it, I turn it up and sing along.

I said I can’t explain it, but maybe I can. Partly, it’s gotta be the influence of American rhythm and blues. A saxophone chorus and female backup singers hardly ever feels overproduced or contrived. (Although a flute often does, and on the title track the flute doesn’t bother me one bit.) Partly it’s gotta be Van Morrison’s look. I mean, Joe Cocker came across as authentic — even when he was singing awful 80’s ballads — because he was chubby , unkempt, balding, and ruddy. Van has all the same qualities, and he’s also Irish. Lads from the Emerald Isle always seem to mean it. Partly, too, it’s gotta be the quirkiness. A song about getting stoned on the rain water that washed out your Saturday fishing excursion, and then hitch hiking around (which is a fair description of “And It Stoned Me”) can’t be fakey. In a fake story, something would actually happen.

But mostly, it’s the voice. A little bit muppet and a little bit Otis Redding, with a knack for delivering power or intimacy exactly when required (intimacy, especially on “Crazy Love,” which Van recorded in a whispered falsetto while practically eating the mic). Van Morrison is a brilliant singer.

I absolutely love Moondance. I’m glad Astral Weeks – Van’s critically acclaimed, acquired-taste, impressionistic, song-cycle debut record — was a commercial failure. I’m glad Van moved to upstate New York, decided he’d better write some real songs for his next record if he wanted to make a career out of music, and got down to business. But I’m also glad his spirituality animated the songs.

I give Moondance a 33.

By the way, if you want to do a Moondance drinking game, take a swig every time Van starts a line with “Yeah, and it…” Only he globs the words together, so it’s “Yandit…” It will stone you to your soul.

Connor Johnson:

I always knew Van Morrison was a thing from very early on. He was that guy that all of the neighborhood mom’s liked. “Brown Eyed Girl” was played at the Sock Hop when I was in the 3rd grade.
When I was in high school, I was introduced to The Last Waltz and the Wes Anderson film The Royal Tennenbaums. In both films the Van Morrison scenes were my favorites and they both featured songs off of Moondance. The Last Waltz featuring a standout version of “Caravan” and Tennenbaums featuring “Everyone” in what is my personal favorite final scene in any movie (if you’ve never seen the movie, get on that). “Glad Tidings” is even featured in one of the best scenes of The Sopranos, but I digress. At the time I was not aware that the Van Morrison that was played at the Sock Hop was the same Van Morrison I had just discovered. I love both Vans and I love this album —Moondance is in my personal top 10.

Moondance is a perfect pop album. Beautiful love songs, infinitely catchy hooks, powerful horn sections, seductive backup singing, it’s perfect. I agree with Tom, every song is a 10/10 and some of the songs on side 2 are more than that. I’m most attached to “Into the Mystic,” “Everyone,” and “Glad Tidings.” Especially “Everyone.” I think it’s a hugely underrated song — both in the context of the album and in general. The song is in such a unique time signature — 12/8 I think, which is insanity for a pop song. And the lyrics are delivered in that classic booming-mumble that Van sings that forces you to look them up to figure out what the hell he’s saying. And I love the use of the flute in it too; it’s just such a great song.

I give this one a 33 as well.

Aside:
I don’t know why, but Van Morrison has followed me around since I discovered those films. For whatever reason every girl I have ever dated has had this bizarre Irish connection to his music and all of his music is tied to those memories for me. I know he’s a notable Irishman, but I wasn’t aware that he was “their guy.” I always thought Bono was that guy, and now it seems reductive to think of Van as the “original Bono,” but that’s kind of where I’m at with him.