VAN’S MOONDANCE

Over time, Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks has accumulated a patina of golden regard. Birdsong flute dances above luminous bass lines and strummed guitar to create a captivating acoustic folk-jazz trip. But Astral Weeks wasn’t a successful album; it brought neither the fame nor rewards the Irish singer/songwriter desired. That process began in earnest with his third album: the celebration of life and love that is Moondance.

Living in a rented house in the Woodstock region of upstate New York, Van Morrison and wife Janet Planet thrived in the rural setting. It proved a fertile environment for Van’s creativity as he worked on the music, lyrics, and vision of what would become his most famous album. The songs are classical pop/rock form, with verse-chorus structures easily followed by those confused by the open arrangements of the previous record. Yet a jazz element does creep into Moondance… a sax break here, a piano fill there. It swings, it rocks, it croons, it yelps in excitement. The secret of Moondance is the way its many influences—soul, pop, jazz, roots, Celtic—are melded into a satisfying whole by Van’s unmistakable voice.

Moondance opens with the exuberant "Stoned Me", both a story and a celebration. In fact, spending time with the lyrics of this song tells you much about the vision and poetic flow of this mystical songwriter. At one level, it’s a story about two kids going fishing and getting drenched by rain. But there’s more. In transporting the singer "like Jelly Roll" Morton, the jazz legend, we’re invited to wonder at the transformative power of music. Water is the theme of this song; a symbol of growth, a ritual of baptism, the lifeblood of nature. "Let it run all over me." Van Morrison may have dabbled in several formal religions, but at heart he is a pantheist. Is that an appearance by Pan in the third verse, the man "with the sunshine in his eyes"?

The title track that follows is a big jump in style.

An infectious, jazzy classic that, according to Morrison, Frank Sinatra could have sung, "Moondance" celebrates physical love with a cheeky combination of romance and carnal desire. Yet the spirit of Nature is ever-present: leaves fall, breezes blow, stars twinkle… counter-balancing the human connection below. His paramour blushes, her eyes reflect the heavens; she trembles inside.

Then another of the stylistic leaps Van Morrison pulls off so well. "Crazy Love" is pure soul. The singer is close to the microphone his very breath emphasises the intimacy of the love song. Classy female backing vocals add to the soul feel.

The earthy influence of The Band is clearly heard on "Caravan", the arrangement featuring the small, tight horn section Morrison so loves. The song, incidentally, features on his brilliant 1974 live album It’s Too Late To Stop Now and again, with The Band, on their farewell celebration The Last Waltz.

Side one of Moondance closes with the superb "Into the Mystic", a fine example of Morrison’s fondness for poetic mystery. A sailor’s journey, a spiritual quest; it may also be about our brief human sojourn on earth before the final trumpet sounds and we return to the "misty" otherworld.

After such a captivating first half, how does side two hold up?

Most excellently indeed. The sprightly bounce of "Come Running" kicks things off cheerfully and the songs flow smoothly towards the final Stax soul-benediction of "Glad Tidings". For now, we’ll leave the other songs as pleasant surprises to discover.

Moondance is such a consistent album there’s no surprise in its appearance on a multitude of "Best Album" lists. The melding of classic soul sounds and inspired songwriting passionately delivered in Van Morrison’s distinctive Irish brogue mean we will be having a fantabulous romance with Moondance for many years to come.

© Bruce Jenkins—August 2022