How do you feel about Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks'?

One of the greatest Albums of all time, one of the most daring of it's time, and has survived the passage of time like a maturing Vintage Wine. I can honestly say that I have never, ever, heard anything lyrical that is so unique and adventurous, and it deserves every single accolade it ever received. How it took over 30 years to achieve "Gold" status remains a mystery, and anyone who has never heard has missed out on a great Musical experience.

I first heard it in the early Seventies when I was really into Psychedelic, and visiting Friends it was "slipped" past me when I was pretty stoned. Halfway through the track "Astral Weeks", everyone in the room (who also had never heard it before, except our Hosts) realised that we were listening to something special, so the Album was reset and listened to in its entirety in total silence. Total and utter class.

Well, I was 5 years old when it was first released...so its importance to the music world was lost on me, but as I matured, I became a *serious* Van Fan...and when Morrison performed the entire concert in 2008 at the Hollywood Bowl (with a few changes from the original concert, such as song line-up, extra song verses, etc.) and then released “Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl” last year, I was able to appreciate it as a true music fan--and not a kid.

What a great body of work for the young kid that he was when he first produced it! It speaks even more to what brilliance he has, though I wish I could think of a less ubiquitous word than "brilliant" to describe his work!

It's the sixth best album of 1968, after:

Music From Big Pink - The Band

Anthem of the Sun - Grateful Dead

The Natch'l Blues – Taj Mahal

The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw – Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Cruising With Ruben & The Jets – The Mothers of Invention

I love it. It sometimes feel like a private members club, those who get it and those who don't. I've never known an album divide opinion so much. I think because Van Morrison is a hugely commercially popular artist, he has so many radio hits but to have a so called classic album that is virtually inpenetrable to the average music listener is pretty unusual.