Released in 1970, Moondance was Van Morrison’s third solo
album and was also the album that helped establish him as a major artist in the
music world. Following on from the highly regarded Astral Weeks, Morrison would move further away from that particular
albums folk orientated sound towards a greater blend of R&B, soul, jazz,
and folk rock on Moondance. This stylistic change of direction
would ensure that he found his niche as a musician and the sound he would
become best known for.
In what many regard
as his magnum opus, Moondance not
only contains some of Morrison’s best songs, but it also sees Van at his most
soulful as he delivers the songs like a man possessed. Right across the album
Morrison’s vocals are sublime and include some of his best performances as he
pushes his vocals to the limit. There is the pastoral folk rock of “And It
Stoned Me”, the rhythm and blues like “These Dreams of You”, the soul of
“Caravan” and “Brand New Day”, and the jazz of Moondance. All of these songs
contain amazing vocals, especially during the hook or chorus where Van lets rip
with that distinctive range of his pushing the boundaries of what is possible
vocally. As you listen you often get the feeling he has reached his maximum
range and has gone as far as he can reach with some notes, but then he takes it
even further to another level by at which stage you just sit back and admire
the vocal prowess of this man.
There are really no
weak moments, or tracks on this album and on every instance Morrison nails his
delivery giving everything to each song and meaning every word he sings. The
way he moves between a soft pastoral sound to a rough edged soulful sound on
different tracks also gives the album a much needed varied feel between soft
and loud moments, and ensures that for the listener this album isn’t just an
explosion of soul coming at you at full blast. Van’s amazing vocals are also
accompanied by some nice touches of semi-acoustic guitar playing, female
backing singers, and a wonderful horn section all of which lend themselves well
to the songs and are one of the highlights of the album for me.
Moondance
for me is Van
Morrison’s best album, while his vocal performance on it surely must be one of
the greatest in popular music history. The effort he puts into every song and
the range he displays whether it be his softer side such as on “Crazy Love”, or
his full on soulful side “Glad Tidings” helped establish him as one of the
premier British R&B/soul singers for the rest of the decade, and ensured
that he would have a highly successful and respected career from then on. If
you want an album that represents classic Van Morrison then this is it, he made
other good albums to but this one in my opinion is a touch above the rest in
terms of singing ability and what he could achieve vocals wise. Moondance is an amazing exhibition of
R&B and soul singing, and is a must listen for anyone who can appreciate quality
singing and soul. And this has soul, plenty of SOUL!
A+
- Sam
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