Van Morrison, 1978.
Hi, Van.
It's 1978 - have you heard of punk and new wave?
Ah, shaddap!
Yep. '78 for Van Morrison was pretty much business as usual.
Love songs, songs of nostalgia, and perhaps most interestingly in this collection, songs journalling Van's spiritual journey.
At this point in time we have meditations on the Kingdom Hall (very Jehovah's Witness, though probably intended to be a bit more generic), Wavelength and Lifetimes (reincarnation, scientology?).
Although searching, it appears Van hadn't quite made it over to the bright side of the road (next album).
Sounding a little Billy Joel-ish (The Stranger had been but recently released), and armed with an accordion (delightfully employed on Venice U.S.A.), this collection surprised me with its slickness - quite a West Coast sheen to it (didn't last, thank goodness - Into the Music, the following album, gets reassuringly back to basics).
I like the vigour of the album, demonstrated by tasty instrumental solos and lustrous backing and lead vocals.
What a hairstyle, though!
9/10.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment