Astral Weeks
(4/100 The People's Choice)

Actor Adrian Dunbar talks about Astral Weeks
"Astral Weeks is an amazing album, right down to the photography from Tom Collins. I know Van, because I work with him sometimes, and he is the kind of man who needs to be comfortable around you, but once he is, he’s an incredible collaborator. At the moment the Americans are all going bonkers about Ray Charles. Well, go back fifteen years. Who was working with Ray Charles when he was getting nowhere? Van Morrison.
"I think that collaboration is hugely important in Van’s work, and you can hear that on Astral Weeks. He doesn’t allow the musicians to play the solos to death. If the brass section isn’t perfect during a take, then so be it, but preserve the energy. Don’t rehearse the thing to death. That’s why it still sounds fresh and vibrant, and like all of Van’s work, by sticking with classic rhythm and blues and romanticism, Astral Weeks will always sound current.

Harry Mooney, hotpress.com:
"Astral Weeks is such a unique record. There has never been any other record by Van or anyone else that sounds quite like it. It doesn’t easily fit into any one genre like soul, folk, jazz or blues, in fact it is a fusion of all of the above. The most interesting aspect is that it is not a rock record but still manages to make most rock lists."

Noel Bridgeman, hotpress.com
"If God went into the studio, this is the record he would make."