Moondance

iTunes Review

 After the sprawling acoustic jazz and folk genius of 1968’s Astral Weeks, it was expected that the R&B-based singer would settle down with something a bit more accessible for his follow-up. 1970’s Moondance remains one of the era’s most durable recordings and an essential Van Morrison showcase. Here, the Irish troubadour turns out the expected expert R&B with the requisite back-up horns needed to get the job done. The title track has become a jazz standard, while “Into the Mystic” is Morrison’s spiritual musical quest compressed into a few short minutes of pure transcendence. “Crazy Love” finds Morrison chasing the soul of Curtis Mayfield. “And It Stoned Me,” “Caravan” and “Brand New Day” offer sweet praise to the healing properties, respectively, of water, radio and nature. With Morrison, it’s never so much what he says but how he says it. What could come across as the seeds of new age utopianism displays a tougher side throughout. This is Morrison the soul singer in his prime.