25 Albums I Can't Live Without: #2

Van Morrison, "Moondance"

I’ll admit that I didn’t know Van Morrison’s music beyond what the radio played until I got into college. But I can still remember the afternoon that I walked into The Clubhouse on College Avenue to look at a t-shirt or a hat or something and heard “Into the Mystic.” It stopped me in my tracks.

Of course, this was long before iTunes and MP3s and the ability to buy one song from an older album, so I went straight to Best Buy and looked for the CD. I was hooked — and I realized that I knew more of the songs off the album than I thought I did.

“Moondance” kicks off with “And It Stoned Me,” celebrates nature, friendship, the rural life:

The title track is the classic, elegant, jazzy standard about love in autumn:

“Crazy Love” is a beautiful, intimate love ballad:

While “Caravan” likens the musician’s life to the life of a gypsy:

“Come Running” barely dented the top 40. It’s always been weird to me because something feels off on the rhythm.

“Brand New Day” is a hopeful, soulful ballad that draws a bit of inspiration from gospel music.

The album closes with “Glad Tidings,” a buoyant soul track with lyrics that tackle the frustrations of the music industry.

The 2013 deluxe version of the album includes one of my favorite tracks, “I Shall Sing.”

“Moondance” contains a little jazz, a few splashes of folk, and a ton of soul to accomplish a classic rock masterpiece.

Photo credit: Warner Bros. Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons