Van Morrison is 75 today. But is he resting and enjoying a well earned retirement? Oh no. Instead the old curmudgeon is one of the few artists of his stature preparing to do some live gigs, whilst also taking a pot shot on his website at the ‘pseudo science’ informing the continuing lockdown. Rave on Van!

But no matter – what a career he’s had; what music he’s created. Truly one of the greats.

Anyone who cares to post some more videos of the great man please do; he seems to have eased up on getting everything on the internet taken down and there is plenty out there. Here he is with the superb Donal Lunny.

Track 7 on 1974’s Veedon Fleece stands as everything that is great about Van Morrison, mysterious about his art and in its own way proof positive for those who find him utterly unapproachable. I have read of the obsessions that others have had with various songs and albums, claims that listeners are on their third copy since the groove was so worn. These claims have often made me feel like a pretender, a dilettante – until I come to Cul De Sac. I never tire of listening to it – listening to everything in it with confidence that its peculiar greatness will never pall. I have no great certainty about what Morrison is on about here. Lyrically, it is bizarre, as odd as anything in his very odd ‘catalogue’ ( and what a strangely typical Morrisonian word that is); it is as strange as anything on the unremittingly strange ‘Common One’ album and is, in fact, I think a completely autobiographical song about his own sense of his autistic ( I say this with love) otherness. It is, in some ways, the bleakest song he has ever written yet he does not communicate bleakness in his performance which is determined, » Continue Reading.

Van Morrison should be right up my avenue. But he wasn’t. For years. To be fair, I was only 12 years old when Astral Weeks came out but, in the early seventies, he was, as they say, right in my wheelhouse. But, for whatever reason, I didn’t bite.

Fourteen years, and 11 albums later, I paid attention.

Bob Harris played this song as a pre-release from the Beautiful Vision album. I was lying on my sofa, headphones on. Despite the sofa, I was floored.

Since then, I have bought everything. I have seen him many times (not a duff gig, thanks,) and love his music.

So, what will you admit to coming late to? What was the track that did it?

Still not smiling……….

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have fed the contents of the Van Morrison thread into the mainframe computer and the results are in. A few rules of engagement. I only allowed five songs per person (sorry, Owlsley). However where people indicated a clear change of mind I allowed it, because that’s the kind of guy I am. Where people indicated a specific live or alternative recording I noted it as such; otherwise I assumed it was the original studio recording. I took the lists in the order presented, with five points for the first down to one for the last. I realise not everyone was specific about the order so I also totted up the number of votes, and guess what – it hardly made any difference. This may be worth bearing in mind should anyone be foolish enough to do one of these in the future. In all 45 of us voted, with 220 votes for 101 tracks. A fair spread. Well over half were chosen by just one person. However there was a clear winner.

Full details in the comments below

This is a long-ish post which you may not be arsed to read all the way through, so let me draw your attention to the fact that at the end there is a call-out for yet another Afterword a list.

It’s turning out to be a pretty good year for Van Morrison. He turns 70 this weekend and is celebrating with two hometown gigs on Cyprus Avenue. He released his Duets album which whilst hardly his greatest hour was well received and appears to have sold well. Almost his entire back catalogue is finally available again after a ludicrous hiatus. He has been knighted. And knocking all of that into a cocked hat, in recent weeks there have been many posts in praise of him here on the Afterword. So here’s another one. I have been listening to Van for over 40 years. I remember watching and marvelling at an Old Grey Whistle Test broadcast of a live Caledonia Soul Orchestra performance sometime in the mid 70s. My main source for finding music then was the record section of my local library. This led to some fairly quirky introductions to many of the greats. I didn’t hear Astral Weeks or » Continue Reading.