In which the Curmudgeons revisit and marvel over one of the most amazing streaks a performer has ever had in the long history of this thing we love called rock 'n' roll. Belfast native Van Morrison enjoyed chart success early on in the mid-1960s with the hits "Gloria" and "Brown Eyed Girl" but then fell back into obscurity for a couple years before re-emerging with a mixture of bravado, introspection and poet's soul to embark on an extraordinary six-plus-year streak of artistic and eventually commercial mastery. He dropped one of the greatest albums of all time, the heavenly folk-jazz meditation Astral Weeks, in 1968. When the album bombed commercially, Morrison pivoted and spent the next several years blessing the world with a startling yet often rapturous brand of "blue-eyed" soul music that captured the world's imagination and propelled him to superstardom. We cover this whole period of Morrison's in detail--and with tremendous excitement.
Enjoy the music of Van Morrison by accessing our special Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5RE1t7yvh12UfRvmOam12W?si=30961af58cfc4a29
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(00:52 - 03:46) - Arturo Andrade sets the parameters for our discussion of Van Morrison
(04:42 - 26:03) - The Parallell Universe, in which we review new albums from Courtney Barnett and Angine de Poitrine
(27:02 - 57:23) - We tell Morrison's origin story and them explore his albums Astral Weeks, Moondance, His Band and the Street Choir and Tupelo Honey
(58:31 - 01:24:28) - We discuss the Morrison albums Saint Dominic's Preview, Hard Nose the Highway, ...It's Too Late to Stop Now...Vol. 1 and Veedon Fleece. We also contemplate Morrison's artistic legacy.
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Co-written and co-produced by Arturo Andrade and Christopher O'Connor - The Curmudgeons
