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Versione 5
Rating: Do you remember when you were kids, going swimming in the pool, and at the first dive you got shivers, only to get used to it after a while? Well, this is the impression I got when I first listened to "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison. It may seem obvious to many to define this album as a true work of art, but in reality, when talking about this musical monument, it even seems reductive. It is a bittersweet arrow that lodges in our weak and sensitive human hearts.
But let's go in order: Van Morrison, coming off a very brief stint with Them, absolutely noteworthy, contemplated the possibility of ending his career as a musician. The producers at Bang Records encouraged him to resume what he intended to stop. Thus was born Van Morrison's debut, "Blowin' Your Mind", a very raw album that almost never showcased Van Morrison's expressive talents. Needless to say, our friend was very disappointed by this. He then decided to become a sort of "sweet conductor" of an orchestra, and, armed with his sweet and decisive acoustic guitar, he recorded what for many, including Lester Bangs, is considered the best album of all time...
The immense and inimitable quality of "Astral Weeks" is represented by its expressive freedom, very different from that of the Velvet Underground, who used their provocative nature to outline the notorious underbelly of New York. Van The Man was different, indeed, very different: his was an inspired music, free from any constraints, both textual and "compositional", it was something unique and at the same time accessible, something "human" in some ways, while in others something transcendental. In Astral Weeks, the subjectivity of singer-songwriting and spontaneous jazz improvisation merge perfectly and fluidly, expressed at monstrously high levels. He was free, but without the need to experiment in an "assiduous" and complex way like Frank Zappa or Captain Beefheart. He expressed the freedom of the soul in all its completeness. No one else could have been as spontaneous in "classic" singer-songwriting, probably not even Bob Dylan, with whom he shares this incredible poetic vein and an interest in British literature (in Van Morrison's case, James Joyce)
No need to dwell too much, if this marvel immediately offers us a sweet dish, "Astral Weeks", seven minutes of sound ecstasy dominated by Van's very romantic guitar and the marked presence of an indispensable and perfect orchestra, while the Irishman declares his desire for redemption. Right after the title track, there's a blow to the foot, "Besides You", with more dramatic and touching connotations, where Van Morrison's vocal performance reaches levels of unimaginable expressiveness. Concluding this very heart-wrenching interlude, the tears start flowing... it's time for "Sweet Thing". The first time I heard that unforgettable acoustic guitar sound, I burst into tears: unthinkable that a man could move me in just 30 seconds. Probably my favorite piece by Van Morrison, where the Irishman declares his never-denied love for life. After delighting me with a monstrous track, Van Morrison returns quickly to the fray, with "Cyprus Avenue", personification of the infinite desire of man. The track that certainly "calms the waters" is the most distinctly jazz piece on the album, which is "The Way Young Lovers Do", outlined by the balanced jazz of John Payne's saxophone. This great song takes on further meaning simply because I was listening to it at the exact moment Eden Hazard made Leicester win the championship (PURE BLISS). "Madame George", marked by a PERFECT bass as it progresses, and an almost unforgettable melancholic violin, which strongly underlines the confession, with Van Morrison enjoying himself like a child creating unique folk-jazz atmospheres and recreating the carefree sounds of his beloved Ireland. Another moment (the umpteenth) to be framed is "Ballerina", also the favorite track of the album for @[j&r], whom I wish to greet. An incredible track, where the vibraphone, bass, mandolin, and violin blend together into a single sweet ensemble... The last 3 minutes of "Slim Slow Slider" are nothing but a formality since with this moving track (the eighth in a row, damn what a phenomenon!) he just gently closes the curtain on this immense 47-minute show.
The descriptions of the tracks will probably have been trivial, but when it comes to Van Morrison, it becomes practically impossible to actually describe such a monument. It's like trying to describe the sensation of love at first sight to someone who hasn't experienced it yet.
Now, since I have nothing else to do tonight and since I'm bored, I'll dive back in and feel that thrill of immersion. Good evening to everyone...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Astral Weeks (07:06)
If I ventured in the slipstream
Between the viaducts of your dream
Where immobile steel rims crack
And the ditch in the back roads stop
Could you find me?
Would you kiss-a my eyes?
To lay me down
In silence easy
To be born again
To be born again
From the far side of the ocean
If I put the wheels in motion
And I stand with my arms behind me
And I'm pushin' on the door
Could you find me?
Would you kiss-a my eyes?
To lay me down
In silence easy
To be born again
To be born again
There you go
Standin' with the look of avarice
Talkin' to Huddie Ledbetter
Showin' pictures on the wall
Whisperin' in the hall
And pointin' a finger at me
There you go, there you go
Standin' in the sun darlin'
With your arms behind you
And your eyes before
There you go
Takin' good care of your boy
Seein' that he's got clean clothes
Puttin' on his little red shoes
I see you know he's got clean clothes
A-puttin' on his little red shoes
A-pointin' a finger at me
And here I am
Standing in your sad arrest
Trying to do my very best
Lookin' straight at you
Comin' through, darlin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah
If I ventured in the slipstream
Between the viaducts of your dreams
Where immobile steel rims crack
And the ditch in the back roads stop
Could you find me
Would you kiss-a my eyes
Lay me down
In silence easy
To be born again
To be born again
To be born again
In another world
In another world
In another time
Got a home on high
Ain't nothing but a stranger in this world
I'm nothing but a stranger in this world
I got a home on high
In another land
So far away
So far away
Way up in the heaven
Way up in the heaven
Way up in the heaven
Way up in the heaven
In another time
In another place
In another time
In another place
Way up in the heaven
Way up in the heaven
We are goin' up to heaven
We are goin' to heaven
In another time
In another place
In another time
In another place
In another face
02 Beside You (05:17)
Little Jimmy's gone way out of the back street,
Out of the window, into the falling rain,
Right on time, right on time.
That's why Broken Arrow waved his finger,
Down the road, so dark and narrow,
In the evening, just before the Sunday six-bells chime, six-bells chime
And All the dogs are barkin' way down on the garbage studded highway
Where you wander and you roam from your retreated view,
Way over on the railroad,
Tomorrow all the tipping trucks will unload together
Everywhere the scrapbooks built together stuck with glue
And I'll stand beside you, beside you,
Oh child, to never wonder why
To never, never, never, never wonder why at all
To never, never, never, never wonder why
It's gotta be, it has to be
Way across the country where the hillside mountains glide
The dynamo of your smile caressed the barefoot virgin child
To wander past your window in the lantern lit
You held it in the doorway and you cast against the pointed idle breeze
You said your time was open go well on your merry way
Past the praise and footlits of the silence easy
You breathe in, you breathe out
You breathe in, you breathe out
You breathe in, you breathe out
You breathe in, you breathe out
And you're high on a high-flying cloud
Wrapped up in your magic shroud, ecstasy surrounds you
This time it's found you
You turn around
You turn around
You turn around
You turn around
And I'm beside you
Beside you
Oh, darlin'
To never, never wonder why at all,
No, no, no, no, no,
To never, never, never, wonder why at all
To never, never, never, wonder why it's gotta be
It has to be
And I'm beside you
Beside you
Oh, child
To never, never, never, wonder why at all
I'm beside you
Beside you
Beside you
Beside you
Oh, child
03 Sweet Thing (04:25)
I will stroll the merry way
And jump the hedges first
And drink the clear
Clean waterfall to quench my thirst
And I shall watch the ferry-boats and they'll get high
On a bluer ocean
Against tomorrow's sky
And I will never grow so old again.
And I will walk and talk
In garden's all wet with rain.
Oh sweet thing, sweet thing
Oh my, my, my sweet thing.
And I shall drive my chariot
down you streets and cry
'hey its me, I'm dynamite and I don't know why'.
And you shall take me strongly in your arms again.
And I will not remember that I ever felt the pain.
We shall walk and talk
in gardens all misty wet with rain.
And I will never, never, never grow so old again.
Oh sweet thing, sweet thing.
My, my, my, my, my sweet thing.
And I will raise my hand up
into the night cloud's sky.
And count the stars shining in your eye.
Just to dig it all an' not to wonder that's just fine.
And I wil be satisfied
Not to read in between the lines.
And I will walk and talk in gardens all wet with rain.
And I will never ever, ever grow so old again.
Oh sweet thing. Oh sugar baby
Sugar baby, sugar baby, sugar baby.
With your champagne eyes
And your saint-like smile.
06 Madame George (09:45)
Down on Cyprus Avenue
With a childlike vision leaping into view
Clicking, clacking of the high heeled shoe
Ford & Fitzroy, Madame George
Marching with the soldier boy behind
He's much older with hat on drinking wine
And that smell of sweet perfume comes drifting through
The cool night air like Shalimar
And outside they're making all the stops
The kids out in the street collecting bottle-tops
Gone for cigarettes and matches in the shops
Happy taken Madame George
That's when you fall
Whoa, that's when you fall
Yeah, that's when you fall
When you fall into a trance
A sitting on a sofa playing games of chance
With your folded arms and history books you glance
Into the eyes of Madame George
And you think you found the bag
You're getting weaker and your knees begin to sag
In the corner playing dominoes in drag
The one and only Madame George
And then from outside the frosty window raps
She jumps up and says Lord have mercy I think it's the cops
And immediately drops everything she gots
Down into the street below
And you know you gotta go
On that train from Dublin up to Sandy Row
Throwing pennies at the bridges down below
And the rain, hail, sleet, and snow
Say goodbye to Madame George
Dry your eye for Madame George
Wonder why for Madame George
And as you leave, the room is filled with music, laughing, music,
dancing, music all around the room
And all the little boys come around, walking away from it all
So cold
And as you're about to leave
She jumps up and says Hey love, you forgot your gloves
And the gloves to love to love the gloves...
To say goodbye to Madame George
Dry your eye for Madame George
Wonder why for Madame George
Dry your eyes for Madame George
Say goodbye in the wind and the rain on the back street
In the backstreet, in the back street
Say goodbye to Madame George
In the backstreet, in the back street, in the back street
Down home, down home in the back street
Gotta go
Say goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Dry your eye your eye your eye your eye your eye...
Say goodbye to Madame George
And the loves to love to love the love
Say goodbye
Oooooo
Mmmmmmm
Say goodbye goodbye goodbye goodbye to Madame George
Dry your eye for Madame George
Wonder why for Madame George
The love's to love the love's to love the love's to love...
Say goodbye, goodbye
Get on the train
Get on the train, the train, the train...
This is the train, this is the train...
Whoa, say goodbye, goodbye....
Get on the train, get on the train...
07 Ballerina (07:03)
Spread your wings
Come on fly awhile
Straight to my arms
Little angel child
You know you only
Lonely twenty-two story block
And if somebody, not just anybody
Wanted to get close to you
For instance, me, baby
All you gotta do
Is ring a bell
Step right up, step right up
And step right up
Ballerina
Crowd will catch you
Fly it, sigh it, try it
Well, I may be wrong
But something deep in my heart tells me I'm right and I don't think so
You know I saw the writing on the wall
When you came up to me
Child, you were heading for a fall
But if it gets to you
And you feel like you just can't go on
All you gotta do
Is ring a bell
Step right up, and step right up
And step right up
Just like a ballerina
Stepping lightly
Alright, well it's getting late
Yes it is, yes it is
And this time I forget to slip into your slumber
The light is on the left side of your head
And I'm standing in your doorway
And I'm mumbling and I can't remember the last thing that ran through my head
Here come the man and he say, he say the show must go on
So all you gotta do
Is ring the bell
And step right up, and step right up
And step right up
Just like a ballerina, yeah, yeah
Crowd will catch you
Fly it, sight it, c'mon, die it, yeah
Just like a ballerina
Just like a just like a just like a ballerina
Get on up, get on up, keep a-moving on, little bit higher, baby
You know, you know, you know, get up baby
Alright, a-keep on, a-keep on, a-keep on, a-keep on pushing
Stepping lightly
Just like a ballerina
Ooo-we baby, take off your shoes
Working on
Just like a ballerina
08 Slim Slow Slider (03:17)
Slim slow slider
Horse you ride
White as snow
Slim slow slider
Horse you ride
Is white as snow
Tell it everywhere you go
Saw you walking
Down by Ladbroke Grove this morning
Saw you walking
Down by Ladbroke Grove this morning
Catching pebbles for some sandy beach
You're out of reach
Saw you early this morning
With your brand new boy and your Cadillac
Saw you early this morning
With your brand new boy and your Cadillac
You're gone for something
And I know you won't be back
I know you're dying, baby
And I know you know it, too
I know you're dying
And I know you know it, too
Everytime I see you
I just don't know what to do
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