In many ways Astral Weeks has more in common with jass than rock n roll. Like so many others it will always hold a special place for me.

Here is a great article by Jon Michaud at The New Yorker: Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks” has always seemed like a fluke. In November, 1968, the irascible songwriter from Belfast released a jazz-influenced acoustic song cycle that featured minimal percussion, an upright bass, flute, harpsichord, vibraphone, strings, and stream-of-consciousness lyrics about being transported to “another time” and “another place.” The album was recorded in three sessions, with the string arrangements overdubbed later. Many of the songs were captured on the first or second take. Morrison has called the sessions that produced the album “uncanny,” adding that “it was like an alchemical kind of situation.” A decade later, Lester Bangs called the album “a mystical document” and “a beacon, a light on the far shores of the murk.” Bruce Springsteen said that it gave him “a sense of the divine.” The critic Greil Marcus equated the album to Bob Beamon’s record-shattering long-jump performance at the Mexico City Olympics, a singular achievement that was “way outside of history.”

Ryan H. Walsh’s new book, “Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968,” takes up Morrison’s sui-generis masterpiece and unearths the largely forgotten context from which it emerged. Though the songs on “Astral Weeks” were recorded in New York and are full of references to Morrison’s childhood in Northern Ireland, they were, in Walsh’s words, “planned, shaped and rehearsed in Boston and Cambridge,” where Morrison lived and performed for much of 1968. In documenting the milieu out of which the album came, Walsh also argues for Boston as an underappreciated hub of late-sixties radicalism, artistic invention, and social experimentation. The result is a complex, inquisitive, and satisfying book that illuminates and explicates the origins of “Astral Weeks” without diminishing the album’s otherworldly aura.

What was Morrison doing in Boston? The short answer is that he was hiding out. Stymied but full of ambition, the twenty-two-year-old songwriter had come to New York, in 1967, burdened by an onerous recording contract with the Bang Records producer Bert Berns, who’d worked with Morrison’s band Them, and who had also produced Morrison’s hit single “Brown Eyed Girl.” When Berns died of a heart attack, in December, the contract came under the supervision of a mobster friend of Berns named Carmine (Wassel) DeNoia. One night, Morrison, whose immigration status was tenuous at best, got into a drunken argument with DeNoia, who ended the conversation by smashing an acoustic guitar over the singer’s head. Morrison promptly married his American girlfriend, Janet Rigsbee (a.k.a. Janet Planet), and escaped to Boston….

Astral Weeks is a masterpiece album by the Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1968. It is widely regarded as one of the best and most influential albums of all time, as well as a unique and personal expression of Morrison’s musical vision.

The album consists of eight songs that are loosely connected by a theme of transcendence and spirituality. The songs are not conventional in terms of structure, melody, or lyrics. They are more like musical poems that capture different moods, emotions, and images. The lyrics, written by Morrison, are often abstract and impressionistic, drawing inspiration from his childhood memories, dreams, fantasies, and literary works.

Astral Weeks was recorded in only two sessions at Century Sound Studios in New York City, with minimal rehearsal and overdubbing. The album features a group of jazz musicians who improvised around Morrison’s vocals and acoustic guitar. The musicians included Richard Davis on bass, Connie Kay on drums, John Payne on flute and saxophone, Jay Berliner on guitar, Warren Smith Jr. on percussion, and Larry Fallon on string arrangements. The album was produced by Lewis Merenstein, who gave the musicians creative freedom and respected Morrison’s artistic vision.

The album was not a commercial success upon its release, reaching only number 47 on the UK Albums Chart and number 15 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It also received mixed reviews from critics who did not understand or appreciate its unconventional style and content. However, over time, the album has gained recognition and appreciation from fans and critics alike, who praised its musical innovation, originality, and beauty. The album has been included in several lists of the best albums of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone , NME , and Pitchfork . The album has also been reissued several times, with bonus tracks and remixes.

Astral Weeks is a timeless album that showcases Van Morrison’s genius and soul. It is an album that transcends genres, boundaries, and expectations. It is an album that still sounds fresh and inspiring today, 55 years after its release.