These twin mineral trails are reminders of the ordinary miracle of continental drift, the kind of thing you learn about in grade school but can so easily forget as an adult that to recall it instills a fresh sense of awe. Legend has it that serpentinite was a valuable commodity to ancient Celts and some even believed it contained mystical powers. Glen Hansard, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt, and even Martin Scorsese have all been greatly influenced by ‘Astral Weeks.’ It’s a record you might not get on the first spin, but give it time and close attention and its brilliance will be revealed.Beneath the Appalachian Trail, an underground thread of earth-green mineral runs from Georgia up to Nova Scotia-geologists and locals refer to it as “the serpentine chain.” It is mirrored by an almost identical vein of verdant serpentinite all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, this one running through the mountains of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, all the way up to the Arctic. Over time it has come to be revered as a classic one of the greats. ‘Sweet Thing’ is probably the close you’ll get to a single from these selection of songs, alas there were no singles received, in fact Warner Brothers didn’t give it any promotion and was not a success on release. The showcased his true mark as a songwriter. The record only features 8 songs but each is special and unique to what he had released before. He also references Lead Belly, whom he carried a poster of wherever he went and hung it up on the wall. Opening with the title track, he sings "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." Just sublime wordsmith.
Morrison set to work on recording a Folk Rock masterpiece, a stream of consciousness record with music a mix between Folk, Blues, Jazz and even Classical music. Warner Brothers, who subsequently signed Morrison helped him out of that deal (that’s a story on its own). Following the death, Morrison was blocked from recording. Bert Berns wanted Morrison to head to a more pop orientated sound, but Morrison wanted to explore new terrain. His widow blamed Morrison as the two had been arguing over the direction of his new music.
The found of Bang Records, the label he was signed to had unexpectedly died. For a start, there’s nothing on it like ‘Brown Eyed Girl,’ and that’s what the world was expecting. Van Morrison’s second album is quote unlike his first.
0 kommentar(er)
