I think all of Van's later work, almost all of it, stemmed from this set.When I got out of bed his morning, I suddenly realized that 55 years ago Van Morrison's Astral Weeks album was released. Read interviews from these musicians about these sessions, simply amazing considering what we have.īut like you said, not really rock. These guys were not part of Them, but practically picked off the street and brought in to be a band. The idea that it was recorded in one take is testament to where Van was at during this time, and how he was able to channel his musical ideas through these band members to get it down for all of us to experience for the rest of our lives. Bill from UsIf there ever was a song born about, created from, and that creates transcendence from this world, this is it.That magic that happened doesn't sound mundane to me, it obviously set the mood for the whole package, that we all now know. Yes, session musicians, but some of the jams, uncharted, lasted several minutes of artists playing off each other, solos, and several minutes of beautiful music cut out for song length time. Bill from UsAccording to those present at recording, however, the sessions were pretty mundane and workmanlike.įrom my reading, not entirely true.Without it, he was a true outsider, even among peers. 'All of a sudden he grabbed a guitar and started singing songs about reincarnation, being in 'another time and place.'' The song Densmore is referring to is 'Astral Weeks.'ĭensmore further comments on how music was Van's only way to communicate. 'He sat on the couch, moody and glowering, and didn't say a word,' Densmore writes in Riders on the Storm.

At the party, Densmore was struck by Van's isolation. On the final night of the residency, the two bands ripped into a 20-minute performance of ' Gloria.' Densmore went to the show's afterparty with Van, but Jim didn't go. (Them guitarist Jim Armstrong has also suggested Them started marijuana-aficionado Jim Morrison down his path of heavy drinking.) It was an impactful experience for Jim, as he picked up a lot of Van's stagecraft and gritty disposition. Each night, The Doors and Them jammed together. In June 1966, Van and his band Them started a three-week residency at the Whiskey. The Doors were unsigned but were a regular act at the Whiskey A Go Go, one of the hottest clubs in Los Angeles. In his book Riders On The Storm, Doors drummer John Densmore recounts hearing Van Morrison work through 'Astral Weeks' in 1966, two years before the song was released.

Lyrics to van morrison astral weeks