Van Morrison

Moondance Van Morrison

Van Morrison, equally a blue-eyed soul singer and wild-eyed poet and magician, is one of pop music's true innovators – a restless seeker whose evocative vocals and alchemical fusion of R&B, jazz, blues, and folk produced what is perhaps the most spiritually transcendent work in the rock ‘n’ roll canon: “Moondance”! Morrison's album was hailed by many critics as one of the best albums of all time and became a huge commercial success immediately after its release (February 27, 1970). After the failure of his first album, “Astral Weeks” (1968), on Warner Bros., Morrison moved with his wife to upstate New York and began writing songs for “Moondance”. There he met the musicians who would record the album with him in August and September 1969 at A&R Studios in New York City. On “Moondance”, Morrison turned away from the abstract folk-jazz compositions of Astral Weeks in favor of formally composed songs that he wrote and produced entirely himself. The lively rhythm and blues/rock sound was the style for which he would become best known in his career. “Moondance” played a significant role in establishing Morrison as an important pop musician, while several songs from the album, including the title track, became radio staples in the early 1970s. “Moondance” ranks 120th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 greatest albums of all time!

As part of its “Acoustic Sounds 40 Series,” Analogue Productions is now honoring this classic album with a collectible double LP: pressed on 180-gram vinyl by industry leader Quality Record Pressings (QRP), cut at 45 RPM and housed in a luxurious old-style tip-on gatefold double pocket jacket by Stoughton Printing. The 24-bit/19 kHz high-resolution files from the original tapes were mastered by Matthew Lutthans using The Mastering Lab's analog all-tube system, ensuring that this reissue boasts a brilliant sound quality never heard before! We recommend the use of "L'Art du Son" LP cleaner to wet wash your vinyl. Even new records of high quality production will benefit from this.