I began listening to Van Morrison when I started his first band Them in July 2022.
Them: The Angry Young Them (1965): B
Them: Them Again (1966): C+
Blowin' Your Mind (1967): C-
Astral Weeks (1968): B
Moondance (1970): A-
His Band and the Street Choir (1970): B
Tupelo Honey (1971): B+
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972): A-
Hard Nose the Highway (1973): C+
Them: The Angry Young Them (1965):
With a good songwriter and vocalist at their helm, this album represents some of the better British rhythm and blues of the 60s. However, because the track-list is somewhat inconsistent, this don't always satisfy my itch for the genre and when that happens, well, you know what British rock’n’roll band I’d rather be listening to. B
Them: Them Again (1966):
Though its predecessor struggled with consistency, Them Again, which sees the band move away from raucous garage rock towards a more polished feel with cleaner production, harbors hardly anything worthwhile. Though they occasionally improve upon their instrumental prowess, their songwriting remains one-dimensional and loses my interest not long after side one finishes. Plus, a bad Dylan cover and an extra six minutes of LP time makes this release quite subpar. C+Blowin' Your Mind (1967):
Because he envisioned his solo career beginning with the songs that would become Astral Weeks, Morrison was highly displeased when these eight songs were released as his first solo LP instead of four singles like originally intended. Although he has expressed indifference to the big hit from the LP--which is undoubtably the only good song--I'm surprised his anger with this release stops at a miscommunication. To me, this is a clear abomination on several levels, most importantly from a songwriting standpoint and “T.B. Sheets” is the worst song I’ve listened to in months. While a few of the shorter songs simply sound unfinished, every other song--three of which are over five minutes--settles into a simple groove over which Morrison freestyles a bunch of off-handed nonsense. Other complaints: the band is one-dimensional and Morrison couldn't sound whinier. C-
Astral Weeks (1968):
With a remarkably vivid imagery and beautiful melodies, both the title track and "Sweet Thing" are incredibly transcendent and evidence of the genius of this direction. Despite the strength of the jazz accompaniment and Morrison's rich and detailed singing, everything else falls flat and not just in comparison. The rest of the bunch contains two decent songs, "Madame George" and "The Way Young Lovers Do," the first of which is about seven minutes too long and the second of which succeeds mostly by throwing out the blueprint of the rest of the album. The remaining four songs have melodies I haven't found yet and lyrics that ramble in vagueness. B
Moondance (1970):
After the experimental folk-jazz of Astral Weeks, Morrison takes a stab at pop songwriting, which he has immediately proved much better at. With the core of the band being two horns, a piano, bass, and drums, Morrison produced the album himself because he didn't believe anyone else could do it. At the album's worst, there are a few songs that have endless potential to be covered by others but that don't mesh all that well with Morrison's singing style ("Crazy Love") or that would work better with a different band and different production choices ("Moondance"). At its best--"Caravan," "Into the Mystic," and "Coming Running"--this album harbors the most essential singer-songwriter recordings I've heard since I listened to Randy Newman. A-
His Band and the Street Choir (1970):
Singer-songwriters usually get away with underproduced albums but this direction requires a bit more polish and though the saxophonist, guitarist, and bassist from Moondance return for this album, Morrison's band sounds much less skilled here. Fairly uninspired as well, he also didn't produce a single drop-dead classic and there's hardly a song with covering potential. B
Tupelo Honey (1971):
Like many other musicians of the early 70s, Morrison got caught up in the country music craze and set out to release a country-western album after Street Choir. Once he moved out of Woodstock and to the West Coast, however, he left his old band behind and the country-western concept was abandoned. Nevertheless, there's still a great deal of country influence--songwriting focused on simple living and some pedal steel guitar--and like the title suggests, a decent amount of sweetness. Both open up Morrison's music a great deal and this might be on par with Moondance but because neither of the world's largest streaming platforms have this album available, I've been listening to it on YouTube where it's constantly interrupted by ads. Until I get a physical copy, which I will be looking for, I won't know for sure. B+
Saint Dominic's Preview (1972):
After previously experimenting with jazz, folk, pop music, country music, and R&B one at a time, Morrison combines all his favorite music and distills it into a singular sound. Now with an established voice and a bit more confidence, he returns to the folky pastures of his past and finally nails the improvisational nature of Astral Weeks (for me anyway) on the two tracks over ten minutes while the other five tracks are as lovely as anything on Moondance. Fire in a bottle--the best of everything he has to offer. A-
Hard Nose the Highway (1973):
Morrison's voice can be so expressive, his arrangements can be so surprising, and his eclectic background can lead to some really unique bands. But for me, when Morrison's songwriting isn't at the top of his game, it just feels like the same dull number over and over again. The only light here is "Bein' Green," which isn't as funny as it should be. C+
