Irish Times: Top 40 Irish Albums

Van shows up three times in this list. Below are the top 10. See link below for entire list.

The top 40 Irish albums
1 MY BLOODY VALENTINE: LOVELESS
2 U2: ACHTUNG BABY
3 A HOUSE: I AM THE GREATEST
4 THE RADIATORS: GHOSTOWN
5 VAN MORRISON: ASTRAL WEEKS
6 MICRODISNEY: THE CLOCK COMES DOWN THE STAIRS
7 ROLLERSKATE SKINNY: HORSEDRAWN WISHES
8 THE POGUES: RUM, SODOMY & THE LASH
9 THE UNDERTONES: THE UNDERTONES
10 WHIPPING BOY: HEARTWORM

5 VAN MORRISON: ASTRAL WEEKS (1968) Morrison's debut album proper (his record label had put out the mediocre Blowin' Your Mind to cash in on the success of Brown Eyed Girl) was different from everything around it, and different from anything he recorded over the following 40 years.

A pastoral, soul-jazz song cycle, Astral Weeks evoked a spirit of nostalgia for a Northern Ireland that probably only ever existed in Morrison's fevered imagination. He was already an exile, both emotionally and physically, and Astral Weeks was a sort of homecoming, taking him back to his roots in Belfast, and incongruously blending in visions of sandy beaches, California sunshine and decadent, burlesque nightlife.

Legend has it that Van didn't speak to any of the session musicians during the recording, and much of it was improvised; there's certainly a sense of a man alone amid the upright bass lines, skittering flutes and swaying violins. The album didn't sell well initially, but has grown in stature, and is now considered Morrison's inadvertent masterpiece.

What happened next? Subsequent albums Moondance, Tupelo Honey, Saint Dominic's Preview and Hard Nose the Highway established Morrison as a musical giant, but critics just keep going back to Astral Weeks.
-Kevin Courtney

26 VAN MORRISON: MOONDANCE How do you follow Astral Weeks? For Van, there was no pressure, because Astral Weeks had hardly registered with the music-buying public, and its critical canonisation was still years away. Morrison was disappointed with the album's sales, and he determined that his next release would be a more accessible affair. The title track was a sensual, romantic jazz tune, and Into The Mystic kept faith with the spiritual yearning of Astral Weeks.

What happened next? The critics finally caught up with the Belfast Cowboy, hailing him as a visionary and the finest white soul singer of his generation.
-KC

30 VAN MORRISON: IT'S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW (1974) Recorded at 1973 shows in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and London, It's Too Late to Stop Now captures Van at a soul-jazz peak, a performer sure of what he's doing and what he's capable of producing. A lot of the panache and passion on this album can be attributed to the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, one of the finest bands the Belfast Cowboy has ever shared a stage with.

What happened next? The album was released in 1974, by which time he had also released the poorly received Hard Nose The Highway and the excellent Veedon Fleece.
-JC

Discuss this list at the On The Record blog.

Glen Hansard: Oscar Winner & Van Fan

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won an Oscar for the song Falling Slowly from the film Once.
Glen is a huge Van fan and related his story on the first time he met Van to the BBC. Listen here.

New DVD: Van Morrison - Under Review: 1964-1974

Note: This dvd is part of the Under Review series which also has included documentaries on Neil Young and Leonard Cohen. These dvds are basically rock journalists discussing the artist's albums and giving their opinion on them. There is very little in terms of concert footage.

Van Morrison - Under Review: 1964-1974 is a 2 hour documentary film which covers this extraordinary musician and performer's music during that period. From the formation of Them, through Van's classic solo period - taking in albums such as Astral Weeks, Moondance, St. Dominic's Preview, Tupelo Honey, Veedon Fleece and It's Too Late To Stop Now - this was a time of quite startling creativity in a musical career that has rarely failed to delight fans and critics alike. This program looks again at these records, and the man who made them, and in doing so provides the most enlightening, revealing and entertaining Van Morrison documentary yet to emerge. Features include rare and classic Van Morrison performances re-assessed by a panel of esteemed experts, rare interviews, seldom seen footage, and unusual photographs from the period. Also included is footage of and comment on Morrison's most notable musical influences, as well as live and studio recordings of Van Morrison classics. Run time is 109 mins.

Track Listing/Features:
* Gloria
* Brown Eyed Girl
* Cyprus Avenue
* Madame George
* Moondance
* And It Stoned Me
* Domino
* Caravan
* Jackie Wilson Said
* Tupelo Honey
* Wild Night
* + many others

Bonus Materials:
* Meet the Panel - Full Contributor Biographies
* The Interactive Van Morrison Challenge
* Extended Interviews
* Beyond DVD

Want Tickets To See Van To Play Intimate Concert in London?

Check out Van's website for information on how to apply for tickets to see Van perform new material from his new album, Keep It Simple, on Tuesday 12-Feb-08 at the intimate BBC Radio Theatre in London.