San Francisco Chronicle Interview With Van

San Francisco Chronicle
Van Morrison finds magic in 'Astral' songs

Van Morrison, who begins the final dates in his current tour Saturday and Sunday at UC Berkeley's Greek Theatre playing his classic album, "Astral Weeks," has long had a wary relationship with the press, which made it somewhat surprising that he was willing to talk about his tour.

But when transatlantic time changes and hectic schedules added up to missed phone connections, who would have expected that the notoriously taciturn character, who has always maintained that he wanted his music to speak for itself, would sit down and type out e-mail answers to a list of questions submitted in advance? Morrison first performed this "Astral Weeks" concert - a Morrison fan's dream come true - with a band featuring many of the musicians from the original sessions last November at the Hollywood Bowl. Both live DVD and CD have been released. He took the show to New York in March and earlier this month to London's Royal Albert Hall. He closes out the historic run with two dates next month back in Los Angeles.

Q: What made you decide to do these "Astral Weeks" shows?

A: I wanted to do these songs the way I have always heard them in my head, with strings section, flutes and full orchestration. We initially were doing just the two shows in Hollywood in order to get these live and raw, straight-from-the-stage recordings, but demand from New York and London and now Bay Area and Los Angeles to finish up the series of shows where it all began - where I started out my career as a soloist - Los Angeles. I have a history as a musician in the '60s there, so it seemed the fitting place to end up.

Q: How have the shows been going?

A: I went into this to just record the songs live in Hollywood and that was it - no expectations whatsoever. I only wanted to get the 2009 live version recorded, but it went from there, the demand. There has been a strong magic from each and every audience which has been tangible. I have felt it each show. There is definitely something magical and "astral" going on every time the songs have been played live before the audiences.

Q: What was so special about "Astral Weeks" in retrospect?

A: It depends on what special means - but there is nothing else like the "Astral Weeks" songs. They are poetry - movie-like stories woven into music. There are a lot of dynamics to find in these songs, a lot of nuance that goes on, and a lot of subtlety going on. That is what I like about them. They are complex - it's me doing me, my kind of music, my signature sound - all me.

Q: Why "Astral Weeks"? Is there another album you considered doing?

A: I am in the moment and I choose music I do by what I want to work with at any given time. The ... albums [that have been] been requested a lot [have] been "Hymns to the Silence" and "Hard Nose the Highway" and "No Guru No Method No Teacher," but I have not really thought about doing "albums" per se, though I would like to hear what my songs on those albums sound like raw, as I have noticed the engineers lost a lot of sound that I know was there when it was recorded. That is why I am doing raw music from now on; the production thing is a myth and ruins my songs, I find.

Q: "Astral Weeks" was made at a very stressful time in your career - what do you recollect of its creation?

A: As people, we all have stressful times - some are worse because it happens when we are younger and do not know quite how to deal, so the trauma is or could be worse, but that is a loaded subject. "Astral Weeks" was made with intention of getting it right, just like the 2009 live version. I just went in and did it - same with the live 2009 record of "Astral Weeks." No matter what any band member was doing, I had the intention and mind-set of getting it recorded like I wanted it and that is what I did - one short and not so good rehearsal after 40 years and I just took the stage and did what I do - played it and made it go right.

Q: How did you put the band together for these dates? Have you stayed in touch all these years? Were they hard to find?

A: I had not stayed in touch with anyone. I just chose some of the band I had before this and, as I thought back, I just started calling people - some for no particular reason other than I thought they might "get it." There was not a real plan to it, really, just step by step.

Van Morrison: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley campus. Tickets $50-$350 at ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000, at APEConcerts.com. Tickets may be purchased without a service charge in person at the Cal Performances box office.
-Joel Selvin