Moondance
Few albums define an era like *Moondance*, a 1970 release that brings together several of our all-time favorite Van Morrison tracks. The opener, “And It Stoned Me,” simmers with the swaggering soul inflection that runs through most of the album. But the fusion of jazz, folk, R&B, and Irish mysticism is a stylistic playground for the volcanic vocalist. He’s clearly having a blast—whether he\'s gliding through the Sinatra-esque title track or belting out a full-throated command to “turn it up…the radio” on “Caravan.”
Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today, we revisit Van Morrison’s 1970 classic.
The yang to Astral Weeks' yin, the brilliant Moondance is every bit as much a classic as its predecessor; Van Morrison's first commercially successful solo effort, it retains the previous album's deeply spiritual thrust but transcends its bleak, cathartic intensity to instead explore themes of renewal and redemption.