Soul singer Morrison balances rock, folk

Editor's Note: This is the fourth story in a weekly series giving readers a "Beginner's Guide" to important figures and genres of music. This story focuses on eclectic artist Van Morrison.

Van Morrison can be described in a great many ways -- soul singer, folk singer, blues singer, critical darling, commercial liability, singer-songwriter, tortured artist, truth-seeker and even rock legend.

For all of the apparent contradictions, Morrison still stands out as a pivotal artist in the history of rock.

"It seems to me that there are lot of artists that are important because of their influence on other artists," said Bill Kelly, associate professor of theatre and integrative arts. "Van Morrison falls into that category."

In the earliest stages of his long, artistically rich and eclectic career, Morrison fronted the Irish band Them. In his two years with the band, Morrison established himself as a soul singing prodigy -- he showcased an uncanny ability to sing with the emotion of soul's greatest wailers.

"He was actually able to wander into other forms that people really never had a lot of facility moving into before," Kelly said. "He can move into black R&B music, really be true to that music and not sound like someone who is imitating."

Songs such as "Gloria" and "Baby Please Don't Go" were strong, but Morrison's studio work with Them was not all that stunning -- he waited for his solo career to reveal his vast talents.

Although he has released more than 26 albums in the last 31 years, his solo career essentially boils down to two strokes of pure genius -- 1968's Astral Weeks and 1970's Moondance.

Astral Weeks is the defining record of Morrison's career. At the time of its release, the album was considered groundbreaking due to its unique, totally original sound. Thirty years later, Astral Weeks still sounds completely different from every other rock record ever made.

The album contains no certified hits, but one listen reveals it doesn't need any. More than any other album in rock history, Astral Weeks sounds like a complete album -- a complete expression of a one long, uninterrupted train of thought. The album was recorded with unimaginable intensity, as Morrison and his bandmates cut the album in just 48 hours. Songs such as the title track, "Beside You," and "The Way Young Lovers Do" express a desperate hope for love just as "Cyprus Avenue" and "Madame George" reveal crippling pain.

The emotions of the album are so powerful that its vast musical strides are almost overshadowed -- Morrison mixed Celtic rhythms with rock bravado, jazz scatting with R&B punch, and the result is a new kind of soul. Morrison belts out his sometimes confusing lyrics, some of which were improvised, in a fashion similar to spoken-word poetry.

The effect is hypnotizing, and Astral Weeks leaves the listener equally exhausted and exhilarated.

"It came out after he had been in a punky first wave with Them," said Josh Ferko, manager of Arboria Records, 119 E. Beaver Ave.

After Astral Weeks, was praised by critics but sold only moderately, it became obvious Morrison was not concerned with making hits.

"Beyond the initial flurry in the late '60s and early '70s, I think Morrison had little interest in being a pop star," Kelly said.

Morrison's next release, Moondance, indicates the artist found the peace he sought. Starkly contrasting Astral Weeks, Moondance is laid-back, meandering and tightly organized. Just as Astral Weeks reveals Morrison's unstable state of mind, Moondance successfully expresses his contentment. The title track is a pretty, jazzed-up pop song, while "And It Stoned Me" and "Into the Mystic" are straight-ahead country-rock-soul hybrids that, more than anything, remind the listener that Morrison is just one tremendous songwriter.

The obvious shift in focus from Astral Weeks to Moondance would typify the rest of Morrison's career. Never content to function in one mode for more than one album, he always sought new ways to express himself. This made his work both continually interesting and inconsistent.

"He always seems to release albums that would not be great follow-ups or be interesting to people who liked the previous album," Kelley said. "He never seemed to care, you know?"