Customer Reviews

Moondance

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's not as complex, beautiful and enigmatic as "Astral Weeks" and it's not as much of a soulful, one-two-punch workout as "Blowin' Your Mind," but for sheer, consistent, horn-driven happiness, you can't do much better than "Moondance."

But because of my affection for those other two disks, I admit, I generally tend to underrate this album. But "Moondance" keeps coming back to me in the most unexpected ways at the most unexpected times: I'll hear "Caravan" in "The Last Waltz," or "Everyone" at the end of "The Royal Tenenbaums" or "Glad Tidings" three times in the "Sopranos" Season 5 finale, or notice "Into the Mystic" on the PA at the grocery store and be reminded that I need to let it out to play more often. That's the sign of a truly great musical work.

I know lovers of this album will bombard my review with "not helpful," but as a long-time devotee of Van Morrison, I would rate this album as in the middle tier of his efforts. Like Bob Marley's "Legend," "Moondance" is the album so-called fans own of the artist -- fans who only own one album, that is. As Legend is not the most coherent or interesting of the Marley albums, Moondance is not Van's best work, even from that period. It's dancy and catchy, but lacks the soul of the albums infused with more blues. Van himself often explained himself as an Irish John Lee Hooker, but all the Hooker elements are missing here: ditties and bounciness replace soul yearning and blues. Even if you're new to Van Morrison, I'd start with his best album, "No Guru No Method No Teacher," and then move on to "Veedon Fleece," "St Dominic's Preview," "Astral Weeks," and "Tupelo Honey," and then "Moondance," in that order. (Hymns to the Silence would come next, and then "Them".) Since Van made albums with integrated musical themes, I'd avoid the "best of" collection. Van wasn't top 40. Go for the original albums.

I have all of Morrison's work up to the late 70's when (for me anyway). he became formulaic. Nice stuff but not necessary. Moondance may not be his best album, but it's certainly my favourite. There is more power and soul in two songs, "And it Stoned Me', and 'Into the Mystic' than there is in the rest of his entire catalogue... and that's saying something. In my opinion, his first three albums are his best (Astral Weeks, Moondance, and Tupelo Honey. The rest of his 70's stuff excellent, his 80's and 90's stuff is good, and that's where it ends for me.

The epitomy of Van! His voice is at its peak and his song writing has the frersh sparkle of youth. His melodies and instrumentation improve on later albums but this is the one that shines brightest.

Love this Van Morrison CD and I play it often. I can't say anything negative about the music selection on this CD and I highly recommend it if you're a Van Morrison fan.

I had forgotten what an enjoyable album this is until I blundered across my worn-out vinyl copy. Now the CD is even more enjoyable without all the crackles. Needs to be played really loudly when non-believers are out of the home. Into The Mystic is electric and the least three songs finish the album beautifully. First rate stuff.

This is by far the best Van Morrison Cd of all time. His writing was at its highest level and each song is a pleasure to listen to. Later CD's had 2 or 3 good songs and the rest was just filler, but this album flows from one great song to another.
Other artists admire Van Morrison's work and strive to equal it. but he is in a class of his own on this album.

Moondance is a classic, must-have album with great songs from start to finish. The songs and musicianship are first rate. Unfortunately, the sound quality has always been stuck in 1970. Without putting too fine a point on it, the album - vinyl or CD - has always sounded a bit AM radio.

The original mix suffers from a too much midrange and very little at the low and high extremely. This has lead to a poorly differentiate sound and caused many instruments to lose definition. This Japanese remastered CD fixes those problems. Switching back and forth between this CD and one purchased in the early 1990s is like listening with and without cotton wadded in your ears. It truly is that good.

Right from the first cut, "And It Stoned Me", you get to hear details that are absent on previous pressings. On that song, the acoustic rhythm guitar on the right side rings out clearly and all the instruments get to enjoy their own space in the mix. Listen to a song on the Japanese pressing and go back to an older version of the same song and your ears will feel plugged.

The only complaint I can make is that Van's vocal can sometimes recede a bit since there is so much more sound at the ends of the spectrum and the mid-range hump - which favors the vocals - is largely gone. Still, the overall effect is very satisfying.

This is the best $26 I have spent in a long time.

I was only familiar with the Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria Van Morrison but bought this because of the strong 5 star rating with nearly 130 reviews. They are right. This is a great CD filled with easily listened to (not easy listening) music. The lyrics are absolutely heartfelt. The speed of the music fluctuates from not to fast to slow and cool. This would be great entertaining music for a small group of people or just for that one person.

Whether his music was recorded in the late 60s or early 70s, it is never dated. Yet he always seemed ahead of his time. The man is a vocal genius emanating sounds awarded to the most talented vocalists. And there is only ONE way to listen to Morrison, and that is with quality equipment and loud!

I can't get over how much I LOVE "And it Stoned Me" about a playful fishing trip romp with a friend, the voice, the lyrics, and the beat!

Another favorite, "Moondance", a sultry jazzy number that many other performers have covered. "Into the Mystic" is a bluesy, jazzy ballad.

But I can't reiterate enough, the BEST CD ever is Morrison's '68 "Astral Weeks" It's uncomprehensive that at the young age he was, this phenomenal masterpiece evolved, .....way back in the 60's ...unbelievable. That one is my stranded-on-an-island cd. ......MzRizz