Van Morrison: Moondance (3LP, deluxe, expanded & remixed) [RHINO]

Why you'll love it

This deluxe 3LP set pairs Steven Wilson's new stereo mix with two discs of alternate takes, cut by Kevin Gray and pressed at Optimal in Germany. The album is triple platinum in the US and sits in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

This edition

• 3LP set
• Steven Wilson remix
• Cut by Kevin Gray
• Pressed in Germany
• Tri-fold jacket
• Insert with essay
• Stereo mix

About the album

After the dreamy, slow-burning Astral Weeks, Van Morrison wanted songs that swung. He wrote much of Moondance while living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then took a tight band into A&R Studios in New York in the late summer of 1969, producing himself for the first time with Lewis Merenstein as executive producer.

The title song started as a melody he played on soprano sax before any words existed, and Jack Schroer's alto solo on it is often called one of the most influential sax solos in pop. "And It Stoned Me" opens the record in a warm haze, "Crazy Love" is a tender falsetto love song, "Caravan" turns the radio up, and "Into the Mystic" is about as close to perfect as soul-folk gets. Jef Labes, John Platania and Gary Mallaber lock in behind him, with Cissy Houston and Judy Clay among the backing singers. The bonus discs let you hear it come together, from "Into the Mystic" (Take 11) and "Moondance" (Take 22) to unheard songs like "I Shall Sing."

Rolling Stone placed it at No. 65 on its 500 Greatest Albums list, and Spin and the Rock Hall have honoured it too. Morrison once said Frank Sinatra wouldn't be out of place singing the title track, which is the most modest boast in the history of the trade.

Also at Kops: more Van Morrison on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Warner / Rhino (cat# R1 536560), a reissue of the 1970 album.