Van Morrison To Play Show Just For Me

Tickets go on sale this weekend for Van Morrison’s two shows at the Hollywood Bowl in early November, and while a show by an aging star of the ’60s isn’t usually news around here, when the artist in question is doing the “play your critically acclaimed album front to back” and that album happens Astral Weeks (my favorite of all time) and the performance features Jay Berliner and Richard Davis from the studio band, I’m going to be a little excited.

It’s not a terribly bold position to claim Astral Weeks as a “favorite” album–it’s generally featured on most “all-time best” lists–but I honestly love the album more than anything else I’ve heard on a full-length level. The songs are so beautiful and weird that I go back to listening to the disc over and over again. Of course, I’m allowing that I may be disappointed, but the novelty alone of seeing Berliner (a jazz guitarist who played with Charles Mingus and others who was roped into the sessions) and Davis (a bassist who played on Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch, most notably) with Morrison’s band is enough lure for me.

While YouTube is stingy on clips from the album itself, Morrison has been playing tracks from the album live this year, including this take on “Cyprus Avenue”.

Music Legend Van Morrison to Close Out Hollywood Bowl 2008 Season with “Astral Weeks Live” in November [Marketwatch]