Photo: Rivas/AFP/Getty
When Van Morrison’s second solo album, Astral Weeks, hit shelves in 1968, it was a commercial failure. But in the following decades, the mystical-themed album has become one of Morrison’s most beloved, influencing everyone from Bruce Springsteen to U2. (”Astral Weeks was like a religion to us,” E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt has said.) “The songs are timeless,” says Morrison. “They remain unchanged and are as fresh today as they ever were.” Tonight and tomorrow (November 7th and 8th), Morrison will celebrate the record’s 40th anniversary by reuniting with surviving members of the studio band to perform the album in its entirety at the Hollywood Bowl. (The performances are being recorded for a live album due out next year — and Rock Daily will have a full report right here Monday morning.) David Wild caught up with Morrison to talk about the shows and the album’s legacy. “I don’t really know why people love it,” he says. “I do know there is nothing like it available now, nor was there anything like it then.”
Click here for the full Q&A:
• Forty Years Later, Van Morrison Returns to ‘Astral Weeks’ in L.A.
