Into The Music –VAN MORRISON****

Bright Side Of The Road/Full Force Gale/Stepping Out Queen/Troubadours/Rolling Hills/You Make Me Feel So Free/Angeliou/And The Healing Has Begun/It's All In The Game/You Know What They're Writing About

In contrast to his first couple of albums Van Morrison’s subsequent releases were never more than uneven. Critics considered Into The Music his best for many years. (US:43 UK:21)

“Drawing on his Gaelic roots, soft rock, blue-eyed soul and R & B, apotheosizing both the religious and the romantic, this very much recalls Moondance in feel and style; its aural grace and candour harkening back to why that LP was such a touchstone.”

“What holds this back from being in the same league is the songwriting which leans too hard on cliché. Its love songs, all relational with not enough specifics to ramp up interest, ditto the songs about spirituality and religion. But for an album this easy-flowing, I'm not going to complain too much.”

*Its probably a bit more hook driven and catchy than his past efforts, but the genuine emotion and fantastic instrumental arrangements can still be found. It is filled with great songs, and I would consider it amongst his very best albums.”

“It's definitely the most underrated work by Van Morrison that I've heard. This is legitimately on the level of both Moondance and Astral Weeks, although maybe not quite as consistent as either. The final four songs are an outstanding collection of soulful, gentle, and melancholy songwriting, all in peak Van Morrison style. The first half of the album is outstanding as well, marking the sunnier part of the album.”

“This is a pure gem of an album, all the way from the energetic opening track to the last song. Every song is carefully crafted and just keeps getting better and better as the album unfolds.”

“Into The Music was hailed at the time of its release as his greatest since Moondance and a real triumph for Van all around. All these decades later, it just sounds like a pretty good record, nothing more and nothing less.”

“Morrison used this record as a springboard to take his music somewhere else, just as it seemed he was getting stuck in a rut. But that’s what great artists do. You can hear the excitement of the creative moment here and Van was well and truly back.”