Moondance - VAN MORRISON*****

And It Stoned Me/Moondance/Crazy Love/Caravan/Into The Mystic/Come Running/These Dreams Of You/Brand New Day/Everyone/Glad Tidings

Moondance finds Van Morrison in peak form delivering this varied collection of songs on his best album. Unfortunately his future releases would disappoint in comparison. (US:29 UK:32)

"What a warm and welcoming album this is. Van Morrison's Moondance is one of the finest crafted albums put to wax. It is a collection of mostly mellow numbers fuelled by tasteful arrangements and Morrison's emotional and soulful delivery. A true masterwork, and a essential listen. No better starting point for Van Morrison than here thanks to the accessible nature of these songs."

"Moondance really belongs in every music collection. It is a classic album, but even more than that it is a timeless classic. The music transcends labelling as it contains a variety of styles and a little mystical something besides. The greatest thing is that its lyrics and musical production is so uplifting and very soulful. This is music that makes you feel good and reflective at the same time."

"Morrison turns in his strongest, most cohesive set with Moondance. Bathed in natural images and buoyed by a fundamental optimism, it's a brilliant collection of songs. Morrison blends blue-eyed soul, straight-up pop, Celtic folk, and his own distinctive sense of music into a lovely mix unlike anything else. Where Astral Weeks established Morrison as a unique visionary, Moondance reminded everyone what a brilliant songwriter and pop singer he was. The two together formed the foundation of one of the boldest careers in pop music."

"This album is Van Morrison's best commercial release. It has an eclectic range of musical genres including R & B/soul, jazz, rock. Van Morrison's delivery is what makes it so great. His voice brings heartache and excitement and mixes them together brilliantly. An instant classic."

"Van Morrison's classic, Moondance, is the rarest of beasts, a wholly substantial and completely consistent rock album. Never on this spell-binding LP is there a clichéd or superficial lyric, a lazily-sung word, an unnecessary instrument in the accompaniment, an instance of fabricated artistic posturing and nowhere is there a song that is not completely outstanding. Casual classic rock listeners are probably familiar with the dreamy And It Stoned Me and the jazzy title track, but none of these ten songs would sound out of place on a best-of collection."