Album of the Day

One of Ireland's greatest musical exports, Van Morrison first found fame as the lead singer of garage-beat group Them. With his distinctive voice and songwriting chops, it was little surprise that Morrison had a successful solo career ahead of him - but few could have anticipated the 1968 collection ASTRAL WEEKS. Morrison's debut for Warner Bros. was a gorgeous song-cycle framing the singer's bluesy incantations with sympathetic accompaniment from top jazz and classical players; this one-of-a-kind set consistently ranks near the top of critics' lists of all-time great albums. Rhino's recent Expanded Edition adds four previously unreleased bonus tracks, including alternate takes of “Beside You” and “Madame George.” This is Van Morrison's birthday, and we can't think of a better way to celebrate it than by giving ASTRAL WEEKS another spin.