Van Morrison, Spiritual Rock Star

Here I am gazing on the Web for extraordinaryOn his official site, Alan Pert sums up Morrison's
witnesses of enlightenment yet very popular inspiritual exploring on the album Days Like This.
the entertainment realm, so that at least"Morrison continues his lifelong exploration of the
everybody that read could say "hey, I've seen orhuman psyche, offering up highly entertaining and
heard that person!" As my research focusesdanceable tunes about everything from love to
randomly on any performer from our time, somemanic depression.
pages choose to cite the art of singer VanWhile all of Morrison's albums from the early
Morrison.1990's had expressed a desire to go back to
His work is thoughtful, often spiritual in nature, andchildhood and early adolescence when "everything
combines elements of jazz , R&B , Celticmade more sense" and he was most capable of
traditions, and stream-of-consciousness lyrics.experiencing the elusive "sense of wonder," the
Van Morrison was born in Belfast , Northernmemory in "Ancient Highway" is of being older, of
Ireland , in 1935 and was named George Ivanfeeling isolated and restless, of needing to leave
Morrison. Better known as the Celtic sorcerer,home and childhood behind forever, and he is
Morrison began playing different instruments andafraid of failure: "I keeping praying to my higher
composing songs in an Irish band during his teenself, don't let me down..."
years. His musical heritage was inevitable since h eExtract of the Ancient Highway
was exposed to music from an early age with his" There's a small cafe on the outskirts of town
father collecting American jazz albums and hisI'll be there when the sun goes down
mother being a singer.Where the roadside bends
Journalists have described Morrison as one of theAnd it twists and turns
most serious singers with high moral values,Every new generation
something that lacks in the music business. HisAnd I'll be praying to my higher self
lyrics and music are influenced on the works ofDon't let me down, keep my feet on the ground
poet and New Age prophet William Blake, BeatThere's a roadside jam playin' on the edge of
Generation writer Jack Kerouac, J.D. Salinger,town
occult and spiritualist poet W.B. Yeats, Alice Bailey,In a town called Paradise near the ancient highway
and of many other religious visionaries. ThoseWhen the train whistle blows
authors add mythic powers to Morrison's singularAll the sadness that Hank Williams knows
musical vision and his articulation of emotionalAnd the river flows
truths.Call them pagan streams and it spins and turns
Astral Weeks was his first album after he movedIn a factory in a street called Bread in East
to America . It gained good reviews from critics.Belfast
Rolling Stone magazine once reported that a manWhere Georgie knows best
claimed to see God while listening to this albumWhat it's like to be Daniel in the lion's den
under the influence of nitrous oxide . If you listenGot so many friends only most of the time"
to the record you'll notice that the artist uses aI picked Morrison's music up because he is still
form of symbolism instead of current narrative.creating innovative material and is not like others
Very much like using spiritual images becauserock stars who recycle their greatest hits. "Great
they are stronger than words. And this work wasart incarnates truth, gives shape to beauty, and
released in the late 1960s, when a New Agejoins inner longing with outer form. Van Morrison
consciousness was spreading in the U.S.has provided Christians and non-Christians alike a
His idiosyncratic and spiritual musical path has leadglimpse into the childlike vision " according to the
him to create more than 30 albums, among theminsights of Carl Olson.
are Moondance, Tupelo Honey, A Period ofMore recently, Morrison had the opportunity to
Transition, Beautiful Vision, No Guru- No Method-duet "Crazy Love" along with the late Ray
No teacher, Irish Heartbeat, Avalon Sunset,Charles, on the 2004 Genius Loves Company
Enlightenment, Days Like This, and The Healingalbum. Ray Charles was one of Morrison's
Games.influences during his years in Northern Ireland .