7. Van MorrisonVeedon Fleece

I just played in Ireland and everyone says "fair play to you" of course… so the first song on this album came to me and I realized that I miss this album. It used to be one of my two favorites after Astral Weeks… there’s something very personal, offhand and eccentric about the arrangements and lyrics on this album… it does feel like a "never mind" kind of statement… meaning he made something personal without calculation even on a personal level. A lot of the lyrics feel intuitive versus crafted – so there is an affinity to Astral Weeks – but there’s a resignation there too, as if he’s at the end of a road. I guess he was because he didn’t release another album for three years after this. It feels lived in and effortless.