#jack schroer

[rainingmusic]

Van Morrison - Into The Mystic 

[gregorygalloway]

24-year-old Van Morrison’s 3rd solo studio album was released on 27 January 1970 in the UK (and a month later in the US).

After the commercial failure of Astral Weeks (1968), Morrison moved near Woodstock, NY in hopes of living near (and befriending) Bob Dylan, but Dylan had moved out of town just before Morrison’s arrival. Morrison, however, did meet the musicians who appeared on Moondance (keyboardist Jef Labes, guitarist John Platania, and saxophonist Jack Schroer).

Morrison admitted to trying to write more commercial songs ("I had to forget about the artistic thing because it didn't make sense on a practical level. One has to live.“) and took over production duties in order to get the sound he wanted. The album was a major critical and commercial success, peaking at #29 in the US, and ultimately selling more than 3 million copies. It has been cited as one of the greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone, Spin, and Time.

The album’s cover photos were taken by Elliot Landy, who had taken the cover photo for Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline (1969).

[rainingmusic]

Van Morrison - Wild Night