Van is like Dylan for me. I get on binges of his work based on my mood, the season etc. A few months back it was his five most recent - all terrific. Currently focused on: 1. Poetic Champions Compose 2. Hymns to The Silence ( On Hyndford Street is a perfect early morning summer song!) 3. It's Too Late To Stop Now 4. St. Dominic's Preview 5. Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl
well, moondance is #1 #2 - hymn to the silence #3 - tupelo honey #4 - avalon sunset @5 - pick any album since 1997 (except the ridiculous skiffle album and the horrible one with gail lewis) and you have #5, because the chord progressions and song structures are all the same on every one of them. only the lyrics have changed.
1. Veedon Fleece 2. Moondance 3. Hard Nose the Highway 4. Wavelength 5. Inarticulate Speech of the Heart
The run from Astral Weeks through St. Dominic's Preview, one of the great album runs by anyone, ever. There were plenty more great records, but that run was the pinnacle of the man's output.
At the moment: 1. Veedon Fleece 2. Into the Music 3. Moondance 4. Hard Nose the Highway 5. Astral Weeks Astral Weeks through to Into the Music is an incredible run. For me, his last really good album is Beautiful Vision. Still loads of excellent songs later on, but I find much of it hit and miss; samey at times, especially when he gets in a blues groove - and some of the vocals come across as rushed, almost perfunctory. I also don't care for the 'smooth' production of a lot of that 80s stuff. Listen to The Street Only Knew Your Name on the Philosopher's Stone and then the version on Inarticulate etc etc.
I remember somebody saying (I think on this very forum) something like that Van was like Steely Dan, in that his music as a body of work is its own self contained & pretty unique world: if you love one of them you are likely to love all of them. I've found this to be true, I really don't get on with Steely Dan. I've tried very hard for over 30 years because people love them. I must be missing something but they bore me senseless. However, Van I love. In no particular order my top 5 are usually some combination of Veedon Fleece Astral Weeks Wavelength Into the Music St. Dominic's Preview You could three or 4 more to that 5 according to whatever, No Guru is great, Moondance of course...etc etc
1. Enlightenment 2. Moondance 3. Hymns to the Silence 4. St. Dominic’s Preview 5. Born to Sing: No Plan B
1. No Guru, no Method, no Teacher 2. Poetic Champions Compose 3. Common One 4. His Band and The Street Choir 5. Astral Weeks
Today my choices are (but I reserve the right to change my mind later ): Moondance Tupelo Honey Wavelength Hymns To The Silence His Band and The Street Choir
Moondance St. Dominic's Preview Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart Irish Heartbeat (with the Chieftains) Tupelo Honey honorable mentions to Hard Nose the Highway and Enlightenment
impossible! ok i'll try; Veedon Fleece No Guru Live at the Opera House Into the Music It's too Late...