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Title: The best Van album, unsurpassed beauty
Review: I must admit that I haven't heard every single Van album (I missed hearing a lot of his earlier albums), but this is the best I heard--better than Moondance, Wavelength, and all his newer stuff. Moondance is commonly listed as Van's best, and it is a great album and more readily accessible. And it might take a couple spins to appreciate it, but the listener who takes the time will be MUCH more rewarded by Astral Weeks. A few years ago I picked up Astral and Moon at the same time and Moon hardly gets spun. For my money it pales in comparison.Moondance was obviously Vans labor of love. He produced it and enlisted some two dozen musicians, and it is very well produced. But a big part of the beauty of Astral Weeks is its simple production. Van went into the studio, laid down the album in 2-3 days with 4 or 5 musicians, and it was done...and the magic comes through.
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