Astral Weeks

Recorded at Century Sound Studios in New York on 25 September and 1 and 15 October 1968 and released in November by Warner Bros., it followed a contract dispute after the death of Bert Berns. Morrison had worked the songs up in Boston, first as a duo with bassist Tom Kielbania and then with flautist John Payne. Producer Lewis Merenstein said he cried when Morrison played him the title song.

For the sessions Merenstein called the bassist Richard Davis, who effectively led the band and brought in guitarist Jay Berliner, percussionist Warren Smith Jr. and drummer Connie Kay, all from jazz backgrounds. Morrison sang and played acoustic guitar from a separate booth while the others played together. Berliner said that Morrison simply played the songs on guitar and told the musicians to play whatever they felt. Strings and horns were the only parts added afterward, and Morrison later said he had not wanted the strings.

The first session produced Cyprus Avenue, Madame George, Beside You and the title track. The final session on 15 October produced The Way Young Lovers Do, Sweet Thing, Ballerina and Slim Slow Slider, and Merenstein cut a long instrumental coda from the last of them. Ballerina is the oldest song, written in 1966 while Morrison was still with Them. Morrison said the lyrics are fictional, put together from composites, conversations and things he saw in films and newspapers. The cover photograph is by Joel Brodsky.

Reception and legacy

It sold poorly on release. Wilson Lindsey of the Detroit Free Press called it a rare and unexpected piece of recording art in December 1968, and Greil Marcus reviewed it positively in Rolling Stone in 1969. Its standing grew over the years: Mojo placed it second on its 1995 list of the greatest albums, Rolling Stone ranked it 19 in 2003, and the RIAA certified it gold in 2001. Elvis Costello described it as still the most adventurous record made in the rock medium.

A remastered reissue on 30 October 2015 added four session bonus tracks, including the long versions of Ballerina and Slim Slow Slider. Morrison performed the album complete for the first time at the Hollywood Bowl on 7 and 8 November 2008, with Berliner in the band. The performances were released as Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl in February 2009.