Van Morrison didn’t purposely write the songs on this album to fit together in any specific way.

This is where the debate about whether Astral Weeks is a concept album or not comes into play. Sometimes, albums may seem to be telling a story through the sequential tracks, even if that wasn’t the writer’s intention. The lyrics were composed to flow from song to song, creating something similar to a story script. As a result, they tell a story from beginning to end.Įxamples of a concept album include The Who’s Tommy and Pink Floyd’s The Wall.įrank Sinatra’s 1946 album The Voice of Frank Sinatra is considered by many to be the first concept album. The composition and placement of tracks on the album are intentional. Musicians often create concept albums as a whole piece, writing the songs specifically to be recorded together. The Merriam-Webster definition of a concept album is “a collection of songs about a specific theme or story.” Recurring characters or ideas are woven throughout the songs to reveal an overarching concept. Let’s take a deeper look into this recording to see if we can figure out the answer to that question for ourselves. Some have said that Astral Weeks is a concept album due to the common threads found within the songs. The musical arrangement of each track adds to the beauty of this masterpiece. The eight songs recorded for the album speak of dreams, love, mystic imagery, and nostalgia.

It’s inspired countless musicians since its release in 1968. Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks is considered one of the most impactful albums in music history.

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