12.18.2008 11:20 am
Van Morrison to release live version of Astral Weeks
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
EMI Music announced that they will distribute soul singer Van Morrison’s upcoming live album, slated for release in early 2009. The album documents a Hollywood Bowl show he gave last month in which he recreated one of my all time favorite albums, Astral Weeks.
While Van’s later work is hit and miss, I was green with envy of the Angelenos who got to see that show. Astral Weeks, Morrison’s second solo record after playing garage rock with Them, was released 40 years ago last month.
The album will be the first record to be issued on Morrison’s new label, Listen To The Lion Records.
http://www.myspace.com/vanmorrison
Matt has been a writer and researcher in the P-D newsroom since 1996. 
The word I got from friends from St. Louis who went both nights, Morrison was
absolutely ‘in the zone’ for the first night, but the 2nd was perfunctory,with comments by the artist to indicate he was bored at the prospect of doing the concert twice. Typical. I have been more deeply touched by this man’s, but he clearly is a difficult and moody sort; another friend who briefly was
his road manager in a long career in this capacity said he was tempted to punch Morrison out, and would never work with him again. I gather he is
not the only individual to have this reaction.