Van Morrison: Moondance Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Van Morrison: Moondance Blu-ray Movie Review

It's a marvelous anytime for this Moondance.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 22, 2013

Van Morrison might eschew such a literary reference, and in fact might be outright offended at being compared to a gentrified Irishman (as opposed to a member of the hardscrabble working class of Northern Ireland), but I’ve always felt that he was about as close as pop and rock music ever came to the ineluctable visionary mysticism of William Butler Yeats. Morrison’s sometimes moody, sometimes ebullient, tours through the human condition are more often than not filled with sudden, mad flights of poetry which often contrast with some of Morrison’s more mundane subject matters. Morrison’s half-growled, half-crooned vocals exhibit this same cross-cultural influences, including what often seem to be sudden flashes of divine inspiration when he channels some long dormant Celtic spirit in a completely unexpected format. Morrison had had some middling success before Moondance came out in 1970, notably with his monster single "Brown Eyed Girl", but this was the album that put him squarely on the map. FM radio ate up album cuts like the title song (which rather amazingly wasn’t released as a single until years later) while AM gave him a Top 40 entry (if just barely) with “Come Running”. But several of the songs on Moondance have become part of the public consciousness and indeed represent that weird transitional zeitgeist of the heady sixties giving way to the more sobering realities of the seventies.

The fable which was included on the original album cover (and which is reproduced inside the bound book in which the discs are housed) might seem to suggest a “program” of sorts for Moondance, making it another quasi-song cycle a la Morrison’s previous effort Astral Weeks. And while there are certainly some through lines here—including several oblique references to various types of saving graces—each song is its own entity, not necessarily tethered to any of the others. What is so incredibly remarkable about this package, perhaps just as much if not more than the unbelievable sound of the audio Blu-ray, is the supplementary material, which shows take after take after take of various tunes, each with slightly different colors or interpretations. This package therefore represents the saga of creation—some might even say the “slog-a” of creation, for over and over again Morrison returns to a tune to tweak it ever so slightly. Not even every take is included on this incredible package, but when you see something like “Moondance Take 22” on the list of tracks on one of the CDs, you suddenly become aware of what a focused artist Morrison was even at this relatively early stage of his career.

Moondance ultimately stands as a little piece of pop-rock paradise, a fitting tribute to the burgeoning singer- songwriter movement that had found a home on Warner Brothers Records and, later, the related Asylum label run by David Geffen. Morrison might not seem to be as ostensibly “confessional” as some of his comrades in arms in this genre, but he is still able to voice some universal truths in an astoundingly direct and visceral manner. The sometimes intense style mélange Moondance offers is a pretty heady brew, sounding now more fantabulous than ever.

Van Morrison: Moondance Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

There is really no video per se on the audio Blu-ray disc, simply a set of four pictures of Morrison which alternate as different tracks are accessed (these are the first four screenshots included with this review).

Van Morrison: Moondance Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio Blu-ray in this set presents Moondance in either Dolby TrueHD 5.1 or Dolby TrueHD 2.0 at 192kHz/24-bit. This is perhaps the first time I can remember an audio Blu-ray feature Dolby TrueHD rather than DTS-HD Master Audio, but the results here are absolutely lustrous and impeccably clear. I'm old enough that I originally owned Moondance on LP, and certain tracks are indelibly imprinted upon my mind. The upgrade in resolution on this Blu-ray is often astounding, even revelatory. The 5.1 mix subtly but integrally opens up the mix, giving much wider separation to, for example, the saxes in the right channels and the acoustic guitar in the left channels on "And It Stoned Me" (several of the songs actually follow this same formula of separation). Even better, there's lateral space between the saxes now, offering a startlingly clear delineation of the various parts. Even "little" moments, like some of the piano parts on "Moondance" are now much easier to make out, with greater clarity between the keyboard's low end and the bass. Morrison's voice is immaculately reproduced in all of its gruff finery. He howls, grunts and, yes, sings mellifluously, interwoven with the incredible contributions of the fantastic rhythm section and occasional backup singers, and the 5.1 mix especially boosts the midrange, giving increased clarity to his voice and the surrounding instrumentation where before things could tend to sound slightly muddy at times.

Van Morrison: Moondance Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Many if not most people picking up this handsomely packaged set might in fact think of the Blu-ray as the supplement, but for us here at Blu-ray.com, it's everything else. The four CDs include a wealth of great material:

CD 1

• Moondance Remastered

  1. And It Stoned Me

  2. Moondance

  3. Crazy Love

  4. Caravan

  5. Into the Mystic

  6. Come Running

  7. These Dreams of You

  8. Brand New Day

  9. Everyone

  10. Glad Tidings

CD 2: The Sessions

• September 5, 1969

  "What Do We Call This, Van?"

  Caravan Take 1

  Caravan Takes 2-3

  Caravan Take 4

  Caravan Takes 5-6

  Caravan Take 7

  Caravan Take 8

  
  

  I've Been Working Take 1

  I've Been Working Take 2

  I've Been Working Take 3

  
  

  Nobody Know You When You're Down And Out Outtake

• November 11, 1969

  I Shall Sing Take 1

  I Shall Sing Takes 2-3

  I Shall Sing Takes 4-6

  I Shall Sing Take 7

  I Shall Sing Takes 8-12

  I Shall Sing Take 13

CD 3: More Sessions

• November 18, 1969

  Into the Mystic Take 10

  Into the Mystic Take 11

  Into the Mystic Takes 12-13

  Into the Mystic Takes 14-16

  Into the Mystic Take 17

  
  

  Caravan Redo: Takes 1=2

  Caravan Redo: Take 3

• November 24, 1969

  Brand New Day Take 1

  Brand New Day Take 2

  Brand New Day Take 3

  Brand New Day Take 4

  Brand New Day Takes 5-6

  Brand New Day Take 7

• December 1, 1969

  Glad Tidings Fast Version Take 1

  Glad Tidings Takes 2-4

  Glad Tidings Takes 7-8

  Glad Tidings Take 9

CD 4: Sessions, Alternates and Mixes

• December 11, 1969

  Come Running Take 1

  Come Running Take 2

  Come Running Takes 3-4

  Come Running Take 5

  "Rolling on 4"

• November 8, 1969

  Moondance Take 21

  Moondance Take 22

• Master Mix Reel Alternates

  Glad Tidings Alternate Version

  These Dreams of You Alternate Version

• Mono Mixes From A&R Recording Studios December 17, 1969

  Crazy Love Mix

  Glad Tidings Remix 1

  Glad Tidings Remix 2

  Glad Tidings Remix 3

  
  

  Caravan Remix 1

  
  

  These Dreams of You Remix

  
  

  I Shall Sing Mix

Van Morrison: Moondance Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Moondance remains one of the classic rock albums of all time and (for better or worse) usually tops most listeners' lists of Van Morrison projects. This new Deluxe Edition is very handsomely packaged in a clothbound book with a couple of great essays and the album's original fable liner notes. While the audio Blu-ray is going to be the big ticket attraction for most readers of this site, don't underestimate the joys to be found in the included CDs. The three CDs featuring "works in progress" are an absolutely astounding, and incredibly educational, listen, providing ample evidence of an artist already arriving with material largely formulated, but gently bending and shaping things as he goes along. Highly recommended.