His Band And The Street Choir

The dark night of the soul that culminated in ‘Astral Weeks’ found its counterpart in Morrison’s next two albums, the seminal ‘Moondance’ and its subsequent sister, ‘His Band and the Street Choir’. Both released in 1970, these latter two albums defined the folk / soul / blues amalgam that would prove to be the foundation of Morrison’s music.

The tunes here are among the most soulful in Morrison’s repertoire. The classic opener ‘Domino’ finds him wailing over a punchy horn section and insistent, percolating rhythms, setting the tone for the rest of the album. Van rocks his way through the R&B-inflected ‘Blue Money,’ gets down on the funk workout ‘I’ve Been Working,’ and waxes lyrical on ‘If I Ever Needed Someone,’ which seems to be both a gospel song and love ballad simultaneously. ‘His Band and the Street Choir’ is perhaps Morrison’s most open, exuberant recording.