Van Morrison biography

The album met with mixed reviews on its release but undeterred Morrison moved to Woodstock with his new wife, Janet Planet (a fully paid up hippy), where he penned the material for follow-up album, Moondance. Less abstract than Astral Weeks, the album drew on Van's love of soul and R&B and was peppered with short, punchy shots of brass although the mysterious Into The Mystic suggested Van still hadn't lost his quest for spirituality. The album was received warmly by critics as they began to latch on to the stocky Irishman's genius.

Follow-up album, 1970's His Band and Street Choir included Domino, Morrison's first Top 10 single since leaving Bang. But the album relied too heavily on straight R&B to make any impact. 1971 album Tupelo Honey reflected Van the Man's newly found contentedness on a series of lush ballads celebrating love and romance. The album spawned the Top 30 hit Wild Night. The masterpiece of this phase of Morrison's career was 1972's St Dominic's Preview. The album opened with the punchy soul of Jackie Wilson Said, a hit for Dexy's Midnight Runners in 1982 but the epic Listen To The Lion formed the centrepiece of the set, a spirutual marathon while elsewhere rustic tones, hazy acoustics and shimmering ambience abounded on Redwood Tree and Independence Day.

1973 follow up Hard Nose The Highway lacked the intensity of its predecessor and confirmed Morrison's move towards longer songs. Autumn Song lasted for 10 minutes and there was a strange choice of songs, including a cover of Kermit The Frog's It's Not Easy Being Green!? Morrison's highly acclaimed live shows were captured on 1974 double album It's Too Late To Stop Now, which in turn was followed by studio album, Veedon Fleece, an enigmatic affair inspired by a return to Ireland. The album heralded a more overtly Celtic direction with Irish pipes on Streets of Arklow.

There was a long gap in Morrison's career before the accurately titled A Period Of Transition album in 1977. Co-produced with Dr. John, the album received lukewarm reviews. 1978's Wavelength saw Van back on form while 1979's Into The Music signalled a new phase in Van's career as he flirted with overtly religious themes on tracks like And The Healing Has Begun. From here on in, Morrison's albums were increasingly concerned with religious redemption, Celtic myths and the redemptive power of music. 1980's Common One divided critics with its New Age slant. 1982's Beautiful Vision saw Van playing tribute to his blues and country music heroes and spawned the hit, Cleaning Windows. 1983's patchy Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart featured a rambling, spoken tribute to 17th century poet John Donne on Rave On John Donne set to new age synthesizers. Similarly, 1985's A Sense Of Wonder featured William Blake's poem, Let The Slave (Price Of Experience) set to music.

Morrison's huge following provided the basis for frequent live appearances during the 80s and his recording output was equally prolific. Later albums included 1986's No Guru, No Method, No Teacher, a title which referred to Morrison leaving the Scientologists and the spirutual Poetic Champions Compose in 1987 which featured Van singing the yearning Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child. Incredibly, Van's first Top 20 UK solo hit came with Whenever God Shines His Light, a 1989 duet with Cliff Richard taken from the Avalon Sunset album. The single's success boosted Van's commercial clout as subsequent albums, 1990's Enlightenment and 1991's Hymns To The Silence, both reached the UK Top 5.

The 90s saw no slow down in work rate and in 1993 Van released what many critics regarded as his finest album in a decade, Too Long In Exile which included a reworking of Gloria and a guest appearance from John Lee Hooker. 1994's live album, A Night In San Francisco included his daughter Shana and also re-energised his career. 1997 album The Healing Game secured an a UK Top 10 hit and a subsequent tour with Bob Dylan helped maintain his profile. Van's final album of the 90s, Back On Top supplied him with a Top 40 hit, Precious Time.

Van relaxed into middle age with 1998 album, The Skiffle Sessions: Live In Belfast, a tribute to the music that inspired him. 2000's You Win Again was a similarly relaxed affair with Van backed by Linda Gail Lewis, Jerry Lewis' little sister. In 2003 Van was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City and presented an award by Ray Charles. In the same year Morrison released What's Wrong With This Picture on the jazz label, Blue Note.

Magic Time, his 2005 album made it into the UK Top 20 and in 2006 he released the country music themed Pay The Devil album, some 40 years after first entering the public eye. A grumpy curmudgeon to some, a Celtic visionary to others, Van Morrison shows little sign of slowing down and he remains as much of an enigma as his best work.

• Discography