His band and the street choir

"When Morrison claimed Astral Weeks sounded "samey" in latter-day interviews, he had a point: it was variations on a theme, whereas His Band and the Street Choir shoehorns celebration, sweet melancholy, and reflection into 12 songs. Perhaps this doesn't make for a spiritually transcendent record but it is an album of sustenance, providing sustained pleasures for times of joy and sorrow".

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"His Band and the Street Choir, the other Van Morrison album receiving an expanded treatment in this inaugural series of deluxe reissues, stands as something of a counter to the heady Astral Weeks: it is all about the rough and tumble joy of living. Delivered almost immediately after the breakthrough of Moondance-that record came out in January 1970, His Band arrived in November of that year-His Band and the Street Choir is the first of Morrison's albums where the production is credited entirely to the man himself".

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