Mike Sembos on Van Morrison

"For three years, I have been obsessed with Van Morrison’s music. While other artists have been hit-or-miss during this period, Van has consistently given me the fix I’ve needed. I can always default to him in moments of iPod uncertainty. For this, I’m grateful. Morrison is an honest-to-God soul singer, impossibly, in an auto-tuned 'American Idol' era. He speaks the truth even though it alienates others. He doesn’t play the industry game and speaks out openly against it. He just makes music — crazy, soulful, fantastic music. It was early May and my band was on tour. I’d never seen Morrison live, and I saw he was doing three nights at the Orpheum Theatre in L.A. … Morrison was set to play one of my all-time favorite albums, 1968’s Astral Weeks. In its entirety. Astral Weeks is the musical equivalent of a warm, fuzzy blanket, with comfy sounds like upright bass, acoustic guitars, vibes and flute that lull the listener into a trance. For these sporadic special shows (which began in late ’08 with a live album taping at the Hollywood Bowl), the studio band was recreated live for the first time ever (including original session guitarist Jay Berliner)" ("Music: Sweet Thing," New Haven Advocate, 10/22/09, p. 28).