Jason Ankeny (All Music Guide)

The yang to Astral Weeks' yin, the brilliant Moondance is every bit as much a classic as its predecessor; Morrison's first commercially successful solo effort, it retains the previous album's deeply spiritual thrust but transcends its bleak, cathartic intensity to instead explore themes of renewal and redemption. Light, soulful, and jazzy, Moondance opens with the sweetly nostalgic "And It Stoned Me," the song's pastoral imagery establishing the dominant lyrical motif recurring throughout the album -- virtually every track exults in natural wonder, whether it's the nocturnal magic celebrated by the title cut or the unlimited promise offered in "Brand New Day." At the heart of the record is "Caravan," an incantatory ode to the power of radio; equally stirring is the majestic "Into the Mystic," a song of such elemental beauty and grace as to stand as arguably the quintessential Morrison moment.

John Milward (Amazon.com)

Van Morrison went a long way towards defining his wild Irish heart with his first two classic albums: the brooding, introspective Astral Weeks (1968), and the expansive, swinging Moondance. If the first was the work of a poet, its sequel was the statement of a musician and bandleader. Moondance is that rare rock album where the band has buffed the arrangements to perfection, and where the sax solos instead of the guitar. The band puts out a jazzy shuffle on "Moondance" and plays it soulful on "These Dreams of You." The album includes both Morrison's most romantic ballad ("Crazy Love") and his most haunting ("Into the Mystic"). "And It Stoned Me" rolled off Morrison's tongue like a favorite fable, while "Caravan" told a tale full of emotional intrigue. Moondance stood out in the rock world of 1970 like a grownup in a kiddie matinee.

Bill Wyman (Barnes & Noble)

It's easy to forget the strained lives that produced many of rock's masterpieces. Van Morrison was a onetime teen star -- his Belfast group Them had hits with songs like "Here Comes the Night" and "Gloria." In 1968, he had just produced ASTRAL WEEKS, a miasmic, transcendent, almost orchestral song cycle that wowed critics but confused audiences. On MOONDANCE, however, Morrison found a purer evocation of the music in his mind: an open, bluesy, affirming, and astonishingly tuneful series of songs on such elemental subjects as fishing and drinking ("And It Stoned Me"), love ("Crazy Love"), and the radio ("Turn it up!" he howls in the rocking "Caravan"). You also get the jazzy, unapologetically joyful "Moondance" and a uniquely beautiful, saxophone-tinged journey that wanders -- as Morrison puts it -- "Into the Mystic."

(CD Universe)

Personnel includes: Van Morrison (vocals, acoustic guitar); John Platania (guitar); Jack Shrorer (saxophone); Jeff Labes (keyboards); Garry Malabar (drums).

Where on previous recordings Van Morrison had implied soul and R&B roots, on Moondance he set them free. He had rarely sounded so relaxed, whether on the bubbling joy of "And It Stoned Me," the finger-popping ease of the title track or the celebratory bliss of "Caravan." Morrison revelled in the music's tight arrangements, clearly enjoying the punchy horn section ("Glad Tidings") and empathizing with quieter, acoustic settings ("Crazy Love"). Where ASTRAL WEEKS was a cathartic stream-of-consciousness, MOONDANCE shows an artist enraptured by a new-found musical freedom, from this moment on everything he sang had soul.

© Frank Steven Groen