5 Ways Boston Clubs Shaped Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks
- Morrison lived and performed in Boston and Cambridge for most of 1968, where the album’s songs were planned and shaped before recording.
- He developed the material in small clubs, not in New York studios, using live performances to refine the arrangements.
- Morrison worked with local jazz musicians in these clubs, which gave the songs their loose, improvisational feel.
- He wrote much of the album at a kitchen table, crafting lyrics and melodies outside a formal studio setting.
- The New York recording sessions captured what Morrison had already perfected live, making the album a document of his Boston period.