Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl - Van Morrison
Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl Image
Metascore
77 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score
9.6 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 5 Ratings

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  • Summary: The live album features Van Morrison performing songs from his 1968 album, Astral Weeks, on November 7 and 8, 2008, at the Hollywood Bowl.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    All this deceptively timeless fluidity induces a wonderful mystic fog that might make you forget whether you're honoring a 40th, 5th, or 100th anniversary.
  2. Mojo
    80
    Nit-pick all you want but this is a tour de force, heady, joyful, ambitious, elegiac and--as with the 1968 original--unlike anything else. [Apr 2009, p.99]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Pitchfork
    45
    On disc, Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl is a bland, bluesy celebration you can afford to miss.
  4. NOW Magazine
    20
    He rushes through the tunes, slurring syllables as if enunciating the lyrics would be too much work even if he could remember all of them. And clearly, one day wasn’t enough rehearsal time for his hired band, who are so often in vamp mode while trying to figure out where Morrison’s going that they lose track of the tunes.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. TomD
    10
    I don't know what album the reviewers from NOW or Pitchfork were listening to, but it couldn't have been this. An engaging and hypnotic re-creation of a classic that has moments that can literally take your breath away. Sure, it's not the original, but this music is timeless; living, breathing and captivating after 40 years. Absolutely stunning and highly recommended.… Expand
  2. SusanC
    10
    He is the best! He has more talent in his pinky them most new entertainers today.
  3. TonyO
    8
    Pretty good. Could easily have been a half-hearted cash-in, but it isn't. Whatever the indefinable quality was that made Astral Weeks so special in the first place has not been lost - though to be fair this album is a little bit patchy, like most Van live shows. The extra tracks at the end actually help the mood, which was a surprise. And if you liked Live in San Francisco, then this is definitely for you. It has many of the same strengths. Yet another gripping version of Madame George, as well. Van fans, just go and buy it.… Collapse

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