The Slip-stream

If I ventured in the slipstream
Between the viaducts of your dreams
Where the mobile steel rims crack
And the ditch and the backroads stop
Could you find me
Would you kiss-a my eyes
And lay me down
In silence easy
To be born again

I came across Lester Bangs' review of Astral Weeks today, a piece written ten years after Van Morrison dropped the classic album. Sometime over the past few years I've realized it as my Favorite Album, which isn't something I think about often or very lightly, and a concept I'm not entirely comfortable with. It's certainly not something I feel I can write about, much less review. And I understand and appreciate Bangs' hesitation to write about the album directly, and preference toward illustrating its mysterial grace in the broad, powerful terms that come closest to doing it justice.

Van Morrison - Madame George [mp3]

Secret Machines - Astral Weeks [mp3]

To (try to) tackle such a song seems audacious, but it's an effort I appreciate. The more I listen, the more I enjoy the typically Machines reading. It becomes less overwhelming than it initially seems, all awash in two swirling chords and those monstrous drums. When I saw them play recently, they gorgeously covered Dylan's "Girl From The North Country," which I'd like to hear again - preferably from somewhere other than the pounding stage front.

Visit Van Morrison online, and buy Astral Weeks here. Needless to say, it's recommended.

Visit the Secret Machines online, and buy the Road Leads Where It's Led EP here.