Manafonistas

My list isn’t in any particular order, but if it was, It would be number one. Theo, my list would be in no strict order, too, but it would be in the Top 30 of my all time favourites, for sure. I really missed it when it came out, so I discovered it in the late 90’s. I loved the entrancing singing, the jazz vibe, the celtic sphere, the in-between-field of expressive singing and pure dreamsphere. Metres running free. And you? My first encounter with it was, I had a Swedish girlfriend when I was 18 years old, and I went to visit her in Sweden. It was an amazing summer, boiling hot, and she had this apartment. And I remember laying in the apartment and having this sense of new freedom and adventure, which I’ve always looked for in life. And she put this record on, and it completely entranced me in this weird hypnotic way. I heard it on vinyl in one go, and didn’t want it to end. I couldn’t work out what it was. I still can’t work out what it is. I don’t even know what genre it is or what’s going on. A strange mix, you’re right, Michael. I know it’s very transportative, but I don’t know where it’s transporting me to, if that makes sense. It doesn’t take me back to a place. It’s transcendental. Even now, I still speak of it with such fervour, because I find it really exciting. And since then, it’s soundtracked so many great moments, of that feeling: sunsets and open roads, and being away. Moments where you’d sit and drink a whiskey, or smoke a cigarette, and reflect. It’s all in that record. „Astral Weeks“ is so romantic, and emotional. It’s melancholy, and some people I know find it too melancholy, but I never see it in a sad way, weirdly. It’s nostalgic for a time that didn’t really exist. I really want to listen to it now…Theo, you said it all, i’m a bit more reluctant with the word „transcendental“, but, anyway, it really „transcends“ the ordinary, conscious state of mind, so to speak. And it will soon get a remastered version, in October or November, and I think that record deserves a good remastering, like the one  „Veedon Fleece“ got, years ago, another briilliant Van Morrison album. And, too be honest, I only like a few of his works:) I see, Michael, and, the quote in the title, I like that very much. It’s by Lester Bangs.