Veedon Fleece by Van Morrison

Veedon Fleece, Van Morrison's eighth studio album, came out on Warner Bros. in October 1974, and it's the sound of a man going home to find out who he is now. His marriage behind him and 7 years in America at his back, Morrison went to Ireland on holiday in October 1973 with his fiancée Carol Guida, and in less than three weeks he wrote all but three of the album's songs ("Bulbs", "Country Fair" and "Come Here My Love" were the exceptions). The recording itself took two weeks.

The obvious comparison is Astral Weeks: the same stream-of-consciousness words tumbling out, the same sense of a singer chasing something he can't quite name. But this one is more acoustic and more Celtic, with the Irish trip soaked into every corner of it. Long overlooked, it has picked up more praise with each passing year.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.