Inspire me...
Astral Weeks is unique!
Do you mean a recommendation for another Van album?
common one
'It's Too Late To Stop Now' live double - brilliant. Released the year I first saw Van ... a very long time ago!
hmm.. Catchy-folksy-sunday-morning-type music..
I would recommend the following artists:
Iron and Wine
Nick Drake
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
Amos Lee
I am Kloot
Ray Lamontagne
Thanks - stuff not by Van (none of his other sort of cheesey, big band stuff really does it for me but I "get" it's too late to stop now and bits of moondance). Acoustic music with its own style and themes, but underpinned by jazz and blues motifs - yep pretty unique. I think Jeff Buckley was very much going down the same road - but not as successfully because he didn't have the same range of styles to draw on, or the voice.
Graceland - Paul Simon.
A cracking album and quite unique.
+1 for Nick Drake
Ok, look, its not Astral Weeks, but try this, "Tea and Sympathy" by Bernard Fanning, the lead singer of Aussie band Powderfinger. It is, like I say, not Astral Weeks, but its a belter.
Cool, time to hit Itunes
Nick Drakes stuff is beautiful.
Second/third Nick Drake and Paul Simon. The album I think is most like Astral Weeks is Veedon Fleece by Van.
Astral Weeks is a one off though, a rare thing. Try John Martyn Solid Air. Love, Forever Changes. Both bring different styles of music together really well. Going leftfield on the different style themes, try Frank Zappa and Hot Rats. That's not like Astral Weeks at all though.
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Veedon Fleece
Oddly enough, Morrison doesn't seem to like either of them. What's extraordinary is how they were constructed. I haven't stopped listening to both since they were published.
From recent years, I really like The End Of History by Fionn Regan. Love Nick Drake and Iron & Wine as mentioned. If you can get along with his voice, Songs Of Love and Hate by Leonard Cohen is great.
Bit leftfield, but if I'm having a quiet night in, Astral Weeks tends to be followed by the Beta Band (try She's the one for me from the 3 ep's album) Chick Corea (Return to forever) or maybe a bit of Gong (Angels Egg is a good one). The Orb might be a good fit as well, if you're that way inclined.
John Taveners' The Protecting Veil also gets me the same way, if you fancy a bit of classical.