#315Albums is a list of 315 albums that appear on both the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, as well as the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die book, edited by Robert Dimery. At its best, it is a representation of some of the greatest music ever released; at its worst, it is a journey through the history of music that the majority see as important, influential, and/or relevant. If nothing else, these albums are worth experiencing at least once to get a better understanding of music, which is why we are working to complete all #315Albums.
No. 029
“[Morrison] explored the physical and dramatic range of his voice during extended poetic-scat singing, and set hallucinatory reveries on his native Belfast to wandering Celtic-R&B melodies.”
Artist: Van Morrison
Album: Astral Weeks
Released: 1968
Label: Warner Bros.
Rolling Stones Ranking: 19
From the opening titular song, Van Morrison impresses with Astral Weeks because of his naturally bright voice. His vocals throughout the album are what constantly stand out. He has one of the best voices I’ve heard, period, let alone throughout this journey. He sounds naturally talented, and his music shines because of it. The album as a whole is good, but outside of Morrison’s vocals, not a whole lot of it stands out to me. I hadn’t heard any of these songs before today’s listen, and I doubt I’d be able to point any of them out by name if I ever heard them again in the future. Still, I had a good time listening through it.
Cinefessions’ #315Albums Rating: 66%
Image and quote courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.
