After the singularity of Astral Weeks in 1968, the 1970s were the
formative years for the solo career of one of the acknowledged giants of
modern music. Van Morrison was one of the music legends who defined the
decade, with every album bringing out different aspects to Morrison's
vast musical spectrum. His story in the 1970s is a chronicle of a
Belfast artist coming to terms with the voice, the call, the dream of
America. The decade saw Morrison work through the promise of the land of
the blues and jazz, westerns and railroads, big cities and backwoods. It
also saw his own spiritual quest and the reimagining of a nordic North
European heritage and Caledonian Irish roots alongside the realisation
of emigration and exile. Morrison forged a rich and complex artistic
catalogue that continues down the years to the present day. Beginning
with smash hit Moondance in 1970, his output in the decade continued
through Tupelo Honey via Hard Nose the Highway to 1979's Into the Music.
By the end of the 1970s, he was again using Europe to recast his music
and imagination for another half century in the business, but throughout
most of the decade his songs centred on America as he created the
foundation of an unparalleled legacy.
