Indulge me for at least five minutes with a conversation about music and my most prized albums and you will undoubtedly witness the huge amounts of adulation I heap upon the 1968 album Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. As I’ve said before, it along with Black Saint and the Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus are, to me, two of the most beautiful albums ever created. And I promise you, I felt this way before I ever read Lester Bangs’ pitch perfect review of the Astral Weeks album. The fact that Bangs completely dug the Mingus album as well is pure coincidence. I must admit that knowing Bangs had such a fondness for both records made me feel like I had, at least, a modicum of good taste.

Here is a link to an interview with Morrison posted by NPR over the weekend. Morrison realizes that Astral Weeks has had such a powerful influence over many people, but he also states that, due to the lukewarm reception and promotion from the record company, he had pushed the album out of his mind. He is basically saying that although the album has completely changed the way many of us look, listen to and feel music, it didn’t mean that much to him. It was just another album.

The fact that Morrison is almost dismissive of the one album that completely knocked me on my ass should bug me. But, it doesn’t. It may not mean that much to him. And that’s okay. He created it. He should be able to feel about it any way he pleases. It still represents the pinnacle of artistic brilliance to me. Probably always will.

Morrison is touring the states now, singing the entire album at each stop. He plays in Waterbury, Connecticut at the end of October — right before my birthday. Ummm….yeah. Trust me, I thought about it. Southwest. Nashville to Hartford. 30 minute drive from Hartford to Waterbury. I could do that, no sweat. Problem is, the round-trip tickets from Tennessee to Connecticut would cost me less than getting a decent seat at the concert. I can’t really justify slapping down a mortgage payment just to see a concert. Can I?

So, unless I somehow encounter a windfall of cash within the next week or so, I won’t be going to the concert. I’m trying to stay in a practical frame of mind. Of course, I could eat bologna sandwiches and not leave my house for the next two months. Become a temporary hermit. I could probably save enough cash within that frame of time to justify making the trip. These are all reasonable considerations.

Like Morrison, I need to push that whole idea out of my mind and just spend that day in October endlessly spinning my favorite cd with my eyes closed, pretending I am in a concert hall in Waterbury. Not the same though, is it? Oh well.