1970 · Jazz Soul · Behind the Songs
The title track of the 1970 album — swing, moonlight and one of the most enduring signatures in popular music.
“Moondance” opens the album of the same name with one of the most recognizable piano figures of the seventies — a jazzy, rolling introduction that sets up a song in swinging 3/4 time. Recorded at A&R Studios in New York during the Moondance sessions, it announced a new Van Morrison: not the stream-of-consciousness poet of Astral Weeks, but a bandleader fluent in jazz, soul and swing.
The arrangement is the star. Horns punch and sigh behind Morrison’s vocal, the rhythm section walks with a light, confident step, and the whole track glows with a late-night warmth that matches its moonlit theme. Morrison sings with unusual playfulness here — scatting, stretching syllables, clearly enjoying the company of the band. It is romance rendered as musicianship.
The album Moondance became Morrison’s commercial breakthrough and one of the defining records of 1970; the title song became its calling card and a permanent part of his concerts. Covered by jazz and pop singers alike, it has long since outgrown its era — proof that a well-built song in 3/4 time can feel as modern as anything on the radio.
What to listen for: the piano intro and the way the horns answer Morrison’s phrases, like a conversation between old friends. Then the ending — the band vamps, Morrison scats, and the moon stays up a little longer.