Paru en 1970, "His Band & The Street Choir" est l’un des albums les plus chaleureux et accessibles de Van Morrison. Porté par une énergie communicative et une parfaite fusion entre soul, rhythm & blues, gospel et rock, cet album emblématique révèle toute la spontanéité et le talent d’un artiste au sommet de son inspiration. Des titres devenus incontournables comme "Domino, Blue Money ou I've Been Working" témoignent de son sens unique de la mélodie et de son interprétation habitée.

Cette édition audiophile exceptionnelle proposée par Analogue Productions dans le cadre de la prestigieuse Acoustic Sounds 40 Series offre une expérience d’écoute remarquable. Pressé sur deux vinyles 180 grammes en 45 RPM, cet album bénéficie d’un mastering réalisé à partir des bandes analogiques originales, permettant de restituer avec une précision saisissante toute la richesse des enregistrements. Les voix gagnent en présence, les cuivres en profondeur et chaque instrument trouve naturellement sa place dans une scène sonore ample et détaillée.

Fabriqué par Quality Record Pressings, reconnu pour l’excellence de ses pressages, ce double LP met en valeur chaque nuance de cet album incontournable. Une réédition de référence qui séduira aussi bien les passionnés de Van Morrison que les audiophiles à la recherche d’une qualité sonore exceptionnelle et d’un grand classique du rock et de la soul dans sa meilleure version disponible à ce jour.

Musicians :
Van Morrison (guitar, vocals), John Klingberg (bass guitar), John Payne (flute, saxophone), Jack Schroer (alto & baritone saxophone), Daaron “Dino” Martin (guitar), Bill Church (bass), Jef Labes (piano, organ), Dave Shaw (organ), Janet Planet, Ellen Schroer, Darlene Love, (backing vocals), Rick Shlosser (drums), Gary Mallaber (drums, percussion).

- Van Morrison "His Band And The Street Choir" !
- 1970 album includes "Domino", "Blue Money" and "Call Me Up In Dreamland" !
- Part of the Acoustic Sounds 40 Series !
- Releasing 40 titles to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Acoustic Sounds !
- Mastered from the original analog master tape !
- 180 gram 45 RPM double LP pressed at Quality Record Pressings !
- Housed in a Stoughton Printing tip-on gatefold jacket !

Legendary Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison produced two of the most famous albums of his career Astral Weeks and Moondance but overlooked is this gem because of its proximity to those two heavyweights. His Band And The Street Choir came into existence predominantly during the first half of 1970 at A&R Recording Studios in New York City, with recording wrapping up in July and August.

Produced by Morrison himself, the album actually started out in Woodstock, New York, where he recorded some demos in a small church. By March, however, the album's session had begun in earnest in NYC. Some of the songs had actually been first recorded for those earlier two albums we mentioned, but Morrison decided to rewrite them and rearrange them for the new LP, since the musical sensibilities on His Band And The Street Choir were decidedly different from the albums that preceded it.

As Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote on Pitchfork., "The album gives an illusion of buoyant immediacy thanks in no small part to its heavy R&B kick. Where Moondance traded in jazz even its liveliest moment was named after a Duke Ellington song His Band And The Street Choir relied on soul and gospel, using folk almost as an accent".

It's fair to say that critics at the time gushed over the album. "His Band And The Street Choir is a free album", Jon Landau wrote in his Rolling Stone review. "It was recorded with minimal over-dubbing and was obviously intended to show the other side of Moondance".

His Band And The Street Choir captures Van Morrison at his most joyful and spontaneous a luminous counterpoint to the introspection of Moondance. This is the sound of a great artist unguarded, caught in the groove of the moment, with the energy of the studio practically spilling out of the grooves.

If you love the sound of real instruments recorded with warmth and soul, Street Choir belongs in your collection.