Editing Moondance (section)

{{short description|1970 studio album by Van Morrison}}
{{about|the album|the song|Moondance (Van Morrison song)|other uses}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Moondance
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Van Morrison]]
| cover      = VanMorrisonMoondance.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = {{start date|1970|01|27}}
| recorded   = August–September 1969
| venue      =
| studio     = [[A & R Studios|A & R]] (New York)
| genre      = 
* [[R&B]]
* [[Soul music|soul]]
* [[rock music|rock]]
* [[jazz]]
* [[pop music|pop]]
* [[Folk music of Ireland|Irish folk]]
* [[soft rock]]<ref>https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/van-morrison-moondance/</ref>
| length     = 38:14
| label      = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| producer   = Van Morrison
| prev_title = [[Astral Weeks]]
| prev_year  = 1968
| next_title = [[His Band and the Street Choir]]
| next_year  = 1970
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Moondance
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Come Running]]
 | single1date = March 1970
 | single2     = [[Crazy Love (Van Morrison song)|Crazy Love]]
 | single2date = April 1970
 | single3     = [[Moondance (Van Morrison song)|Moondance]]
 | single3date = November 1977
}}
}}

'''''Moondance''''' is the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter [[Van Morrison]]. It was released on 27 January 1970 by [[Warner Bros. Records]]. After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album ''[[Astral Weeks]]'' (1968), Morrison moved to upstate New York with his wife and began writing songs for ''Moondance''. There, he met the musicians who would record the album with him at New York City's [[A & R Studios]] in August and September 1969.

The album found Morrison abandoning the abstract [[folk jazz]] compositions of ''Astral Weeks'' in favour of more formally composed songs, which he wrote and produced entirely himself. Its lively [[rhythm and blues]]/[[rock music]] was the style he would become most known for in his career. The music incorporated [[soul music|soul]], [[jazz]], [[pop music|pop]], and [[Irish folk]] sounds into songs about finding spiritual renewal and redemption in worldly matters such as nature, music, romantic love, and self-affirmation.

''Moondance'' was an immediate critical and commercial success. It helped establish Morrison as a major artist in popular music, while several of its songs became staples on [[FM broadcasting|FM radio]] in the early 1970s. Among the most acclaimed records in pop/rock history, ''Moondance'' frequently ranks in professional listings of the greatest albums. In 2013, the album's remastered deluxe edition was released to similar acclaim.