Van Enough for All, Decide for Yourself
5
By Spitting Lama
We fundamentally named our only son after Van. This is the first Van album I heard. Beautiful Vision is the first I bought. For me, the peak of Van's work starts here and fades out after Enlightenment. I've seen critics (stuck on Astral Weeks) write off that whole period. Also, I think Common One is one of his best. Over 40 years VM was prolific yet produced nary a tune that I can't enjoy. But give me Wavelength, Into the Music, Common One, No Guru, Sense of Wonder, Beautiful Vision, and Inarticulate Speech. Those mystical, magical 7. But you have to decide for yourself. And it may take a while. But if this voice doesn't hit you where it matter then you must be real, real gone.