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Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons.

“Into the Mystic” featured on Van Morrison’s “Moondance” album, released in February 1970.

“Moondance” was Van Morrison’s third solo album and the follow-up to 1968’s “Astral Weeks” which had been warmly received by critics, but had little initial commercial impact. Morrison began writing the material for “Moondance” in the summer of 1969 while living near the village of Woodstock in upstate New York.

Morrison would enter the studio with only the basic strong structures decided and without musical charts to assist the musicians. Perhaps mindful of the fact that some of the production choices on “Astral Weeks” weren’t to his liking, he took on production duties for the album, assisted by executive producer Lewis Merenstein.

Van Morrison has described “Into the Mystic” as follows:

“Originally I wrote it as ‘Into the Misty’. But later I thought that it had something of an ethereal feeling to it so I called it ‘Into the Mystic’. That song is kind of funny because when it came time to send the lyrics in WB music, I couldn’t figure out what to send them. Because really the song has two sets of lyrics. For example, there’s ‘I was born before the wind’ and ‘I was borne before the wind’, and also ‘Also younger than the son, Ere the bonny boat was one’ and ‘All so younger than the son, Ere the bonny boat was won’… I guess the song is just about being part of the universe.”

This lyrical ambiguity could be viewed uncharitably (particularly when abandoned lyrics are apparently interchangable with final lyrics), but ambiguity can be a strength. The abstract nature of Morrison’s metaphors means that they will trigger different reactions in different listeners, depending on their own experiences, memories and aspirations. This, coupled with the soothing production, will have made “Into the Mystic” the musical backdrop to many a daydream. A Rolling Stone review (March 19, 1970 issue) by Greil Marcus and Lester Bangs recognised these qualities:

“‘Into the Mystic’ is the heart of Moondance; the music unfolds with a classic sense of timing, guitar strums fading into watery notes on a piano, the bass counting off the pace. The lines of the song and Morrison’s delivery of them are gorgeous: ‘I want to rock your gypsy soul/Just like in the days of old/And magnificently we will fold/Into the mystic.’

…The transcendent purity of the imagery seems to turn endlessly, giving back one’s own reflection. Van’s more abstract songs are mosaics of brilliantly chosen metaphors – ambiguous and instantly recognizable. Morrison communicates directly even when he is most obscure; his visions have power, and the ambiguity of that vision is always unified by the sympathy of the music.”

Rolling Stone would later place “Into the Mystic” at No. 474 on their list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

“Into the Mystic” – Van Morrison

Authorship

“Into the Mystic” was written by Van Morrison.

Recording date/location

“Into the Mystic” was recorded in late summer 1969 at the A&R Recording Studios, New York City.

Musicians

The following musicians appeared on “Into the Mystic”:

• Van Morrison – vocals, guitar
• Jeff Labes – piano
• John Platania – guitar
• John Klingberg – bass
• Collin Tilton – tenor sax
• Jack Schrorer – alto sax
• Gary Mallaber – drums.

Chart performance

“Into the Mystic” wasn’t released on single, but the album on which it appeared, “Moondance,” reached number 29 on the Billboard album chart, and would go on to sell millions.

The “Moondance” album reached number 32 on the UK album chart.

Notable other versions

“Into the Mystic” – Paul Carrack

Paul Carrack featured “Into the Mystic” as a bonus track of the reissue of his “Beautiful World” album in 2005. Subtle instrumentation supports Carrack’s strong vocal, which is perfectly suited to the material. This is an excellent cover.

“Into the Mystic” – Johnny Rivers

Just months after Van Morrison’s original was released on “Moondance,” Johnny Rivers covered the song on his album “Slim Slo Slider”. Rivers did very well with the song, singing with assurance and adopting a slightly livelier arrangement than the original, complete with a well worked key change.

Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” is available on the album “Moondance”.

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