Astral Weeks by Van Morrison 1968

Around 1976 I was up in St. Andrews in country Victoria for a BBQ with a bunch of students from Burwood Teachers College. We were sitting outside on a beautiful summer's day drinking and just relaxing when Leon, whose house it was put this album on. I was just completely taken somewhere else. It was mesmerizing. Although familiar with a number of Van Morrison tracks in the past I'd never sat down and listened to one of his albums.
So I went out and bought the album and played it regularly for years.  It just feels good whenever you put it on. and I don't think I've ever listened to it on anything but vinyl. So when I flip it over I get the Way Young Lovers Do its a quick pick me up before settle down for the rest of the slow ride.
The house I first heard Astral weeks it was also the house Little Murders recorded Things Will Be Different in. We spent a weekend there with the nearest neighbour maybe a kilometre away, recording our debut single on a TEAC 4 track. What a fantastic gesture by a friend from college to let us set up a studio in his home over the weekend. Leon and I were the only two guys in a group of 32 girls in my homegroup. One of the reasons I became a teacher I guess. After 7 years in a boys-only school ( I had to repeat a year) I wanted to be in a place where there were girls to talk to. Also, Burwood Teachers College was just a short bus ride away. My future was mapped out by happenstance. Going to college not only gave me a great career in teaching but also led to me forming a band in 1977.