Editing Van Morrison (section)

===Vocals===
{{quote box
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| quote  = It is at the heart of Morrison's presence as a singer that when he lights on certain sounds, certain small moments inside a song—hesitations, silences, shifts in pressure, sudden entrances, slamming doors—can then suggest whole territories, completed stories, indistinct ceremonies, far outside anything that can be literally traced in the compositions that carry them.
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| source = –[[Greil Marcus]]<ref name="MarcusPage108">Marcus (2010), page 108.</ref>
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Featuring his characteristic growl—a mix of [[folk music|folk]], [[blues]], [[soul music|soul]], [[jazz]], [[gospel music|gospel]], and [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] [[Celtic music|Celtic]] influences—Morrison is widely considered by many rock historians to be one of the most unusual and influential vocalists in the history of [[rock and roll]].<ref name="Fallis, Jeff">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/08/van-morrison-between-the-heart-and-the-throat.html|magazine=[[Paste Magazine]]|title=Van Morrison: Between the Heart and the Throat|author=Fallis, Jeff|date=31 August 2015|access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Sheffield, Rob">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/duets-re-working-the-catalogue-114130/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|title=Duets: Re-Working the Cataloguet|author=Sheffield, Rob|date=24 March 2015|access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Van Morrison Biography: Rolling Stone">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622011927/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/biography|title=Van Morrison Biography: Rolling Stone|archive-date=22 June 2008|publisher=Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll (Simon and Shulster, 2001)|access-date=17 May 2010|url-status=dead|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/biography}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p107175|pure_url=yes}}|title=AllMusic: Van Morrison biography|author=Ankeny, Jason|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=6 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/van-morrison/|title=R&R Hall of Fame:Van Morrison|website=Rockhall.com|access-date=7 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604035945/http://rockhall.com/inductees/van-morrison/|archive-date=4 June 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Critic [[Greil Marcus]] has said "no white man sings like Van Morrison."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/reviews/music/van-morrison-still-on-top-greatest-hits-$1153228.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201180359/http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/reviews/music/van-morrison-still-on-top-greatest-hits-%241153228.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date= 1 December 2008|title=Van Morrison: Still on Top – The Greatest Hits|author=Meghan, Graham|date=7 October 2007|website=Inthenews.co.uk|access-date=17 October 2008}}</ref> In his 2010 book, Marcus wrote, "As a physical fact, Morrison may have the richest and most expressive voice pop music has produced since [[Elvis Presley]], and with a sense of himself as an artist that Elvis was always denied."<ref>Marcus (2010), page 7</ref>

As Morrison began live performances of the 40-year-old album ''Astral Weeks'' in 2008, there were comparisons to his youthful voice of 1968. His early voice was described as "flinty and tender, beseeching and plaintive".<ref name="O'Hagan, Sean">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/nov/02/vanmorrison-popandrock|work=The Guardian|author=O'Hagan, Sean|date=2 November 2008|title=Is this the best album ever made?|access-date=2 May 2009|location=London}}</ref> Forty years later, the difference in his vocal range and power were noticeable but reviewers and critic's comments were favourable: "Morrison's voice has expanded to fill his frame; a deeper, louder roar than the blue-eyed soul voice of his youth—softer on the diction—but none the less impressively powerful."<ref name="McNulty, Bernadette">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/bernadettemcnulty/5245540/On-another-Astral-plane.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629212916/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/bernadettemcnulty/5245540/On-another-Astral-plane.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2011|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=On Another Astral Plane|author=McNulty, Bernadette|date=29 April 2009|access-date=2 May 2009|location=London}}</ref> Morrison also commented on the changes in his approach to singing: "The approach now is to sing from lower down [the diaphragm] so I do not ruin my voice. Before, I sang in the upper area of my throat, which tends to wreck the vocal cords over time. Singing from lower in the belly allows my resonance to carry far. I can stand four feet from a mic and be heard quite resonantly."<ref name="Astral Traveller">Neil, Chris, ''Performing Songwriter'', Issue 116, March/April 2009, Pages 44–50</ref>