"Sweet Thing" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on his second studio album Astral Weeks (1968). It was on the first side of the album, that was under the heading: In the Beginning. The song was later used in 1971 as the American B-side to Morrison's single "Blue Money".
Recording and composition
"Sweet Thing" was recorded during the last Astral Weeks session on 15 October 1968, at Century Sound Studios in New York City with Lewis Merenstein as producer.[3] It is the only song on the album that looks forward instead of backward:[4]
Morrison described the song to Ritchie Yorke: "'Sweet Thing' is another romantic song. It contemplates gardens and things like that...wet with rain. It's a romantic love ballad not about anybody in particular but about a feeling."[5]
Acclaim
The song was listed as No. 415 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN from listener's votes.[6] Mark Seymour on The Guardian called it "the most perfect song of all time".[7]
Other releases
"Sweet Thing" is the only song from Astral Weeks included on the 1990 compilation album The Best of Van Morrison. It was also featured on Morrison's album Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released
Personnel
- Van Morrison – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Jay Berliner – classical guitar
- Richard Davis – double bass
- Connie Kay – drums
- John Payne – flute
- Warren Smith Jr. – triangle
- Larry Fallon – string arrangements
References
- ^ Seymour, Mark (15 January 2023). "Mark Seymour: Sweet Thing by van Morrison is the most perfect song of all time". The Guardian.
- ^ "Sweet Thing - van Morrison | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ Heylin, p. 518
- ^ Heylin, p. 157
- ^ Yorke, p. 57
- ^ "All-Time 885 Greatest Songs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
- ^ Seymour, Mark (15 January 2023). "Mark Seymour: Sweet Thing by Van Morrison is the most perfect song of all time". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
Sources
- Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press ISBN 1-55652-542-7
- Yorke, Ritchie (1975). Into The Music, London: Charisma Books, ISBN 0-85947-013-X
