Previously available only on rare cassette tapes, a recording of the late Jim Shepard covering Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks” has made its way to the internet, thanks to a discovery by Psychedelic Horseshit singer Matt Whitehurst. The track comes from a performance sometime in the early ‘90s at the Milo Arts Coffee House in Shepard’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Jim is known amongst Columbus musicians for his work with the bands Vertical Slit, V3, Phantom Limb and other projects.
The performance itself harnesses the free-flowing and spontaneous feel of Morrison’s lyrics and vocal part, with Shepard even taking a detour from the lyrics midway-through to reflect on Van’s desire to be “born again.” A pair of acoustic guitarists play steady, energetic chords, crafting a simple background for his emotionally charged ramblings and proclamations. Discover this lost gem for yourself below. (via Altered Zones)
MP3: Jim Shepard – Astral Weeks (Van Morrison cover)
[audio: News0411/26AstralWeeks.mp3]
Read more from Psychedelic Horseshit about the song at Altered Zones.
I actually recorded this on one of those Panasonic boomboxes. It was great it had a condenser mic on the left and right and the sound isn’t too shabby and one of the really great things about these mics minimal hiss. The Milo Coffeehouse was a coffeehouse I started in the kitchen/common area at the Milo Artist Colony. Jim’s performance I believe is from 1991. Along with Jim is Nudge Squidfish (Al Martin) playing acoustic guitar as well. They also performed Sinéad O’Connor’s “Black Boys On Mopeds” and The Doors “Unhappy Girl.” I believe that was the whole set and yes the whole performance does exist I just don’t have that cassette with me here in Cleveland. The funniest and oddest thing is this song has been in the ether long before Matt Horseshit “discovered” it. I in fact call horseshit on that. In fact it is on the first tribute I put together for Jim called “Matter Dominates Spirit” double vinyl record (produced along with Chris Loper) from 2003 – Meta.