Van Morrison “A Sense of Wonder”
Aside from a short divorce-inspired break between 1974’s “Veedon Fleece” and 1977’s “A Period of Transition,” Van Morrison had been plowing out an album a year since 1965. But, by 1984, on “A Sense of Wonder” we find Van noodling in instrumentals, snoozing through transcendental musings, and making professional Soul songs that try to access the Mystic through the back door of a synthesizer.
Tom Verlaine “The Wonder”
Following an increasingly sporadic period, in 1990 Tom Verlaine released his sixth solo album, “The Wonder.” The album is not commercially available anymore. Actually, it’s not clear that Tom Verlaine wanted the album to be released in the first place. The sound of this album could be described as “thin” or “cold” in the way that New Wave sounds when it veers into Adult Contemporary. Plus, Tom’s spoken word delivery could easily be mistaken for terrible rap. He also started wearing berets a lot around this time.