I’m a big fan of Van Morrison’s early work but Hard Nose The Highway has always left me cold. It was something of a letdown after Van’s great run of studio albums from 1968 to 1972: Astral Weeks, Moondance, His Band and the Street Choir, Tupelo Honey, and my personal favorite St. Dominic’s Preview.

I do, however, love the artwork by Rob Springett who also did the cover for a previous honoree, Herbie Hancock’s Thrust. It’s ironic that one of Van’s lesser albums had one of his best covers. I write it off to his artistic perversity and overall cantankerousness:

Here’s the LP via the YouTube: