Harry Styles’ “favourite album ever” is a Van Morrison classic
Harry Styles has come a long way since his initial foray into the music industry with his X-Factor pressed assemblage One Direction. After their fifth album, Made in the A.M., released in 2015, the group announced a hiatus to allow them to focus on solo endeavours. Styles’ material seemed the most promising as the teen idols parted ways, with his 2017 self-titled debut album entering the UK charts in the top spot.
Since then, Styles has affirmed his position as the most successful of the One Direction alums with his chart-busting follow-up albums, 2019’s Fine Line and his recently released nod to Joni Mitchell, Harry’s House.
This homage uncovered just the tip of the iceberg when considering Styles’ old-school music taste. Since his rise to fame as a solo artist, Styles has shown himself to be much more than a boyband singer. On top of showing his acting potential in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 film Dunkirk, Styles has used his eclectic taste and geeky interest in music history to his advantage, both aesthetically and sonically.
Styles’ stylish and original approach to pop music channels his tastes, old and new, as he puts a contemporary shine on retro fashion. Over the past few years, the singer has frequently discussed his adoration for legendary pop acts from the adorned recesses of the 20th century. Styles’ recent success is rooted in bridging generational gaps, bringing new life to a retro sound and introducing his younger fan base to something exciting and unprecedented.
In a conversation with Rolling Stone in 2019, Styles picked out some of his favourite musicians from generations past and described their impact on him as a modern pop sensation.
Among the names picked out were Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, who Styles inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, and Paul Simon, whose song ‘The Boxer’ has “a perfect lyric, especially in that first verse.” One of the least surprising names picked out in the interview was Joni Mitchell, given that Styles named his new album Harry’s House after Mitchell’s 1975 song of the same name.
Styles revealed that he is also a big fan of Mitchell’s hit 1971 album, Blue. “I was in a big Joni hole,” Styles told Rolling Stone. “I kept hearing the dulcimer all over Blue. So I tracked down the lady who built Joni’s dulcimers in the ’60s. She still lives around here.” After he located her, she invited him over. “I went to her house, and she gave me a little lesson; we sat around and played dulcimers.”
After learning to play the dulcimer, Styles had one made for him and played the instrument on his 2019 album Fine Line. Later in his conversation with Rolling Stone, Styles mentioned Van Morrison as another one of his favourite songwriters besides Mitchell.
“Blue and Astral Weeks, that’s just the ultimate in terms of songwriting,” he said. “Melody-wise, they’re in their own lane. Joni and Van, their freedom with melodies — it’s never quite what you thought was coming, yet it’s always so great.”
Continuing to explain his love for Van Morrison’s 1968 album Astral Weeks, Styles said: “It’s my favourite album ever. Completely perfect.” Styles remembered posing with Morrison for a photo backstage and inspiring the famously moody musician to smile. “The grin is so out of character for Van,” Styles joked. “I was tickling him behind his back.”
Listen to ‘Sweet Thing’ from Van Morrison’s 1968 masterpiece below.
