Van Morrison

One of Van Morrison's most enjoyable albums, A Sense of Wonder finds a halfway point between the rollicking, countrified RnB found on Beautiful Vision and the more mystical, synthy Inarticulate Speech of the Heart. Adding to the session are Pee Wee Ellis's horn charts and Tom Donlinger's swinging drums (which avoid all booming 1980s percussion stereotypes); both help to make the title track and "Tore Down A La Rimbaud" real gems. This one's a keeper, though Morrison's next album, No Guru, No Method, No Teacher, would be his late-period masterpiece.