Our next Round Two contestants are around the same age and have each been recording for five decades, making for a nice heavyweight matchup.
Peter Gabriel defeated Josh Rouse in Round One, picking up 67% of the vote. Van Morrison has an even easier time, dispatching Barenaked Ladies with 91%.
I voted against Gabriel and for Morrison in Round One, but I’m going to reverse myself here and give the nod to Gabriel. I stack So against Moondance pretty evenly, and Gabriel has several other albums I’ve enjoyed over the years, enough to give him the edge here.
Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
I just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
“Son,” he said “Grab your things
I’ve come to take you home.”
To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho’ my life was in a rut
“Till I thought of what I’d say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
“Hey” he said “Grab your things
I’ve come to take you home.”
(Back home.)
When illusion spin her net
I’m never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don’t need a replacement
I’ll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
“Hey” I said “You can keep my things
They’ve come to take me home.”
Meet Me In Montauk 
I have to go with Van the Man on this one. “Moondance” was a seminal album for me. As a songwriter myself, the songs on that album are perfectly structured and performed, and the album on the whole taught me a great deal about the craft of songwriting.
I am going with Gabriel, although the rest of the family apparently will be voting for Van.
This Brown Eyed Girl is voting for Van 🙂
It’s a good thing that my father said that we must get the unlimited internet plan because if I was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean helpless to have a say in Van Morrison Vs. Peter Gabriel to ensure Van Morrison will win I could never forgive myself. Van Morrison was an easy decision in the first round as was Peter Gabriel. I have a profound love for Moondance, along with Van Morrison’s other albums but Moondance most of all. Therefore, this is another easy pick for me. Though So and Peter Gabriel (the album) are two great works of art and I can get “In Your Eyes” stuck in my head for days on end, this one goes to Van.
Despite our unlimited Internet access, I lost my long comment recollecting putting together my wedding video to “Moondance.” Needless to say, Van earned my vote then. “Into the Mystic” is one of my favorite songs ever.