YMMV / Astral Weeks

• Alternative Character Interpretation: While Van Morrison has given Flip-Flop of God and Shrug of God explanations about the song, most people view "Madame George" as being about an aging Drag Queen who was a neighborhood character in Belfast. Still, some people have invented other explanations, like that the song is about Georgie Hyde-Lees, the widow of William Butler Yeats, or that Madame George is a metaphorical representation of heroin, and the song is about ending an addiction.
• Awesome Music: The entire album is frequently cited as one of the best albums ever made, and there is so little else like it in the canon of recorded music that its genre is essentially unclassifiable. It's usually considered Morrison's best album and one of the best albums of the entire 1960s.
• Spiritual Successor: 1974's Veedon Fleece is usually considered one to this album, with Morrison going back to mixing contemplative lyrics with an Irish-infused folk-jazz mix, after a few albums of more uptempo Soul-inspired work.
• Vindicated by History: It was initially ignored by the record buying public and critics, but within a few years, the latter were hailing it as a masterpiece. While it has never been a huge seller at any specific point in time, it was certified as a gold record by the RIAA in 2001, indicating that it had sold at least 500,000 copies in America. According to the website Acclaimed Music, it is the 15th highest-ranked record in critics' all-time lists.