Hard Nose the Highway

This 1973 release features all the magic combinations that made Van’s ’70s studio albums commercial and artistic successes. “Snow in San Anselmo" gloriously celebrates the wonders of weather. “Warm Love” measures up as the soulful cousin to Van's earlier “Crazy Love”. And “The Great Deception” addresses countercultural hypocrisies. But it's side two—featuring the <i>Sesame Street</i> hit “Bein’ Green” and the traditional folk ballad “Wild Mountain Thyme” reborn as “Purple Heather”—that demonstrates the extended artistic vision that only Van provides.