(Blue Note Records)
The old Celtic crooner has cranked out another one. Van Morrison, a mainstay of the old school of rock 'n' roll innovators, brings back his old tricks with his recent release,
From the string arrangement??of the first seconds of the title track to the fanfare of horns on the closing song \Get On With The Show,"" Morrison has created an album that asserts his place in modern music. The singer-songwriter has returned in a far bigger way than he did with last year's . Van the Man offers up an album that maintains his mystic quality while making a rollicking, entertaining album.
For a musician who seems like he has been trapped in endless karaoke versions of ""Brown Eyed Girl"" and ""Moondance,"" offers up some decent?? singalong material like ""Whinin' Boy Moan"" and ""Stop Drinking."" The mood is light and the lyrics are fun, though Morrison's voice could use a little refinement. Meanwhile, ""Once in a Blue Moon"" brings together the clear-eyed optimism of ""Blue Money"" and a few strains of ""Days Like This."" Anyone who ever stumbled through a few verses of ""Wild Night"" should know that Morrison's laughing-boy metaphors and jubilant tone is reason enough to forgive this fault.
The most astonishing part of is that it comes off as a blues album while leaving the listener more optimistic after hearing it. Early in the album, on ""Too Many Myths"" Morrison sings, ""Too many myths / People just assuming things that aren't true / There's too many myths / Coming between me and you."" The showy guitar solos and carefully paused piano interludes give the song an atmosphere of a dark tavern, but a dark tavern with a lot of free drinks. The celebration is muted and misunderstood and it seems like Van Morrison would not have it any other way.
Two songs later, he is moaning and contemplating his way through ""Meaning of Loneliness."" The song recalls his other deeply personal and occasionally transcendental songs like ""Dweller on the Threshold"" and ""Into the Mystic."" ""Meaning of Loneliness"" is a confession and a testament to Van Morrison, a man with plenty of regrets but a few more triumphs. He never pities himself or asks for sympathy. Instead, he simply puts his loneliness??into words and lets the music make it accessible.
As winds itself down, the best track on the album emerges with subtle beauty and pastoral scenes. ""Little Village"" shows Morrison in his element, crafting better imagery than anything he has written since Avalon Sunset. Between the rural references and instrumental crescendos, the song is both quaint and piercing. It is calming in its rhythm and insightful in its lyrics. ""Little Village"" may well be the classic to stand beside songs like ""Domino"" and ""Warm Love.""
As an aging poet and songwriter, Van Morrison kept his creative focus for more than 30 years. He has had his share of missteps and nearly forgotten albums, but his comeback is all but complete with his latest album. Morrison asks, Nothing at all.
