Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Van ‘The Man’ Morrison has a released
a new CD, Keep It Simple. As he says of the title track “…let’s
hope we can get back to something simple, otherwise we’re screwed.”
and though I’m not so sure if I agree with him — or really even
know what he means (Mr. M has been quite the elusive fellow in his career, to
say the least) — I do agree he’s keeping it pretty simple on this
11-track CD.
Released on Lost Highway, one of the last singer-songwriter independent labels
left, this self-produced new CD of Morrison’s relies a lot on his blues/country
interests. I truly respect a guy like Van Morrison, writing all the songs here
and producing, but I’m not so sure we’re hearing anything on Keep
It Simple we haven’t heard before from this legend.
First and foremost, Morrison has still got the pipes. No matter where you have
been with this guy in his career — from his beginnings with Them to his
early solo hits of Tupelo Honey and Moondance,
right on through to his duets with the likes of Elvis Costello and his sometimes
less-then-stellar live performances — Van Morrison has retained his perfectly
soulful voice and unique songwriting skills. On songs like “School Of
Hard Knocks” and “That’s Entrainment,” he uses his most
distinctive instrument on cleverly written tunes. It really is a treat to hear
a guy slightly older than the spate of recent Josh Grobans and all those other
youngsters still able to sing like this.
Songs like the aforementioned “That’s Entrainment,” as well
as the snappy (and for my money best tune here) “Don’t Go To Nightclubs
Anymore,” show off Morrison’s gift as a lyricist. In fact, “Nightclubs”
might be the best attempt he has ever made at poking fun at himself, and it
works like a charm. Other highlights include the gospel of “Song of Home,”
the angelic “Lover Come Back,” and the blues opener “How Can
A Poor Boy?” feature the simple configuration of organ, drums, guitar,
harmonica, bass and backing vocals.
When it comes to Van Morrison, you need to let his music wash over you. It’s
best to let his voice take you where it will; don’t fight it. It’s
kind of like being on a raft sluicing it’s way downstream, the destination
not nearly as important as the undulant ride (how’s that for waxing poetic,
huh?). Keep It Simple is just such a ride, a solid record from
a legend, maybe a little light on surprises, but then again when you’re
riding along with Van Morrison, you really don’t need surprises.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
