Van Morrison
Keep Me Singing

He is no longer an angry young man, but there is no doubt that Van Morrison still knows how to write great songs.

The Noughties often showed him in the shadows, so much so that "Born to Sing: No Plan B" in 2012 generated hope in many that it might be his farewell step before becoming a definitive legend. Not that it and the previous ones can be said to be bad records in the strict sense of the term, but certainly useless, and in front of an artist of such stature, it cannot be said whether it is worse to find oneself with one of his bad or useless works.

This hope, of course, did not stem from the sadistic pleasure of tormenting the dinosaur of the moment to make way for new sprouts, but from the displeasure of seeing a talent that in its best years — at least from "Astral Weeks" to "Veedon Fleece," not to mention his time with Them — had few equals overshadowed.

It is likely that such a thought also surfaced in Morrison's mind, about whom much can be said negatively in terms of temperament and character, but he certainly does not lack good doses of awareness, practicality, and business sense.

Faced with the negative, if not outright hostile, reception of "Born to Sing: No Plan B," all this prompted Morrison to sit down at the table and ask himself the fateful question, whether to conclude or continue his personal artistic journey that began in the Sixties. And he decided to continue on his path.

With hindsight, one might add: fortunately, because Morrison's last two albums are truly noteworthy.

Faced with the good achievement of "Duets: Re-working the Catalogue," it was understandable and legitimate to express some doubts about his form, given that it was, after all, a revisiting of not very frequented tracks from his repertoire in collaboration with more or less known colleagues. The latest "Keep Me Singing" leaves no room for doubt: Van Morrison is back and in great shape.

The Morrison I prefer is the one who engages in a personal reinterpretation of the ballad and casually handles a lively blue-eyed soul: in "Keep Me Singing," both are present, and while the essential craftmanship has never faltered, the talent has become fruitful again, so much so that this can be counted among Morrison's best releases in quite a few years.

Of course, "Keep Me Singing" is not the new "Irish Heartbeat," nor does it make one cry out for a miracle, but it is certainly a good record, a pleasant surprise that many — myself included — did not expect from Morrison and confirms, together with "Duets," his newfound vein.

It is an album with ancient flavors and, as such, preferable in its vinyl version, for the simple pleasure of lowering the needle on side A and allowing oneself to be enveloped by the sensations that emerge, and then turning it over, lowering the needle on side B, and facing entirely different sensations: the aforementioned ballad and blue-eyed soul.

Side A is dominated almost entirely by the ballad form: inspired and reflective songs, orchestral arrangements, the harmonica occasionally peeking through, the organ in the background; Van Morrison, who is no longer an angry young man, sings with affability and almost crooner-like feelings, and although the glories of "Astral Weeks" and "Moondance" are irretrievably distant, that voice is always capable of providing a thrill, even if only from nostalgia for times gone by; but it's not just nostalgia, because "Out in the Cold Again" and "Memory Lane," in sequence, are truly superior-crafted songs that can aspire to the role of modern classic folk in Morrison's vast repertoire.

At the end of the side, "The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword" introduces the liveliness of Side B, where Morrison's voice takes center stage, dominating above all else as it does in "Going Down to Bangor," while the orchestra in the closing instrumental "Caledonia Swing" truly calls back to the times when he took to the stage without sparing soul and body, until whispering that it was too late to stop, then as now.

And not even the horrible artwork detracts from the pleasure of a very pleasant album.