Van Morrison
Three Chords And The Truth

I love this man, I confess. Gruff, introverted, Irish, red-haired, overweight, but I love him. No one describes emotions in music better than he does. Try listening to Brown Eyed Girl, isn’t it the thought of a first love at sixteen? The heart's leap when he/she approaches is the clapping hands, the tinkling of the guitar mingling with the bass is the rising excitement, and the explosion of the chorus sha-la-la-la… is the pure joy of the moment! No other song makes me smile every time I listen to it, makes my day better… Even if he had released nothing else but this single piece (and Sweet Thing), he would still have a reserved place in the rock paradise.

Of the five songs that saved my life, two were written by Van the man.

After all, to someone who churned out the astral week, who is on his 41st career album (with 6 in the last 4 years), who turned 74 on August 31st, who performs about fifty concerts a year, what can you say? Only an immense thank you for existing!

This preamble to tell you that I won't be objective, I think I liked the CD even before listening to it (!), in fact “three chords and the truth” is a splendid title to make the songs an invaluable asset, deeply moving. The cover? Let's say it's sober, pleasant. Van had accustomed us to much worse...

The player starts, March Winds In February begins, it seems to come out of a wonderful vision (beautiful vision) or even from the astral week, but someone once wrote that the song remains the same, (a bunch with a funny name of a dirigible). So here there are, as always Celtic R&B, gospel, soul, and jazz; it is timeless Morrison. There are no horns, electric and acoustic guitars intertwine nicely over a bass and drum line where Van's voice reigns supreme, just like in the '70s. Also excellent is the bouncy Fame Will Eat The Soul, a powerful R&B, always with a prominent bass line characterizing it, sung in duet with Bill Medley who alternates with Van. Old Bill, with his baritone voice, is still in great shape and almost overshadows Morrison, to our delight. Two old lions in splendid form.

Dark Night Of The Soul is a splendid ballad that only Van knows how to create, with organ and dreamy guitar, serene and spiritual atmosphere, almost hypnotic, like when one common (common one) recites hymns to the silence, with keyboards and guitars arranged splendidly, with a crescendo finale, to create once again an unforgettable melody.

Oh my, what a start, a fantastic triptych, if it continues like this, it's a masterpiece, I think.

It doesn't continue like this, there are some fillers, but that's fine, it's a 4-star CD (against the 7 out of 5 of Astral week), still worth mentioning, You Don’t Understand, over 6 minutes of jazz-blues, Early Days, a whirlwind and overwhelming R&R, halfway between boogie and rockabilly, and the splendid title track. Special praise goes to the concluding Days Gone By song, one of the most beautiful of his recent production, with a hint of melancholy but also that joy typical of the Irishman's most optimistic songs.

Three chords and the truth, over 70 minutes of Celtic sound, and if the song remains the same, who cares if it's Van Morrison offering it to us.