Van Morrison
Three Chords & The Truth
Caroline International
At the age of 74 and with six albums in four years Van Morrison is enjoying an abundant run of form both in the studio and on stages and arenas around the globe. On wistful opener March Winds In February, the Belfast Cowboy takes us on a seasonal journey to the French Rivera. On first listen it feels like a Morrison juke-box classic that’s been around for decades while imbuing the freshness of something recently created.
That spirit continues throughout on the likes of Dark Night Of The Soul with a folky blend of homespun wisdom and sage reflection. There’s a rugged sense of his road dog spirit on a long-player recorded in locations as disparate as Cardiff and New Orleans.
Van is famously still not playing the game on the likes of Fame Will Eat The Soul (where Bill Medley joins him for a robust duet) but musically few are playing the game better in his peer group. Early Days is a delightful look back, as is the slow bass groove of Up On Broadway which takes its cue from Into The Mystic. The easy-going joy continues with If We Wait For Mountains, co-written with Don Black.
Rather than trying to pin Morrison down to a genre it’s the sheer strength of the songwriting and melody that stands out amid the melting pot of his musical styles and influences.
As a singer and interpreter of Scottish songs he adds Auld Lang Syne to the list in the form of Days Gone By. It’s the perfect close to a collection that stands alongside the likes of 2016’s Keep Me Singing as some of the most enchanting work of his later career.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here