Van the man

^What’s Wrong with This Picture?~ Van Morrison, Bluenote *** Van the Man, the notoriously grouchy Northern Irish bard, has a hard time pleasing everyone. Aside from the great early albums, the pop-perfect ^Moondance~ and the moony ^Yeatsian Astral Weeks~ (and possibly ^His Band and The Street Choir~), virtually all of Morrison’s very many albums have had their detractors. That is at least in part because Morrison is such a chameleon. Yes, the whiskeyed voice is unmistakable, but the material can vary from Celtic pop to jazz to swing to country to funk to folk to folk-funk to blues to ... The great thing about Morrison – besides that voice, which has survived and even flourished into its owner’s mid-50s, even acquiring a kind of experiential force – is that he’s not phoning in this performance; his commitment to the music remains as central as ever. On this album, Morrison has some fun (if you can envision His Dourness having fun) with the very myths that have dogged him. ^Gold Fish Bowl~ is about the horrors of fame and the jump-bluesy ^Whining Boy Moan~ not only swings, it’s a commentary on Morrison’s own famous complaining about the industry. The softer side of Morrison makes its obligatory appearance in ^Little Village~, a beautifully phrased hymn to personal intimacy. And when Van intones “Way up on the mountain, with you by my side,” we’re not sure whether he’s into the secular or the sacred. This may not be perfect Morrison, but there’s more than enough here to satisfy his fans.

Photo Credit: vanmorrison.com