Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

April 16, 2008

Van Morrison

Keep It Simple

Exile/Lost Highway

“I’m not a legend in my own mind,” protests

Van Morrison on “Don’t Go To Nightclubs

Anymore.” Maybe not, but he’s certainly a

legend in our minds. Following a brief foray

into country music on his last album,

Morrison is once again playing to his

strengths as one of the greatest R&B singers

the world has ever known.

The album’s title tells you nearly everything

you need to know. This is the simple sound

of Van Morrison surrounded, as usual, by

brilliant musicians, sitting in a room and

making music. The songs are simple too,

but deceptively so. Giving this music its deep

groove is no easy feat, but Morrison and

friends (organist John Allair and guitar player

John Plantania stand out), carry it off

effortlessly.

Van Morrison still has the gift of being

able to use music to transport the listener

to a deeper place, and that gift is evident

here on songs like “Lover Come Back,” the

elegiac “End Of The Land,” and the closing,

“Keep The Ritual.” Morrison invokes the

spirit of Ray Charles on “No Thing,” and

awakens memories of his blissful

collaboration with The Band on the album’s

title track.

Legend? Yes indeed. Still a vital and

inspiring musician? Without a doubt.

In A Word: Soulful

Grade: B+

—by Ken Shane