Keep It Simple is a mantra for Van Morrison, as he stripped his music down to the bare basics years ago and then comfortably rode that groove, comprised in equal parts of lues, soul, jazz, and country. Van has been riding this groove so long that it's hard to pinpoint exactly when he settled into it, but looking back, things started to shift in the mid-'90s, as understated R&B rhythms took precedence and he started to punctuate them with country songs (or in the case of Pay the Devil, an entire LP of country tunes). Despite his new label Lost Highway's insistence that the fact this is his first album of all-original material since 1999's Back on Top, Keep It Simple doesn't feel all that different than the records since 1999, either in its feel or in structure, nor does it help that Van's songs play with older tunes, both in their lyrics and their very titles ("That's Entrainment," of course, but "Don't Go to Nightclubs" is a winning spin on "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"). Familiarity can breed contempt -- and there's no denying that there is no figure as stubborn in popular music than Van Morrison, so it'd be easy for the cynical to assume that his refusal to change is a mere spiteful act, just as it would be easy for some listeners to think all his albums sound the same, because they kind of do -- but familiarity can also deepen the music, which is the case with Morrison. This is lived-in, soulful music, the kind that can only be made after years of playing the classics, and if that doesn't quite make for a compelling album, it does make for a comforting one. It's as easy to slip into this album as it is a warm bath, as Van's cantankerous rumblings only surface (quite slyly) on the closing "Behind the Ritual," where he scats "blah blah blah" on the corner, suggesting that whatever he's singing doesn't really matter -- and, in a way, he may be right, as the lyrics, the songs even, don't matter as much as the overall sound on Keep It Simple, which is as pure a groove album as he's ever made. There are no surprises, but when you do something this well, there doesn't need to be.
OK, so I've heard from a few parties about my perhaps overly intellectualized analysis of Van Morrison's song, That's Entrainment, from his new album Keep It Simple. But that was just one way of writing about the record, and as I indicated in my post there is more to be said... This time, though, I'll try to heed Van's own advice and keep it simple.Van Morrison's output over 4 decades is so mas...
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For years I listened to at least one Van Morrison track every day, often playing one of his songs to energize myself before going in to teach a class or give a lecture. We're talking major obsession, here... so bear with me and this long post.These days my Van-time comes in waves, on and off. Lately it's been on to an unusual extent, due not only to the release of his latest album Keep It Simpl...
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Holy Crap! Van Morrison actually sat down with media and gave an interview today, March 10th. He never does this! My life long dream of possibly interviewing the Irish man behind one of my most favorite albums of all times (Astral Weeks) is one step closer.Van the Man gave a little chat with The Today Programme about his 35th album Keep It Simple on BBC Radio 4. (Damn! Along with the whole Hell...
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Black Guy Asks Nation For ChangeCHICAGO—According to witnesses, a loud black man approached a crowd of some 4,000 strangers in downtown Chicago Tuesday and made repeated demands for change. (the Onion)
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alas, so very many days have gone by since anyone was makin' time with Sally~Van Morrison is the only artist who can make me cry and laugh at the same time, and i'll always be a steadfast fan. I love it when he does silly things, as in Behind The Ritual when about two thirds of the way along, just when he's relentlessly lulled the listener about to the edge of maudlin, he goes into this little...
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For years I listened to at least one Van Morrison track every day, often playing one of his songs to energize myself before going in to teach a class or give a lecture. We're talking major obsession, here... so bear with me and this long post.These days my Van-time comes in waves, on and off. Lately it's been on to an unusual extent, due not only to the release of his latest album Keep It Simpl...
More >
OK, so I've heard from a few parties about my perhaps overly intellectualized analysis of Van Morrison's song, That's Entrainment, from his new album Keep It Simple. But that was just one way of writing about the record, and as I indicated in my post there is more to be said... This time, though, I'll try to heed Van's own advice and keep it simple.Van Morrison's output over 4 decades is so mas...
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 How Can a Poor Boy? |
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| 2 School of Hard Knocks |
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| 3 That's Entrainment |
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| 4 Don't Go to Nightclubs Anymore |
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| 5 Lover Come Back |
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| 6 Keep It Simple |
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| 7 End of the Land |
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| 8 Song of Home |
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| 9 No Thing |
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| 10 Soul |
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| 11 Behind the Ritual |
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 "Keep It Simple")
