Saint Dominic's Preview

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Van Morrison

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It's impossible for me to be objective about Van Morrison and I'm not even gonna try. His music has meant more to me over the years than any other. This isn't my favorite Van Morrison album, Astral Weeks is, but I've chosen to review this one because I think it best represents the many facets of seventies era Van.The lesser tracks here are all pleasant Tupelo Honey style soft rock, and that ain't a bad thing, but the five star rating is based on four cuts that stand out even in the exceedingly high standard that Van has set in his thirty-plus year career. The first of these is the wonderful "Jackie Wilson Said" that finds an upbeat and jubilant Van scatting over cartwheeling horns, it should have been a massive hit. The title cut is a moving account of Van's life in the New World with the gospel overtones he uses like no other singer. This is a guy who could sing the Belfast phone book (and to the uninitiated it may sound like he is) and make it soulful and deep. Almost Independence Day returns Van to the long introspective tone poems of Astral Weeks and would be the standout cut on a great album were it not for the magnificent "Listen To The Lion". Uplifting, and heartbreaking at the same time, it lasts nearly ten minutes, and when it's over you'll want to hear it again. And then once more. It's simply the finest single song in this giant's considerable repetoire. Van confronts all his dreams, all his doubts and all of the tangled web of the celtic diaspora and emerges triumphant. Sound a little too heavy? No way. He has the gift of the true soul singer in his ability to make his soul searching his listener's as well. It's a gift, and Van Morrison gives it to anyone who wants it. And yes, that is heavy metal hero Ronnie Montrose strumming acoustic guitar behind the Man. He knows.