New Van Morrison Release, "Keep Me Singing" (09/30/2016)*

I thought the Duets album was great, certainly a lot better than similar exercises by other artists. The Joss Stone (Wild Honey) and Mick Hucknell (Streets of Arklow) were stunning in my opinion.

 

Elevator stuff in my opinion but i concur it could have been worse
Van Morrison is my single favorite artist,his music at its best can lift you up,but not in this sense
I'm not expecting another Astral Weeks or Saint Dominics but there was strong material in albums likeKeep It Simple,Down The Road,Magic Time or What's Wrong With This Picture.
The Duets album and Plan B are way down there in the hole IMHO,i find something good in all Van albums but i have greater expectations.

 

In the mean time here's about an hour of Van at Montreux last Thursday.

 

I haven't enjoyed a full Van album since Beautiful Vision (well, maybe Irish Heartbeat), but there's always stuff worth listening to and moments of sheer brilliance.

 

Thanks for posting this link.

Great set list of songs from in the beginning (Ballerina) the mid-70's (Wild Night, Help Me), the 80's (Someone Like You, In the Garden), and the 90's (Enlightenment, By His Grace). Since Van probably won't be coming near Texas on tour, this was a great reminder of his current performance art, how great his voice is holding up, and his very tight band.

 

Apparently Van is releasing the new album as a special edition, lenticular cover. Bull Moose is carrying it, for $43.97.
Van Morrison - Keep Me Singing »

 

Too Late

 

The new song is good enough for me,i want to hear the rest of the album!

 

This give alittle more info
Van Morrison Keep Me Singing Limited Edition Lenticular Edition 180g LP-Elusive Disc »

 

Thanks.

 

I think you can actually hear Van dropping a quarter in the slot before phoning this one in.

 

seems unnecessarily harsh. been saving up that line to drop in the conversation?

 

So you've heard the new lp?

 

Nope, just saw the thread and listened!

 

Eh, yeah, the new song sounds a bit like "Van by numbers," but at least it's more inspired than most of his last album, which I could barely make it through.

 

I thought musically Plan B was a more interesting album than Van has made for awhile, thanks especially to pianist Paul Moran. But the lyrics probably took less time to write than to sing, and regretfully Van has not shaken his misanthropic inclinations. So, cautiously optimistic the new album might be cautiously optimistic or at least more concerned with Van's ongoing yearning for Caledonia than his crabbing about the Drumshambo Hustle.

 

Looks like Barnes & Noble will have an exclusive version on "coke bottle" clear vinyl.

Keep Me Singing [Barnes & Noble Exclusive] [Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl] »

 

So glad he is still releasing material,I really like the new song

 

You've heard the record, then?

 

Pre-ordered!

 

I need 100 quarters for the clear vinyl.

 

Oh, for crying out loud, I was referring to the clip that was posted of Too Late.

Look, Van was Van for a good twenty years, but if you all want to believe after the last thirty he's suddenly going to start caring about his recording career again, well . . . okay.

 

My mama told me, there'd be days like this.

 

There's always hope!
Dylan did it

 

In fairness, lately Van has tended to pick the least interesting cuts on his albums as pre-release singles -- "Real Real Gone" with Buble from the last one and "Open the Door to Your Heart" from Born to Sing. I guess he picks them because (like this one) they're comparatively uptempo and he thinks they stand the best chance of getting on the radio. Remember, Van still thinks he should be on top of the pops like in the old days (his 2008 reissue campaign fell apart because he felt that Universal wasn't promoting his old albums as strongly as their new releases by other artists!).

I agree that this tune isn't too inspired (it's very similar to "Down the Road" and the lyrics evoke "Meet Me in the Indian Summer") but I see no reason to doubt Van's ability to come up with a satisfying album. Even Duets was surprisingly emotional and enjoyable. IMO Born to Sing and Down the Road both are among his finest albums ever. I don't accept the premise that he's been phoning it in since the '80s at all. And I'd be the first to call it out if he genuinely put out a piece of money-grubbing hackwork. In fact, one of the striking things about Van's late career is the way he takes projects that sound like exploitation (the Astral Weeks concert, Duets) and finds an artistic justification for them through sheer passion and invention.