Van Morrison - "Three Chords And The Truth"

I'm glad the new album is all Van compositions.

 

sounds great.

sounds just like every van morrison since 'the healing game'

same guitar sound, same voice inflections, same mix.

 

hope this doesn't mean he only uses 3 chords during the entire album

 

No one is forcing you to listen...

 

I understand you're being facetious and playing around (I assume, at least), and although I haven't done of study of this, so many of Van's great songs sound like basic blues variations in terms of structure (with his own unique Celtic Soul approach to melody, timing and arranging and singing) sp I wouldn't be surprised to learn many of them WERE basically three chords or, at least, in the spirit of "three chords and the truth."

Either way, this last run of Van album has been really satisfying and great. The more the merrier.

 

I was trying to be disrespectful

I do wish Van would aim a little higher though. Certainly many of his great songs are only 3 or 4 chords. But more recently, other than the occasional outburst of intensity (like "Blue and Green") he sounds like he's coasting on his blues based material.

 

i know that, and you really didn't have to say that try to demean me either.

i just feel like morrison is phoning it in these days, it is just my own personal feeling that i felt like expressing here, because there is probably no better place.

i'm not wrong, nor am i right. it is an opinion. that's what this place is, a place to talk about how feel about music and give our opinions on it.

 

but honestly, i am not playing around.

i know you love music, or you wouldn't be here, and i must ask: can you truly say that you don't hear a whole hell of a lot of similarities in every song on every morrison album since the healing game? they are all uncannily repetitive.

and i am not saying that they are bad in any way, just all the same..

and, before you ask, yes, i own them all....except 'the skiffle session' and the one with gail lewis", but i did buy both and returned them.

 

Hearing Van makes me happy and makes me calm. I would welcome three albums a year if it were possible. I can’t explain it. It just is what it is.

 

Keep Me Singing ....for me every song is its own inspired and unique creation...decent musical variety on this album.

 

Disrespectful is fine, too. I just didn't want to be defensive about it only to hear "I was kidding." So benefit of the doubt.

I also agree there are a lot of Van songs that use the same chords and have the same feel - but they are so his own thing and I happen to love that thing, so I can listen to him doing that all day long. To each his own.

 

Yeah, I agree - they are repetitive, much like old blues songs are. I just happen to love the feel of those songs and find enough variation and enough wonderful arranging, playing and singing that has become the unique creation of his very own sound. It never gets boring to me.

Granted, I'll bet one can sing many of his songs over the same chord progressions over and over, but, for me, there's something magical in it - every time he "lands" it on the final line/word of the melody over that feel or those chords, it's just like "Ahhhh" to me.

He also has tons of other material that is much more sophisticated, which I also love. It's all just Van being Van to me and him stuck in his constantly revolving wheelhouse of Celtic Soul blues-based chords, beautifully recorded, arranged and sung just does it for me. I just don't seem to grow tired of it. I'm truly sorry you are tired of it, so you don't get enjoyment out of his new music.

 

It worked on Astral Weeks.

 

Great new track! Glad they’re all original, looking forward to hearing
more.
The title sums his music up pretty well I think. I mean Astral Weeks has like three chords on the whole album and it still works well enough.

 

You mean the song A.W. (which is essentially 3 chords, as is Cyprus Avenue, M.G., Ballerina and Slim Slo Slider)? Beside You is relatively complicated with IIRC 12 chords, Sweet Thing and Way Young Lovers have 5 or 6

 

Yes you have well grasped my meaning.

 

I must ask...does Dark Night of the soul have 3 chords?

 

I really really like the new song...IMO I think its much stronger than anything I have heard from Van in years. I love the sound, production, lack of third rate RnB ...so its only the other 13 songs I have to worry about now....fingers crossed.

 

Hearing this new song gives me the impression Van is not phoning it in on this new album. Haven't felt like that in a long time. Mind you, Van phoning it in is still valid and enjoyable music, which can't be said for most of his peers.

 

Keep Me Singing is the benchmark for the new album because if you try and compare it to anything from the 70's, 80's, up until the mid 90's it's going to come up short. Of course it sounds like pretty much everything Van has done since then, but what he does, he does well. Keep Me Singing took ages to register with me, but I think it's his most consistent release since Keep It Simple now. Transformation was great on Roll With The Punches also. The jazz releases, and rerecording of old songs, did very little for me.
One thing I'm always surprised by is when people claim Van is singing as strong as ever because, while his voice has held up well, for me that isn't the case; he clearly doesn't have anywhere near the range, or power, he had as late as the early 2000's. Also, one of the really irritating things I find about some of his latter day output is his tendency to sing noticeably off key. Dark Night...starts off well, but when he goes into all the 'sowowowowowowal' bit his pitch is way off. I feel at times he is trying too hard to hit as many notes as possible at times. I just wish he had someone in the studio to tell him to do another take. Anyway, sure the song will grow on me, and looking forward to hearing the rest.

 

Dark Night Of The Soul is chill inducing. Thank you Van!

 

2nd song released today

easy Van but pleasant...the 3 chords !

 

Bull Moose lists the lp as on white vinyl.

 

Beautiful!

 

what about No Guru? some of his most impassioned singing there

his next album 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'