Three Chords & The Truth is the
fifth album Van Morrison has released since the excellent Keep Me Singing in
2016 and in many ways those two albums are companions. Even the tasteful artwork on
the sleeve is the work of the same person. Van’s previous four albums have been
‘genre’ type albums of jazz and blues explorations, collaborations and cover
versions which haven’t always been to the taste of some fans. I think most fans
will enjoy this collection of new songs all written by Van. One song is
co-written with Don Black who also wrote the lyrics to a song on Keep Me
Singing. Let’s have a look at the songs.
The opening track March Winds in February features American
musicians who Van has worked with in the past John Allair, Jay Berliner, David
Hayes and Bobby Ruggerio, plus Dave Keary and Teena Lyle from Van’s regular
touring band. The song is a sketch of a moment in time which is a device Van
has used before in such songs as Snow In Anselmo or more recently Going Down To
Monte Carlo. There is no doubt that Van’s voice is still as good as ever. Some
other singers from the 60’s just can’t sing anymore, but Van certainly
can. At certain points, such as when he sings the title words his voice is reminiscent
of the Period of Transition era. The melody reminds me of Into the Mystery from
Poetic Champions. This song is more like into the Mistral which is the cold
wind that blows in the south of France in the winter. Van obviously finds the
seaside inspirational. He always plays dates in seaside resorts when he can.
The second song Fame Will Eat the Soul features the
same band plus Bill Medley who sings a duet with Van. It was recorded in Las
Vegas. Bill Medley recorded some of the greatest songs in popular music with
the Righteous Brothers, but sadly I don’t feel he adds much to this song. Chris
Farlowe would have sounded just as good and probably been easier to hire. I
like John Allair’s organ playing but I think it is one of the weaker songs on
the album. Dark Night of The Soul is a vast improvement. This song
features some of his old friends from South Wales, Start McIlroy, Pete Hurley,
Colin Griffin & Richard Dunn. I love the rich sound of the Hammond organ on
this song. Dark night of the soul is an expression that Van has used before in
his lyrics. Lots of other phrases he has used previously are recycled
throughout this album such as ‘Start breaking down’, ‘get off the merry go round’,
‘plans of mice and men’, ‘brand new day’ etc.
Some fans have said that In Search of Grace is one
of the weakest songs on the album, but I like it. That shows that everybody’s
opinion is subjective and personal and equally valid. Van isn’t referring to an
actual person called Grace, he is searching for the spiritual state of grace
which has been lost. Grace has appeared in previous songs such as Joyous Sound,
Once in A Blue Moon and of course By His Grace. I love the delicate acoustic
guitar of Jay Berliner. The song shows Van is still on a spiritual quest which
he has been all his life. I’m pleased about that because it was the spiritual
nature of Van’s music that drew me into it to begin with. There are a couple of books called In Search Of Grace. I wonder if Van might have been inspired by one of them?
“Music is spiritual, the music business isn’t”,
Van once famously said. That might be why his songs seem to be divided between, music uplifting the spirit, or railing against corrupt operators which is the subject
matter of Nobody in Charge. It is a very angry song without being
specific about what he is complaining about. There is one line I like though
about ‘media implantation rules the day’. That is spot-on as far as I can see.
The lazy population being brain-washed by the tax dodging media barons who are
telling them how to think because they can’t think for themselves. (I better stop
there, or this review will turn into a political rant!) You Don’t Understand
is even angrier. Many people have noticed the similarity to Ballad of
a Thin Man by Bob Dylan. The band are stripped down to Paul Moran, Jeremy Brown
and Bobby Ruggerio. It has a bluesy gothic feel to it which has echoes of St
James Infirmary as well. The eerie haunting organ sound of Paul Moran is very
effective and reminiscent of Al Kooper. Paranoia strikes deep with human nature
not being trusted and people working in the dark and making you a ‘mark’. I
wonder if Van wrote it in answer to journalist’s questions as Dylan did?
Something is happening here, and you don’t understand, do you Mr Jones?
Read Between the Lines is
much lighter and upbeat. The message seems to be about finding out the truth in
these days of fake news. For me it is one of the lesser songs here. Does
Love Conquer All? Is the question Van asks in the next song and he seems
unsure of the answer. If in any doubt keep the enemy out, seems to be the idea. Early
Days is a nostalgic fun song about the early days of rock n roll which we
first heard live on Monday night. I love the Jerry Lee Lewis style piano
playing of Stuart McIlroy and Van’s saxophone playing.
If We Wait for Mountains is
Van’s collaboration with lyricist Don Black. Why one of the greatest songwriters
in history feels the need for a lyricist at this stage of his career I don’t
know. Maybe at the time he met Don Black he was going through a period of writer’s
block and searching for inspiration. It is a very sentimental song about
appreciating the simple things in life. The kind of song which will be popular
with Radio 2 listeners but veering towards easy listening.
Up on Broadway is possibly
my favourite song on the album. The Broadway in question is in San Francisco and
I feel it is a companion song to In Tiburon from Keep Me Singing with its
references to North Beach and City Lights. Van seems to like that area and its association
with the Beat Generation. Three Chords and The Truth is a shot of rhythm
and blues. It is another song about the early days of rock n roll when his old
friend Lonnie Donegan was king. There is great guitar and piano playing here. Bags
Under My Eyes is a humorous tongue in cheek fun song about life on the road
for a musician. There is some very nice country style guitar and harmonica
playing and even a yodel right at the end.
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| Broadway San Francisco. |
Days Gone By is the final track on this album. It reminds me slightly of Behind the Ritual from the Keep It Simple album. Basically, Van has taken Auld Lang Syne and put new lyrics and a new arrangement to it. I’m sure this will get a lot of play on New Year’s Eve. It would be great if Van performs this song live. It has lots of scope for ad libbing and improvising. I get the feeling that a lot of the words were dreamed up spontaneously live in the studio. When I heard the line about ‘Carry my child on my back across the river’ It reminded me of the story of St Christopher. He has sung that part before in live versions of Into the Mystic. Van seems to carry images in his head for years sometimes before they emerge into songs, often religious images such as holy guardian angels for instance.
I think this is a very satisfying album indeed. Certainly, for
me it is the best one since Keep Me Singing. A nice addition to Van’s great body of
work. It will have its critics no doubt, but I think for a musician aged 74
after a career of nearly 60 years to be able to produce work of this standard
is quite remarkable and I’m sure there will be even more great work to come
from Mr Van Morrison in the not too distant future.
