Van Morrison

The first half is a rollicking celebration of life ("Bright Side of the Road" and "You Make Me Feel So Free" should've been hits), while the second part slows things down, finding a spiritual and thematic summation in the amazing "And the Healing Has Begun." A special work from a unique artist.

Hope's what they send you for a speedy recovery. Or it's what incumbent presidents
warm up like leftovers just before election year. High and plural, it's what parents forever
hold for children, and what's forever being confounded, disappointed or dashed. Low and
singular, it's the guy next to Crosby in all those Road pictures. If you were happy in high
school, maybe hope was your first date for the dance. And if you're Van Morriso... More >

The rockers are a little lightweight, the final cut drags halfway through, and that's all that's wrong with this record, including its tributes to "the Lord." You might get religion yourself if all of your old powers returned after years of failed experiments, half-assed compromises, and onstage crack-ups. Like that other godfearing singer-songwriter, Morrison has abandoned metaphorical pretensions, but only because he loves the world. His straightforward celebrations of town and country are colored and deepened by his musicians--especially sprightly violinist Toni Marcus (feh on Scarlet Rivera)--and by his own excursions into a vocalise that has never been more various or apt. The only great song on this record is "It's All in the Game," written by Calvin Coolidge's future vice-president in 1912. But I suspect it's Van's best album since Moondance. (Grade - A)