Van Is Man of the Blues in His New Album
Morrison: What’s Wrong With This Picture?
First the good news. Both Van Morrison fans and anyone who likes jazz and blues will delight in listening to What’s Wrong With This Picture? Produced well with a full big band sound, track after track of lighthearted songs flow smoothly. Van sings on them all, and his delivery sounds as if he’s having a ball up at the microphone, which cannot always be said of the moody entertainer. Press Play on this CD and you’re sure to be in a good mood in no time.
But now for the bad news. The Van fans from the great old days are bound to find this album lacking in weight and depth. There is a distinct lightness to this album that is further minimized by its simple-minded lyrics. With the dramatic weight of a rice cake, you die-hards may wonder, “Has Van the Man gone soft? Has he forgotten the downtrodden days of grimy Belfast, a beautiful ballerina, and Madame George?” Well, yes. Music snobs could interpret this record as Van’s wedding album, it’s so easily accessible. Moreover, the overall subject of the album is (yawn) Van’s fame. Being the center of media attention consumes four of the songs. And if popularity is his only axe to grind, perhaps that’s why the album lacks the passions of yesteryear.
That said, I think most people will enjoy the record. It’s more Moondance than Avalon Sunset, meaning that it is not at all self-indulgent and happily appeases the audience with great music and romantic, but predictable, songs. He certainly steers clear of religious subject matter, and just has fun with the music. A gem like “Little Village” stands out from the other thirteen songs in the first few chords. The most Irish-sounding of the songs on the album, “Little Village” stirs up all the feelings that his early Celtic-influenced recordings did years ago.
What’s Wrong With This Picture? was released on Blue Note Records on October 21.
The Waterboys: Universal Hall
If anyone can make fiddling, strings, the bodhrán and new age spirituality cool – it’s Mike Scott. The founder and leader of the Waterboys has been a musical maverick for over 20 years and is a living legend of Celtic rock. He regroups with former Waterboy fiddler Steve Wickham for the band’s latest release, Universal Hall.
That’s not to say that the record is a return to form. It’s a beautiful, optimistic acoustic album infused with spirituality and light. The album was recorded in the studio below Universal Hall, the arts center for Scotland’s Findhorn Community, a religious group that Scott has resided with for years. Findhorn is a place of meditation and spiritual education, in other words, a hippie enclave. The influence of Findhorn on Scott’s own spiritual journey is stamped all across the album. It is surprising then that the tone of the album is upbeat rather than patronizing and open rather than self-centered. It is a testament to how Scott can embrace new ideologies and not leave his audience behind.
The album sets the listener in the comfort zone of a peaceful place, and the song titles communicate the feel of the album including “This Light Is for the World,” “Peace of Iona,” “Always Dancing, Never Getting Tired” and “Every Breath Is Yours.” Scott sings with the power of conviction and his distinct passion for love and life. The gentle sounds have some outstanding musical moments, including a beautiful piano solo in “Ain’t No Words for the Things I’m Feeling.”
As Scott said himself, comparing Universal Hall to the band’s previous album, A Rock in the Weary Land, “It was a record that came out of a period when I explored a lot of darkness – in myself, in modern life, in history – and when I got to the other side of that there was only light.”
The Waterboys’ Universal Hall was released October 28 on Minty Fresh Records.
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