Van Morrison - 2018 - The Prophet Speaks [EAC FLAC]
Artist: Van Morrison
Title: The Prophet Speaks
Format: CD, Album
Country: Europe
Producer: Van Morrison, Joey DeFrancesco
Release Date: December 7, 2018
Recorded: 2018 at Studio D, Sausalito, CA
Label: Exile/Caroline International
Catalog: 7707186
Barcode: 6 02577 07186 7
Genre: Rock, Jazz, Blues
Duration: 69:09
Van Morrison:
Wikipedia:
Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison, OBE (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter and musician. He has received six Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016 he was knighted for his musical achievements and his services to tourism and charitable causes in Northern Ireland.
Known as "Van the Man" to his fans, Morrison started his professional career when, as a teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for various Irish showbands covering the popular hits of the day. He rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B band Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic "Gloria". His solo career began under the pop-hit oriented guidance of Bert Berns with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967. After Berns' death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks (1968).
Even though this album would gradually garner high praise, it was initially a poor seller; Moondance (1970), however, established Morrison as a major artist, and he built on his reputation throughout the 1970s with a series of acclaimed albums and live performances. Morrison continues to record and tour, producing albums and live performances that sell well and are generally warmly received, sometimes collaborating with other artists, such as Georgie Fame and the Chieftains. In 2008 he performed Astral Weeks live for the first time since 1968.
Much of Morrison's music is structured around the conventions of soul music and R&B, such as the popular singles "Brown Eyed Girl", "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)", "Domino" and "Wild Night". An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually-inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as the album Astral Weeks and lesser-known ones such as Veedon Fleece and Common One. The two strains together are sometimes referred to as "Celtic soul".
The Prophet Speaks:
AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek:
Instead of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the classic Astral Weeks, Van Morrison continues to deliver new work at an enviable pace. He's long sought to release more than a recording a year in order to keep pace with his intense work ethic. In 2016 he finagled a strategy to accomplish this when he signed separate yet simultaneous label deals allowing him that freedom. The Prophet Speaks is Morrison's fourth outing in 18 months. It follows the same musical template begun with 2017's Roll with the Punches and Versatile in juxtaposing originals with vintage blues, R&B, and jazz covers. This particular set also continues the association he developed with organist and trumpeter Joey DeFrancesco's fine quartet -- illustrated so ably on the jazz-heavy You're Driving Me Crazy. The Prophet Speaks digs deeper into blues and R&B than its predecessor, but sounds equally loose, joyous, and spontaneous. Its 14 tracks contain six new originals sequenced among eight skillfully performed standards. The fingerpopping opener is Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's "Gonna Send You Back to Where I Got You From," with Morrison delivering a shouted jump-blues vocal as DeFrancesco doubles on Hammond B-3 and trumpet. Bassist Troy Roberts also holds down tenor and soprano saxophones, creating the effect of a whole horn-section, as guitarist Dan Wilson delivers jazzy vamps around Michael Ode's swinging drums. Morrison's voice in John Lee Hooker's "Dimples" rumbles with the sensual feel of the original, though its chart is a polished groover as DeFrancesco and Wilson offer brief, killer solos. Introduced by a righteous electric piano buoyed by upright bass, the original "Got to Go Where the Love Is" is a soul-gospel tune that would have fit nicely on 2016's Keep Me Singing. Sandwiched between wonderfully intuitive readings of Sam Cooke's deep soul blues "Laughin' and Clownin'" and the slippery, gutbucket soul of Solomon Burke's "Gotta Get You Off My Mind" (with daughter Shana Morrison on backing vocals) is Van's jump-blues "5 A.M. Greenwich Mean Time." DeFrancesco's B-3 fills underscore the resonance in Morrison's voice. This version of Willie Dixon's "I Love the Life I Live" is a fantastic update and tribute to Morrison's influence and hero Mose Allison's take on it. In another fine sequential juxtaposition, the singer's name-dropping grievance blues "Ain't Gonna Moan No More" lands between a revisioned take on J.D Harris' "Worried Blues/Rollin' and Tumblin'" and Gene Barge's "Love Is a Five Letter Word" ("spelled M-O-N-E-Y!"); an elegant B-3 and tenor add textural contrast to Morrison's savvy vocal. Three originals close the set. "Love Is Hard Work" soulfully and bitterly takes on the troublesome topic of love, while "Spirit Will Provide" comes straight out of the singer's Celtic soul book. The moody title track, drenched in prophetic post-midnight exhortation, recalls his reading of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" on Poetic Champions Compose, with DeFrancesco adding muted trumpet fills and a solo. Clocking in at over an hour, The Prophet Speaks breezes through its run-time with memorable performances and joyous vibes. This is a late-career surge that is all the more remarkable because Morrison really seems to be enjoying himself -- he continues to hunger after the music that inspired his vocation in the first place.
Tracklist:
01. Gonna Send You Back To Where I Got You From (4:41)
02. Dimples (5:34)
03. Got To Go Where The Love Is (4:25)
04. Laughin' And Clownin' (5:33)
05. 5 Am Greenwich Mean Time (5:38)
06. Gotta Get You Off My Mind (3:45)
07. Teardrops (6:01)
08. I Love The Life I Live (3:37)
09. Worried Blues / Rollin' And Tumblin' (06:24)
10. Ain't Gonna Moan No More (6:17)
11. Love Is A Five Letter Word (3:46)
12. Love Is Hard Work (4:29)
13. Spirit Will Provide (4:04)
14. The Prophet Speaks (4:56)
Personnel:
Vocals, Harmonica, Alto Saxophone, Producer – Van Morrison
Acoustic Bass, Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Bass Saxophone – Troy Roberts (2)
Drums – Michael Ode
Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Dan Wilson (13)
Organ, Trumpet, Keyboards, Co-producer – Joey DeFrancesco
24/7 Seedbox Support
