Van the Man's Bountiful Ballads: Dealing with a Mountain of Melodies, One Record at a Time
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Excessive tunes: Van Morrison grapples with an opulent quandary due to music abundance - Excessive output of music poses a lavish challenge for Van Morrison.
There's no shortage of music when it comes to the legendary Van Morrison. At 79, he's a relentless recording machine, pumping out a fresh album every year. But this production prowess has led to a conundrum—a literal glut of fantastic tunes. In his own words, "There are new arrangements and projects just lying around gathering dust." It's a downright luxury problem to have, don't you think?
It's with this abundance in mind that the 2022 album Remembering Now steps into the spotlight. The new Van Morrison album breaths life into songs he's had tucked away for years. One such tune, "Down To Joy," may sound pleasingly familiar to those who've caught the 2021 film "Belfast" by Kenneth Branagh. It earned an Oscar nomination, after all.
"This should have come out a long time ago," Morrison mused. "It's just a matter of priorities and timing." In the interim, the bittersweet cover albums "Moving On Skiffle" and "Accentuate The Positive" took center stage. The flawless title track, "Back in Belfast," is a love letter to the city that birthed and raised Morrison. "This is who I am. This is where we are. Back in Belfast. This is how I started" he croons, ringing true as ever.
Remembering Now is Morrison's first collection of fresh original songs in three years, which is a fair stretch of time for his prodigious pace. This record offers an ageless smorgasbord of pop, folk, soul, blues, jazz, and country, just as the audience has come to expect from the one and only Van Morrison.
Jam sessions galore during the Coronavirus lockdown
The new compositions were cooked up during the lockdown period, when Morrison found himself struggling with the pandemic's restrictions. During this time, he sparked some controversy with his anger over the COVID measures and the ban on live performances.
"I got a lot of flak for my stance," Morrison admitted casually. "It was a tough time for musicians. We just wanted to do something fun, nothing more." The uplifting "Haven't Lost My Sense of Wonder" and the groovy soulful "Back to Writing Love Songs" are a testament to those joyous studio sessions.
The lyrics for "Every Time I See A River" were penned by none other than the legendary songwriter Don Black ("Diamonds Are Forever," "No Matter What"). Morrison collaborated with Black on this number, as he often does. "He sends me lyrics all the time, and it usually fits," Morrison explained. "It wasn't a deliberate decision. It just happened."
Morrison's secret: Make your own rules
"Remembering Now" marks Van Morrison's 47th studio album, and he still brings an unmistakable fire to his performances, just as he did decades ago. Morrison credits his steadfastness to his roots in jazz, an influence that's kept him free of commercial constraints.
"I come from jazz, not pop, not rock, nothing commercial," Morrison shared. "I take a jazz approach - not trying to be popular at a certain time and not being manipulated. If you do your own thing from the beginning, you don't even get into that machine."
He doesn't waste time fretting about how his music will be received. "That's not my job," the singer emphasized. "My job is to make the music." And so, he continues to create, unbothered by fleeting trends or audience expectations. In his own words, there's still "more music."
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The song "Down To Joy," originally written by Van Morrison and featured in the 2022 album Remembering Now, made a resurgence in the 2021 film "Belfast" by Kenneth Branagh, earning an Oscar nomination. Remarkably, Van Morrison expressed that the song should have been released earlier, acknowledging it as one of many hidden gems in his extensive music collection.
In the realm of entertainment, Van Morrison's music continues to captivate audiences with its ageless charm and diverse genres, ranging from pop to blues, soul, jazz, and country, as showcased in his latest original work on Remembering Now.
