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 A Pleasant Surprise Aug 27, 2008
Van Morrison has certainly evolved musically in the 41 years since "Brown Eyed Girl" first hit the charts. The "Simple" premise of Morrison's latest offering is quite ironic. Van Morrison composed and sang all eleven tracks, as well as instrumentally performing the saxophone, harmonica and ukulele. His trademark horn section is noticeably missing from the album, but the extra space is filled with a strong set of backup singers.
As Van Morrison's first album in three years, Keep It Simple was a very pleasant surprise. Morrison has held strong to his authentic American Folk, Blues and Jazz influences even at this stage of his career. His vocal performance is still very strong, as are his lyrics and compositions.
When the bluesy intro of "How Can A Poor Boy" opened the album, I was immediately intrigued. Bringing the Blues with a strong Gospel influence, it puts the listener into the Church of Morrison, with the man himself preaching from the pulpit. "School of Hard Knocks" may surprise the listeners as Morrison isn't necessarily associated with "Hard Knocks," but the tracks is one of the album standouts.
Unfortunately, many musicians tend to degrade musically as they progress in age, but this certainly isn't the case with Van Morrison's Keep It Simple. The album feels as if it could have been released in several different decades, and still hold it's appeal. After all, an album has to be solid if it has a song called "That is Entrainment..."
Keep It Simple is a much better album than I had expected from the 62 year-old Van Morrison. His expressive vocals are still intact after many years of performing, and it comes through loud and clear on the album. He closes with "Behind the Ritual," where he reveals that "behind the ritual you'll find the spiritual." Van Morrison has undoubtedly transcended his fifty year ritual and found the spirit of music on Keep It Simple.
 Simply Van!! Aug 25, 2008
Really, Van Morrison may age, but he just doesn't get old! Classic Van style on these tunes and his voice is strong. He's still got it! I love music, just about any type, but my husband is a "classic rock" kind of guy. I bought this CD for him (mostly), and I have to wrench it from his hand so I can listen once in a while! If you are a Van fan, you must have this.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Great Sounds From A Classic Artist Aug 10, 2008
I looked forward to buying this CD as soon as I heard about the release date, but then I began reading some of the reviews on CDNow when the recording first became available.
Van's music has been an inspiration since the 60's, and I am glad I finally ignored the negative reviews and bought this one. I guess I don't know why some feel this is somehow less than acceptable. Fans have done this with Bob Dylan since he picked up an electric guitar. There is always something that they object to when an artist chooses to be creative.
Van's artistry and muse are intact, and if you really are a fan of his music, you will love this CD, because that was my reaction. It is like every record, tape and CD I ever purchased and played that he created. His sound will always be unique, and I hope he continues to inspire real fans for a long time.
4 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Musically fantastic - not so sure about the lyrics... Jul 24, 2008
Yes! YES! The best album Van's put out since A Sense of Wonder, and it might even be better than that, which would mean this is his best album since Veedon Fleece, which at this point is thirty-four years old. That's not to say he's been in suck-ville for the past three decades (unlike someone we know - hi, Santana!), because he's made good records in between those two. A Sense of Wonder! Poetic Champions Compose! Enlightenment! Back on Top! Magic Time! Irish Heartbeat's probably good, too! And all of them are better than Avalon Sunset! Ha! But anyway, this isn't any more than Van going over territory he's been down several times before. The difference between this and the similar Down the Road (if you haven't heard it, don't bother - it isn't bad or anything, but that's about all I can say for it) is that Van's actually putting loads of effort into this one. In fact, the first three songs are all pretty much classic Van. "How Can a Poor Boy?" has a great chorus hook and fun horns. "School of Hard Knocks" has a great guitar hook and, most importantly, Van sounding youthful and invigorated on the vox again. "That's Entrainment" has a bit of jazz, a bit of country and a bit of soul. It sounds really good, too! I just wish it had been a bit longer, so Van could do his signature romantic ad-libbing. The next song, "Don't Go to Nightclubs Anymore," sound a bit too nightclubbish for my tastes, but hey! It's not bad at all! In fact, there's only one bad song on this album, which I'll get to in a moment. Anyway, the downbeat "Lover Come Back" is quite enjoyable. So is the acoustic-blues title track. And the guitar solo on "End of the Land." Then you get that aforementioned weak track, "Song of Home." It's country, and I don't like country. Another thing I don't like about this album are the lyrics. Van's mostly whining about how bad the industry has treated him, something he's been doing for quite a while now ("Soul," which still has another great guitar solo, this one electric and rock-oriented, title track, "School of Hard Knocks"), though he's also sometimes spewing clichés ("End of the Land," "Lover Come Back"), or trying and failing to make a reasonable hook out of "Blah, blah, blah" on the otherwise enjoyable "Behind the Ritual." I've never been a huge fan of Van's non-Astral Weeks related lyrics in the first place, but here they're just banal and stupid. Still, lyrics aren't everything, and I like the music here so much that it's a moot point.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Ohhhh that voice of his! Jul 19, 2008
I am such a die hard vanfan. Van Morrison is a musician and a poet. That voice of his just does something to me. The way he sings about sunsets, foghorns, spirit and lost love is just incomparable. Once you start getting lost in his music, you cannot stop.
Van Morrison is the only one whose new releases I will buy unheard.
His only album which does nothing for me is "A period of transition".
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