[2008-04-01] Van Morrison "Keep It Simple" (Lost Highway)

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:17 am

Description
On April 1, Lost Highway will proudly release KEEP IT SIMPLE, the new album from Van Morrison. KEEP IT SIMPLE is Morrison's first album of new material since 2005, and the first in several years in which he penned all 11 songs specifically for one album. In the interim the legendary artist had a year that may be unprecedented for any living artist, having released three separate collections of his hits, with the latest, "Still On Top" entering the UK charts at #2 and selling platinum, proving the ongoing appetite for his unrivaled work.

His music has always incorporated the widely varied influences he heard and absorbed since his childhood days on the streets of Belfast- long before the bands of his youth and his initial breakthrough with Them. On KEEP IT SIMPLE, Morrison honors all those varied influences - jazz, folk, blues, Celtic, country, soul and gospel - at times melding them all together at once in his own signature sound. "I felt I had something to say with these songs ... " explains Morrison. There is a definite theme that recurs throughout the album, especially in the title track.

In keeping with that idea, KEEP IT SIMPLE does not boast the big horns or string arrangements of some of Morrison's previous work. What it does feature are gorgeous songs rich with emotion, depth and beauty. As on the poignant "Soul," where Morrison repeats the chorus, as if to subtly remind us that, "Soul is a feeling, a feeling deep within. Soul is not the color of your skin." Morrison explains his approach with the track, "That's Entrainment" - "Entrainment is when you connect with the music ... Entrainment is really what I'm getting at in the music ... It's kind of when you're in the present moment - you're here - with no past or future."

Whether it's the easy country gospel of "Song of Home" or the bluesy swing of "How Can A Poor Boy," throughout KEEP IT SIMPLE Morrison exudes a wisdom gained through five decades of making groundbreaking music. Few artists have successfully recorded in as many genres of music as Van Morrison, and even fewer have remained as relevant for as long (only Ray Charles, with whom Van collaborated, comes to mind). Morrison has done so by constantly moving forward and never sitting still. On the heels of a series of "Best Of" releases, this record starts fresh with what could well be a record full of all new classics.

Tracklist
1. How Can A Poor Boy
2. School Of Hard Knocks
3. That's Entrainment
4. Don't Go To Nightclubs Anymore
5. Lover Come Back
6. Keep It Simple
7. End Of The Land
8. Song Of Home
9. No Thing
10. Soul
11. Behind The Ritual

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012QGP00/?tag=imwan-20

Linda · **Posted:** Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:53 am

Bump: Updated the cover image in the first post.

Renny · 26 Jun 2006

talking with jimbo the other day about van morrison i came to the conclusion that i like him but his last 10 or so rock albums have one thing in common, as neil young aptly puts it, "it's all the same song"!

renny

p.s. yes, i will buy "keep it simple"

Kym · 11 Nov 2006

Thank goodness that clip art cover got changed.

danno onnado · **Joined:** 28 Jan 2007 **Posts:** 115

Renny wrote:

talking with jimbo the other day about van morrison i came to the conclusion that i like him but his last 10 or so rock albums have one thing in common, as neil young aptly puts it, "it's all the same song"!

renny

p.s. yes, i will buy "keep it simple"

You mean just like the past few live Van shows that I have seen ? Each one so similar to the previous one, which is a shame, considering the H U G E library of material that he could select from

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:34 am

Quote:

Van Morrison speaks in rare interview

Van Morrison has given a rare interview to BBC Radio 4 broadcast on 'The Today Programme' this morning (March 10).

The Belfast singer rarely gives interviews, but spoke about the inspiration for his his new album 'Keep It Simple', due for release on March 17.

Van Morrison said: "Basically, I’m a simple guy in a complicated business. I’ve never been comfortable with fame, so that's what a lot of this material is about."

The 62 year-old also criticised the current state of the music industry, adding: "There’s an obsession at the moment with what some people call the comics and what I call the propaganda magazines, Mojo, Q Magazine, The Word…there’s this obsession with the past. It’s like no one has moved on. The marketplace is going backwards."

http://www.nme.com/news/van-morrison/35011

[2008-04-01] Van Morrison "Keep It Simple" (Lost Highway)

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