i know there will those who disagree, but van morrison has been making the same album for the last 15 - 20 years.

same tempo's, same chord progressions, same key (so he can sing it) just different lyrics.

and for those who want to know, yes, i have bought all of them

So, I'm puzzled by the nature of your post. On the one hand, you're suggesting that Van's music has become monotonous. Yet you have bought all of his albums over the past 15-20 years. What are you recommending where this new album is concerned? You've got me scratching my head.

Van Morrison Announces New Album 'Roll With the Punches,' Fall Tour



Van Morrison detailed his 37th studio album. Roll With the Punches, out September 22nd, contains covers of old blues and soul classics along with five new compositions from Van Morrison.

"The songs on Roll With the Punches – whether I've written them or not – they're performance oriented," the singer said in a statement. "Each song is like a story and I'm performing that story. That's been forgotten over years because people over-analyze things. I was a performer before I started writing songs, and I've always felt like that's what I do."

Roll With the Punches includes tunes by Bo Diddley ("I Can Tell," "Ride on Josephine"), Lightnin' Hopkins ("Automobile Blues") and Little Walter ("Mean Old World"). Several of Van Morrison's selections are popular post-war standards, like "Stormy Monday," which has been recorded by Lou Rawls and the Allman Brothers and lead single "Bring It on Home to Me," originally performed by Sam Cooke and later rendered as a duet by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas.

The version of "Bring It on Home to Me" on Roll With the Punches could have been recorded in the 1960s around the same time as the Thomas/Redding rendition. The guitar works up and down the scale in a predictable pattern, as if played by Stax stalwart Steve Cropper, and the drummer taps out a light beat in 6/8 time. Van Morrison stretches syllables in remarkable ways, making the word "bring" last for several measures, and background singers add controlled doses of gospel power.

"The thing about the blues is you don't dissect it – you just do it," Van Morrison said. "I was lucky to have met people who were the real thing, people like John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bo Diddley, Little Walter and Mose Allison. I got to hang out with them and absorb what they did. They were people with no ego whatsoever and they helped me learn a lot."

Van Morrison self-produced Roll With the Punches, which features contributions from Jeff Beck, Paul Jones, Jason Rebello, Chris Farlowe and Georgie Fame. Following the album's release, Van Morrison will embark on a short tour. He plays two gigs in the U.S. in September and four more in October. Starting in November, he has a series of performances scheduled in Scotland and England before wrapping up with two shows in Belfast, Ireland.

Roll With the Punches Track List

1. "Roll With the Punches" (Van Morrison & Don Black)
2. "Transformation" (Van Morrison)
3. "I Can Tell" (Bo Diddley & Samuel Bernard Smith)
4. "Stormy Monday / Lonely Avenue" (T-Bone Walker / Doc Pomus)
5. "Goin' To Chicago" (Count Basie & Jimmy Rushing)
6. "Fame" (Van Morrison)
7. "Too Much Trouble" (Van Morrison)
8. "Bring It on Home to Me" (Sam Cooke)
9. "Ordinary People" (Van Morrison)
10. "How Far From God" (Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
11. "Teardrops From My Eyes" (Rudy Toombs)
12. "Automobile Blues" (Lightnin' Hopkins)
13. "Benediction" (Mose Allison)
14. "Mean Old World" (Little Walter)
15. "Ride On Josephine" (Bo Diddley)

Van Morrison Tour Dates

September 10 - Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
September 14 - Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater
October 13 - Rancho Mirage, CA @ The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
October 14 - Rancho Mirage, CA @ The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
October 20 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
October 21 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
November 6 - Edinburgh, SCT @ Edinburgh Playhouse
November 7 - Glasgow, SCT @ Glasgow Royal Court
November 12 - London, U.K. @ Eventim Apollo
November 13 - Birmingham, U.K. @ Birmingham Symphony Hall
November 15 - Liverpool, U.K. @ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
November 20 - Cardiff, U.K. @ St. David's Hall
November 21 - Bristol, U.K. @ Colston Hall
November 24 - Torquay, U.K. @ Princess Theatre
November 25 - Plymouth, U.K. @ Plymouth Pavilions
December 4 - Belfast, IRL @ Europa Hotel
December 5 - Belfast, IRL @ Europa Hotel

so, what were the medications he was on when morrison OK'd that album cover?

you think that someone in his camp might have told him that "punches" have much more to do with boxing than with wrestling

I guess Van (or the art director) was going for a mixed martial arts scene to coordinate the album title with the cover photo. Yeah, that's it.

They must have been paying attention to this thread. Check out the new, more appropriate cover art which I've just added to the first post.

Retired Canadian wrestler Billy Two Rivers sues Van Morrison over album cover photo

Billy Two Rivers, a longtime pro grappler turned politician and activist, filed the complaint Thursday about the cover of Van Morrison’s upcoming album, Roll With the Punches, which he says features a photo of him.

A retired Mohawk professional wrestler is suing singer Van Morrison over the use of his image on the cover of an upcoming album.
Billy Two Rivers, a longtime professional wrestler turned politician and activist from Kahnawake Mohawk territory near Montreal, filed the complaint Thursday in the U.S. district court against Universal Music Group and the musician.
Two Rivers contends a photograph of him is on the cover of Van Morrison’s new album, Roll With the Punches, scheduled for release on Sept. 22.
The black-and-white photograph is also part of the promotional material for the album.
New York City-based attorney Michael Graif said Friday that the photograph is being used without his client’s awareness or consent and Two Rivers is seeking unspecified damages that will be ultimately up to the court to decide.
Graif said his client was upset when a relative informed him the image, believed to be from a British wrestling promotion, was being used without his knowledge.
“He did not find out in advance and that is part of the reason for the lawsuit,” Graif said. “Because they didn’t seek his consent, but one of his relatives noticed the image appearing on the internet in connection with promotion of the album and Van Morrison’s world tour.”
Emails to the record label and the singer’s public relations manager were not immediately returned.