Waiting for a new album should be exciting, but that hasn't always been the case in recent years for a Van Morrison release. He may be known as being a bit grumpy and taciturn, especially on stage live, but he’s prolific and flowing in music and albums. Remembering Now, just released, is his seventh album this decade alone and his 47th studio album overall.
Now it's not unreasonable to see a drop off in the quality and impact of those albums, especially in his later years. Let’s face it, he’s turning 80 this August. His more recent studio albums, an instrumental and a skiffle set, have been entertaining, but not wowing us like Morrison of old is capable of doing.
I was managing my expectations for his new work carefully and wondering if he’d be going through the motions again. Like he sometimes seems to do on live shows.
Remembering Now, though, is a glorious listen. It has many high points and very few low ones. I’d say it’s a sound of Morrison reminiscent of his better work in the 1980s and 1990s. That's not a bad claim at all, and I reckon Morrison would be happy with that. As will many of his fans be with the album, as the singer rekindles past form and revisits old memories in the songs.
Remembering Now - A new Van Morrison classic?
So, what do we get on Remembering Now? There are 14 solid Morrison tunes, lush sounds, and easy vocals floating over you. It’s jazzy, soulful, bluesy, and folky too in places. He is certainly back on form with his songwriting and gives a clue to where his head is with one song, “Writing Love Songs Again.” The album is a testament to that.
Title aside, the song offers a slightly poppier sound than usual from Morrison, but it works well.
It feels like an album that will continue to grow on you as the songs become more familiar and you hear and notice different elements. One or two songs may need that bit more time than a first listen, but it certainly invites you in to play it again.
The album opens with “Down To Joy,” which featured in the 2021 Kenneth Branagh movie Belfast and was released as a single. Morrison provided the movie soundtrack and added this new original song. It’s a very familiar sound, warm backing vocals and horns in between Morrisons' voice, which sounds great.
The early part of the album is generally softer and has more chilled songs. There is some upbeat added with “If It Wasn’t For Ray,” a neat tribute to Ray Charles with touches of piano breaking in. But calmer tones prevail as Morrison leads us through several hazy and lazy days’ tunes that just drift over us while oozing an easy familiarity.
“Cutting Corners,” his second single from the album, is a great example, a classic sound that makes you think it’s from a Morrison album years ago.
Van is still the man based on Remembering Now
By the second half, the album has become more strident with added variety in the songs. “Stomping Ground” is another solid blast from the past in style and in his own lifetime, as he recalls many Belfast locations and memories. Further on, “When The Rains Came” is very atmospheric, plenty of instrumentation but less layering, giving each its own place alongside his vocals.
Then there is the title track, “Remembering Now,” which could finish the album very nicely. A very polished R&B song with lyrics suggesting Morrison is making a personal statement. “This is who I am” is a repeated mantra he calls out firmly. It’s a powerful song. But the album doesn't end there. That song was just the last of the gig before a stunning encore.
The final song, “Stretching Out,” firmly adds a ’Morrison is back’ stamp. Spread over nine minutes, it’s an epic combination of moods and sound. If the album overall evokes his classics from the 1980s and 1990s, this one strays slightly, bringing touches of his Veedon Fleece or Astral Weeks eras. Very much a showstopper end to a superb album.
We don’t know how many more albums Morrison will have to share, but he’s not showing any signs of retirement. This new album suggests renewed enthusiasm, and he’s got an upcoming tour to share some of the new songs live. That should add an extra twist to those events. For now, the rest of us can listen to this new release and appreciate that Van is still the man.