After five decades of making music, Van Morrison exudes an unhurried grace and easygoing elegance on his 35th studio recording, amid a tall stack of jazzy tunes. More to the point, Van and company sound like they’re having fun, even as he offers up some of the most socio-politically potent lyrics of his career, slipping Sartre quotes between lush, jazzy licks on “Goin’ Down to Monte Carlo” or laying down a swinging portrait of the battle between spirituality and materialism on “If in Money We Trust.”
- 1968
- Jackson Browne
- Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale
- Neil Young
- James Taylor
- Bonnie Raitt
- Bruce Springsteen
- Rod Stewart