Van Morrison- What's it gonna take?

Thank goodness we have at least one artist prepared to speak his truth and do it with such energy and skill. Fans who do not grasp - or who might even vociferously oppose - Van's take on recent events are going to struggle to enjoy the majority of this album. (A few of the later tracks are not directly related to the dreaded C.) However, I for one cheered at such lines as "Klaus is the wizard, Gates is playing God" (from the gorgeous ballad "Can't Go On This Way.") There are many more on-point lines like it.Van's voice belies his age. His phrasing is magnificent, and the band are musically with him at all times. I love the superb organ and piano work, and the drumming - often brushwork - is right in the pocket. The whole band is on fire, a fine illustration of superlative teamwork. There is such joy in these group performances - which makes an interesting counterpoint to the frustration and anger expressed in the lyrics.The engineering and mixing of this record is superb. It sounds to me like every track is a complete take, with no overdubs. The downside of this "live" approach - a criticism which could arguably also be leveled at many classic jazz recordings - is you do have to accept the rough with the smooth. If the energy of the track is right, and it contains moments of beauty and revelation, then it's probably a keeper. That may be why some tracks maybe go on a little too long, brilliant as they are ("Money from America.") We get some lyrical repetition, too, song to song: if we already accept that our governments lie to us, then do we need to be reminded of the fact more than once? For me, these are minor qualms though.I have read criticism that the subject matter (basically anti-lockdown, pro-free speech) is not merely wrong-headed, but is actually plain old hat now, irrelevant to our current situation, mid-2022. Most people do want to move on and forget all that happened, so I can see that point of view (though I fear the powers-that-shouldn't-be haven't given up yet!) In its defence, if these tracks were largely written and recorded during the most hopeless days of the damnpanic, there is bound to be a lag in topicality. Personally, I'm grateful to hear them even now, a year or so late, rather than not at all.When all is said and done, if one is looking for a musical testament to that awful time, this could well be the album. We are not exactly spoiled for choice though, are we? I mean, Muse pre-empted so much of what happened in songs like "Uprising", but Ian Brown and Clapton aside, does no one else in rock'n'roll want to stick it to the man? Where HAVE all the rebels gone?

Some of the lyrical content on this album is questionable, on dangerous he wants proof of covid .... I could have told him myself that it was real as at the time Van was sat at home sulking because he couldnt play live I was on the frontline working in a nursing home. He also calls covid the common cold but in all my time of working in nursing home Ive never lost as many patients at one time . Hes entitled to his point of view but hes out of touch with the reality of things imo.Having said that I think musically its catchy even if lyrically its very weak and hes singing a load of rubbish, I still like it . The opening number Dangerous demonstrates that his covid stance hasnt inspired him to write any lyrics that are going too worry lets say Leonard Cohen for example. If Dangerous is a tower of song then its barely standing. But it does stick in the head.Like Neil Young, Van seems to record everything he writes with no edit button and this clocks in at an hour and 20 minutes so maybe unofficially it is part 2 of his latest record project? Despite me not agreeing with most of what hes singing and despite the argument that theres not a lot of tracks that stand out as classic Van Im glad hes here still making music even if some of lyrics he puts to the music are utter rubbish.If you dont like this album dont worry hes probably already recorded another three ! Maybe hell be singing about the russians attacking ukraine next or them winning the eurovision contest as a conspiracy.

Some terrible things have been said about this album all because the reviewer did not agree with Van's opinion. Since when did we start to assess albums solely on the basis of whether we agree with the lyrics? Just listen. There are a couple of songs that are weak but overall, musically, the album is strong. Clearly Van is very pissed off and angry about how the lockdown was organized. The toll on people in the music business was devastating. We were not allowed to "party" but they were! We should all be pissed off about that. Enough from me. Listen to the album. Van is as good as ever.

I’m a Van fan and I really enjoyed this much more than other recent albums.

I haven’t seen Van’s new album reviewed by many professional reviewers, but the few I have seen have panned it. Actually I found it consistent and enjoyable.There are several very strong tracks here and not much in the way of filler. As ever, Van’s voice is holding up exceptionally well and the band and arrangements are first class. The album is a companion work to last years Latest record project and obviously continues on with similar themes.The lyrics are fine though I would agree that the themes are more or less carried though for most of the album. Those fans used to the more familiar Celtic soul and nature poetry songs will be disappointed. However, it’s a bold move and his views may be controversial, but frankly I sure he “doesn’t give a dam.” His status means he can sing about what chooses and clearly he needs to get it off his chest.If it were meant as a concept album I think it would have faired better with the music press. But as with the last album, what’s it going to take, is a decent set of songs and merits IMHO your attention.

A very poor offering from Van Morrison, Magic Time was a wonderful cd, containing many great songs, unfortunately this cd contains none, reading all the other positive reviews, leads me to believe that I must have received a different album. Sorry Mr Morrison! Obviously this a personal opinion, I'm sure there are a lot of people that will love this album.10/10 for the wonderful cd artwork though!