Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Veedon Fleece Warner Bros. BS 2805

This is Van Morrison's eighth album on Warners, starting with the classic textural piece Astral Weeks. He remains fresh, both as a writer and a stylist, and Veedon Fleece is his best studio album since Moondance. He has an expatriate's eye and ear for the visual complexities of his new land, and the rich brogue that wraps itself around dreams of the homeland. More than anything else, Morrison is a sophisticated urban blues singer, and it comes off best on cuts like "Fair Play," "Linden Arden Stole the Highlights" and the extended "You Don't Pull No Punches But You Don't Push The River." The arrangements, ranging from orchestral to bass-drums-guitar. are all pinpointedly exact.

-Paul J. Grant