The last few years of Van Morrison’s career have been supremely prolific. In the span of 5 years, he has released no less than 6 albums, a complete delight for his die-hard fans. The latest one, his 41^st studio album, ‘Three Chords & the Truth’ was released in October 2019. The name of the album comes from the usage coined by Harlan Howard, a well-known American country songwriter. It means that the ingredients of writing a good country song are 3 chords (mostly C, F &G) and the truth (in your lyrics).

So, what’s inside the album? A classic Van Morrison sound. Over a period of time, all great musicians become a genre by themselves and the same is true with Van Morrison. Soaked in jazz, blues, R & B and soul, he has crafted his own genre. In fact, media gave it a name as well – Celtic Rock. His voice is cracking like a whip even at 74. Lyrics are hauntingly spiritual, acerbic, critical (of the industry / media…one of his pet peeves) and questioningly enamored in love. There are 14 tracks amounting to almost 70 minutes, making it move to a double LP.

All the tracks are solid gold, but some shine brighter than others. My picks are Dark Night of the Soul, In Search of Grace, You Don’t Understand, Does Love Conquer All, Up On the Broadway and the title track. The acoustic guitar on the tracks by Jay Berliner (from Astral days) is beautiful and so is the electric one by Dave Keary. There is a lovely duet as well done with Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers - Fame Will Eat The Soul. And then there is the pretty little waltz, If We Wait For The Mountains, co-written with the celebrated English lyricist Don Black.

Van, in his first band, Them, started with Blues, Jazz and Soul sounds. Out of the 6 albums in the last few years, 4 are him doing covers of the standards from these genres. He is back to his roots and is in top form. And ‘Three Chords & the Truth’ is a lovely culmination of his 60 years journey as a singer songwriter, playing with these sounds. Van is the man, as always.

Year: 2019

Genre: Blues Rock, Soul, R&B, Jazz

Label: Exile Productions

Producer: Van Morrison

Rating: 4.5/5

Reviewed by Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai / Hyderabad based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 31 year old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions.

He can be reached at +91 9833410791 or email: meraj.hasan@gmail.com