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Keep It Simple | 
| Artist: Van Morrison
Label: Lost Highway
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $3.99 (29%)
Rating:  59 reviews
Sales Rank: 97
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 001065802
UPC: 602517630789
EAN: 0602517630789
ASIN: B0012QGP00
Release Date: April 1, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | How Can A Poor Boy | | • | School Of Hard Knocks | | • | That's Entrainment | | • | Don't Go To Nightclubs Anymore | | • | Lover Come Back | | • | Keep It Simple | | • | End Of The Land | | • | Song Of Home | | • | No Thing | | • | Soul | | • | Behind The Ritual |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Those familiar with Van Morrison's ever mercurial muse could hardly have been surprised when he turned up on the artistically centered, avant-country label Lost Highway to pay tribute to a era-spanning slate of country icons on the Nashville imprint's `06 collection, Pay the Devil. But while the ensuing years were dominated by several rich anthologies of Morrison's work, he's returned here to masterfully show his love of country was no passing fancy. As the title suggests, Morrison's self-produced approach to the genre is both musically and emotionally elemental, a no frills approach that fits him like a well-worn pair of Tony Llamas. Indeed, even as he's addressing matters of musical style and substance in an unusually introspective way on "That's Entertainment" and "Soul," the veteran's singing here is so natural and deceptively effortless as to disguise how forcefully Morrison has immersed himself in the country mold - or, more to the point, remade it lovingly in his own image, also marking the first time in several years he's penned all the songs on one of his albums. Whether offering a little tutelage about the vagaries of fate on "School of Hard Knocks," taking W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues" as the starting point for the slow-burning, Hammond B3-seeped country blues lament "Don't Go to Nightclubs Anymore," or preaching the backroads Zen gospel of the title track and Banjo-seasoned elegy "Song of Home," Morrison's warm, world-weary voice connects with themes that are as familiar as sunshine - and every bit as fundamentally complicated. --Jerry McCulley
Amazon.com
On April 1st, Lost Highway will proudly release Keep It Simple, the new album from Van Morrison. Keep It Simple is Morrison's first album of new material since 2005, and the first in several years in which he composed all 11 songs specifically for one album.
In the interim the legendary artist had a year that may be unprecedented for any living artist, having released three separate collections of his hits, with the latest, Still On Top entering the UK charts at #2 and selling platinum, proving the ongoing appetite for his unrivalled work.
His music has always incorporated the widely varied influences he heard and absorbed since his childhood days on the streets of Belfast- long before the bands of his youth and his initial breakthrough with the band he started early on- called "Them."
On Keep It Simple, Morrison honors all those varied influences - Ulster-Scots Celtic, Jazz, Folk, Blues, Country, Soul and Gospel - and an added surprise of a mighty Ukelele -most times melding them all together at once creating his unmistakable signature sound.
In some of these songs Morrison addresses the propaganda of the myth perpetrating rock music world. There is a definite theme that recurs throughout the album, especially in the title track.
In keeping with that idea, Keep It Simple does not boast the big horns or expected string arrangements of some of Morrison's previous work. What it does feature are gorgeous songs rich with emotion, depth and beauty.
Album Description
In keeping with the album title, Keep It Simple does not boast the big horns or string arrangements of some of Morrison's previous work. What it does feature are 11 gorgeous songs rich with emotion, depth and beauty. 'I felt I had something to say with these songs.' says Van Morrison. He explains his approach with the track 'Entrainment' by saying 'when you connect with the music - Entrainment is really what I'm getting at in the music. It's kind of when you're in the present moment. You're here with no past or future.' 11 tracks.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 54 more reviews...
Musically fantastic - not so sure about the lyrics... July 24, 2008
finulanu (In my own little world)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Yes! YES! The best album Van's put out since A Sense of Wonder, and it might even be better than that, which would mean this is his best album since Veedon Fleece, which at this point is thirty-four years old. That's not to say he's been in suck-ville for the past three decades (unlike someone we know - hi, Santana!), because he's made good records in between those two. A Sense of Wonder! Poetic Champions Compose! Enlightenment! Back on Top! Magic Time! Irish Heartbeat's probably good, too! And all of them are better than Avalon Sunset! Ha! But anyway, this isn't any more than Van going over territory he's been down several times before. The difference between this and the similar Down the Road (if you haven't heard it, don't bother - it isn't bad or anything, but that's about all I can say for it) is that Van's actually putting loads of effort into this one. In fact, the first three songs are all pretty much classic Van. "How Can a Poor Boy?" has a great chorus hook and fun horns. "School of Hard Knocks" has a great guitar hook and, most importantly, Van sounding youthful and invigorated on the vox again. "That's Entrainment" has a bit of jazz, a bit of country and a bit of soul. It sounds really good, too! I just wish it had been a bit longer, so Van could do his signature romantic ad-libbing. The next song, "Don't Go to Nightclubs Anymore," sound a bit too nightclubbish for my tastes, but hey! It's not bad at all! In fact, there's only one bad song on this album, which I'll get to in a moment. Anyway, the downbeat "Lover Come Back" is quite enjoyable. So is the acoustic-blues title track. And the guitar solo on "End of the Land." Then you get that aforementioned weak track, "Song of Home." It's country, and I don't like country. Another thing I don't like about this album are the lyrics. Van's mostly whining about how bad the industry has treated him, something he's been doing for quite a while now ("Soul," which still has another great guitar solo, this one electric and rock-oriented, title track, "School of Hard Knocks"), though he's also sometimes spewing cliches ("End of the Land," "Lover Come Back"), or trying and failing to make a reasonable hook out of "Blah, blah, blah" on the otherwise enjoyable "Behind the Ritual." I've never been a huge fan of Van's non-Astral Weeks related lyrics in the first place, but here they're just banal and stupid. Still, lyrics aren't everything, and I like the music here so much that it's a moot point.
 Ohhhh that voice of his! July 19, 2008
Marita A. Long (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am such a die hard vanfan. Van Morrison is a musician and a poet. That voice of his just does something to me. The way he sings about sunsets, foghorns, spirit and lost love is just incomparable. Once you start getting lost in his music, you cannot stop.
Van Morrison is the only one whose new releases I will buy unheard.
His only album which does nothing for me is "A period of transition".
new jazzier music from an Irishman July 12, 2008
Donna Gray Collins (Salisbury, MD United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Other than "Moondance" which came out when I was in high school and includes the song "Moondance" as well as a copy of Van Morrison's greatest hits, that was all I owned by him. Thanks to Amazon.com's feature of being able to listen to "snippets" of songs from each CD, I liked what I heard and ordered this CD. Van Morrison still has a good voice and each cut is good and it's not like you want to skip a couple. It's a little more bluesy that I remember his older music to be. I recommended this CD to several of my friends and relatives.
 R-O-C-K! July 12, 2008
abcpc1 (Los Angeles, CA. United States)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Ivan...I LOVE'ya man, but you gotta ROCK again!! I mean, flat out, shake the walls ROCK & ROLL! You are VERY capable of it, and YOU KNOW IT! We're waiting.....
Typical, incredible Morrison June 19, 2008
James Ross Godbe
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
Typical, incredible Morrison. As always, the more I listen the deeper the meaning . . . 'stretching time stretching time . . .'
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