VAN MORRISON - Revised

23. April 2015

Van Morrison

VAN MORRISON - Revised

When Van Morrison asks fellow musicians to join him in the studio, it is usually a matter of course for them to follow this call. The great Northern Irish bluesman's coat itched again. He has been searching through his song catalogue and re-recording 16 of his old numbers - together with renowned artists such as Mark Knopfler, Taj Mahal and Steve Winwood. We met Van Morrison on the sidelines of an appearance in Glasgow to talk to him about his recent collaborations.

If you listen to the end of the last song of his new album, an exuberant meeting with the American Blues and Roots master Taj Mahal, you hear him, the clear sound of a laughing Van Morrison. Yes, a laughing one. There are so many stories about Van the Man who snarls at the world that it seems like a shock, that he is able to have fun. "They never write about it in rock magazines," he sighs. "Nothing of the sort. They keep alive the myth that I'm grumpy and never laugh. You're so lazy. They're the ones who could use a little humor."

But he really doesn't seem to be untroubled when we meet in Glasgow before his concert at the "Celtic Connections Festival" in the Royal Concert Hall. At the dinner the evening before our interview, the poet from East Belfast appears distanced and lost in thought. Encounters with journalists always put him in a state of alarm. Nevertheless, the following day he is ready for a civilized conversation - as long as it is about music - even if he is not in the mood for a chat. Questions about his private life are taboo.

It would be daring to say that Van Morrison is becoming softer, but perhaps the prospect of turning 70 this summer will have an impact. He's no longer the wild man with a penchant for hard stuff. Water and juices are now his choice. With his second wife Michelle Rocca, a former Miss Ireland, whom he met in 1992, he has two children, a young son and a daughter.

Does he feel any different than he does with, say, 40? "Absolutely. I had no idea of anything when I was forty," he replies. "I still don't know much. When you're forty, you think you know everything. When you get older, you realize how little you really know. You may be intensely occupied with one thing, but the point is that everything always shifts and changes. It's like the hourglass. Nothing in the universe is fixed. So how can your opinion or even the truth be established?"

On his new album, he's on a retro trip. On "Duets: Reworking The Catalogue" he discovers less noticed corners of his extensive repertoire. There's no moon dance, no Brown Eyed Girl. With the support of admirers like Steve Winwood, Gregory Porter, Joss Stone or Mark Knopfler - daughter Shana is also part of the party - he visits "Born To Sing" or "The Eternal Kansas City" again instead. In a playful way he even persuaded the stumbled pop veteran PJ Proby to tune into "Whatever Happened To PJ Proby?

Lesen Sie mehr im eclipsed Nr. 170 (Mai 2015).