Van Morrison: Hymns to the silence, it's been the same song

1991: With his last album Enlightenment, Van Morrison woke up. There'd been signs through the last half of the '80s that he would

Some will say that Van Morrison on his new two-CD, Hymns to the Silence (Polydor) is repeating himself. Some will question just how many songs someone can write about walking by the river near the gardens in the moonlight with the one true love. Some will say that it's the same old R&B/jazz/country/Celtic/blues, and some will moan “oh no!, not more long winded spacey poems about poetry reading Sundays listening to jazz greats trying to connect with the spirit of great art of the past, after coming in from the cold Irish backstreets.” And some will say “God! He's singing about God again.”

But Hymns to the Silence, perhaps more than any other Van Morrison album goes to great lengths to make the point that all along it's been the same song. And like that other great, dissatisfied, disenchanted, religious, rock 'n' roll romantic, Mr. Dylan, it's not so much the song but how he sings it.

With his last album Enlightenment, Van Morrison woke up. There'd been signs through the last half of the '80s that he would. He pretty much sleepwalked through the first half. On Hymns, he's wide awake and wants to go back. Way, way back when you could make sense out of things and music was music was music...in the twilight, (twilight) and you'd tune in the radio (the radio) to get the message (the message). But the message has changed. Not only that. It's been sold way down the river and now the river too has been sold, so there's only one place to look for the strength and the faith (the faith) to keep going and that place is inside. But meanwhile you can celebrate (celebrate, celebrate) the blues, the harp of Sonny Boy Williamson, the painters, the poets (the poets, the poets) the creators and the creator.

And Morrison celebrates, working himself into a fervor on the rap on "See Me Through Part II" which is combined with "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," and to a frenzy on the extended, "Take Me Back," perhaps the quintessential half spoken, half sung, whatever it is-whatever it was, that he's included on just about every album, chanting, whispering, "Take me back, take me way back," painting the picture, while playing great flowing runs (some would say noodling) on the electric guitar, getting into it, deep into it, until shouting "I wanna blow my harmonica" in his Belfast brogue, then blowing and humming at the same time," summoning the spirit of Sonny Boy and the days "When everything felt so right, so good."

I could tell you how Morrison's small group of musicians make perfect music, but he's always had great musicians. I could tell you how the jazz songs, "Complicated" and "All Saint's Day" (not the same "All Saint's Day" that appeared on an earlier album) are the most jazz of all his jazz songs, or what a brilliant idea it was to have the Chieftains play backup on "I Can't Stop Loving You," or how the grumbling, "Why Must I Always Explain" is the perfect companion to Dylan's "What Was It You Wanted" and that the great opening song "Professional Jealousy" is the perfect companion to Dylan's "Disease of Conceit,." or that the hymn "Be Thou My Vision" is beautiful enough to make you a believer, or that "Quality Street" (with music by Morrison and words by Dr. John) has a great chorus or that "Baby I Need Your Kind of Loving" is the best love song he's done in years.

But Hymns to the Silence isn't about selected songs or players or any of that stuff, and anyway, it's been the same song all along. (The same song, the same song.)

What I can tell you is that few are so inspired or inspiring.