His most recent record Down the Road is exactly what we have come to expect from him: cool shuffles, introverted folk songs and relaxed blues. The Hammond plays the leading role and there are handsomely arranged horn arrangements. The versatile singer/guitarist Van Morrison -once proclaimed one of the world's five most important pop poets by Time Magazine- can reflect on a career in music that now spans three decades. This Irishman has many merits. From 1960 until today, he has been touring the world almost uninterruptedly. Besides this, he has created an enormous number of studio albums, twenty-eight in his own name. Morrison's music encompasses elements of American blues as well as Irish folk, with lyrics pertaining to mystical matters, Mother Earth and his native land Ireland. His first band, The Monarchs, made rhythm & blues music. In 1963 Morrison became known as the leader of the pop group Them, who released the record The Angry Young Them. Important works that followed are Astral Weeks and Moondance, on which Morrison exchanged blues for an improvising sort of jazz with poetic lyrics. Unforgettable hits created by this man include: Brown Eyed Girl, Domino, Spanish Rose, Have I Told You Lately and Gloria (with Them and later with John Lee Hooker).
