| | Van Morrison Keep It Simple CD Van Morrison Discography of CDs
 (6 Customer Reviews)
The older legendary singer-songwriter Van Morrison gets, the more his recordings become documents of a man trying to come to terms with himself and his place in the world. Some 30 studio albums into his career, 2008's KEEP IT SIMPLE is no exception. There are moments here when Morrison gets in touch with his romantic side, as on the wistfully longing "Lover Come Back" and the love-addled "Entrainment" (in case you were wondering, the title refers to the state of being dragged along). Nevertheless, from the '90s on, there's been a dark, sometimes bitter streak to Morrison's themes, seemingly reacting to negative experiences both in the music business and as a human on the planet. KEEP IT SIMPLE continues that streak. Morrison reminds us that "straight reality is always cold" on the title track, sings of being educated by "The School of Hard Knocks," and observes "only a fool would surmise everyone is sane" on "No Thing." No matter how dark the lyrical outlook though, his patented musical paradigm--an agreeable amalgam of folk-rock, blues, soul, jazz, and the occasional Celtic breeze--is enough to put plenty of wind in the sails of even the most cantankerous traveler.Rolling Stone (p.64) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he arrangements are elegantly spare: subtle works of guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, occasional backup singers and, at the center of it all, Morrison's incomparable voice, as expressive as ever.'
Entertainment Weekly (p.61) - "The title track shows that time has little withered Van Morrison's voice....There are moments during this self-penned collection of bluesy numbers that the Irishman does indeed KEEP IT SIMPLE." -- Grade: B
Uncut (p.103) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[With] a 24-carat Morrison classic, the deconstructionist meditation 'Behind The Ritual'. Simple for him it may be -- but, really, no one else does anything like it."
Down Beat (p.81) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Morrison uses his marvelously malleable voice to take the listener on a low-key, but highly evocative, tour of his musical influences and experiences."
No Depression (p.67) - "Blues shuffles and country ballads are the templates for much of KEEP IT SIMPLE....'Song Of Home' is a sweet country waltz..."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] sturdy set of impeccably-played blues and soul with little of the garnish he's previously used to paper over the cracks of less powerful material." Van Morrison Keep It Simple Songs Keep It Simple Music Review Average Rating: (4.5 out of 5 stars)   List All Reviews A refeshing, yet independent and changing
Van the Man, seems to Improve with each new effort, since " picture ". A must for any fan! can't wait for just one more "live show"
Submitted by mkmx (Quentin X Reno Nv USA) 
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 Great music for my office!
The good old Van Morrison music...I love! Puts me in a good mood and has me reflect on EVERYTHING!
Submitted by stuttgarttravel (Austin,MN)
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 Van Morrison: As Creative & Soulful as Ever
Van has once again produced an album that has the energy, creativity and soul of a young, enthusiastic singer.
This album is perhaps not the original masterpiece of Astral Weeks or Hymns to the Silence, but it is a fantastic album: insightful, soulful, fun, original and extremely well produced. With great musicians like the Caledonia Soul Orchestra's John Platania on guitar, it's a stellar album in terms of musicianship.
Submitted by jeffonwpkn (Stratford, CT, USA)
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Always expect the best from Van
Once again Van has put emotion - felling - reaching out - LOVE - and anything you have every seen, felt or heard from him from the beginning. A master.
Submitted by randclaforest (San Diego, California, USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No simply the best
Keep listening, it gets better and better like most of Van Morrison's works. Great CD with lots of thought provoking lyrics.
Submitted by jh146 (Jenkintown, PA, US of A)
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Purchase Keep It Simple CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Van Morrison Magic Time CD (2005)
Keep It Simple album
 $12.59 
The album includes thirteen songs, ten original Van Morrison compositions and three classic interpretations of the jazz standards, "I'm Confessin", "This Love Of Mine" and "Lonely & Blue". "Magic Time" is the first release from Van Morrison since "What's Wrong With This Picture?" in 2003 and marks the 40th anniversary of his first hits with his then band Them. With songs such as "Stranded", the title track "Magic Time", "Celtic New Year" and "Gypsy In My Soul", Van Morrison has created some of his most powerful songs to date, with every emotion seemingly having its place within the fabric of what many will view as one of his most important albums of the past twenty years.
Considering that the ever-restless Van Morrison did a shocking amount of label-hopping between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, he managed to establish a remarkably consistent sound during that period. MAGIC TIME, Morrison's first album for Geffen and fifth label switch in the ...
| | Van Morrison Pay The Devil CD (2006)
Keep It Simple CD music
$11.49
Over the course of his remarkable career, Van Morrison has ranged so widely across the musical map that it's not exactly a surprise to hear him settling down for a straightforward American roots effort. PAY THE DEVIL, released in 2006 on the Lost Highway label, finds Morrison abandoning any remaining mystical Celtic trappings to tip his hat to the country music of the 1940s and '50s. The arrangements are appropriately spare, with fiddle, steel and acoustic guitar, bass, and drums ...
| | Lucinda Williams West CD (2007) Digipak
Keep It Simple music CDs
$11.45 
Like Billie Holiday, John Lee Hooker, and Kurt Cobain, among others, Lucinda Williams is an artist with that certain difficult-to-define quality, the ability to channel the collective soul through a voice that is intimate, personal, and entirely her own. WEST, Williams's 2007 release, bears all the hallmarks of her best work: excellent songcraft, poetically tough lyrics, and her angel-on-morphine voice. As an album, it is her most consistent and appealing since 1998's CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD.
Williams's seemingly odd ...
| | Robert Plant Raising Sand CD (2007)
Keep It Simple songs
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| | Levon Helm Dirt Farmer CD (2007)
Keep It Simple album
$15.05
| | Van Morrison Astral Weeks: Live At The Hollywood Bowl CD (2009) Bonus Tracks
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$14.89
| | Pin Group Retrospective CD (1997)
Keep It Simple music CDs
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| | Alta Moda CD (2003) Import
Keep It Simple songs
$16.39
| | Condemned 84 Boots Go Marching In CD (2001) Import
Keep It Simple album
$13.85
| | Great Jazz Trio Club New Yorker CD (2005) (Import) Japan; Mini LP Sleeve
Keep It Simple CD music
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| | Debi Band Graham Bulb Studio (The Live Sessions) CD (2006)
Keep It Simple music CDs
$16.45
Salt Lake City Weekly's SLAMMY "Band of the Year" 2005** **Salt Lake City Weekly's SLAMMY "Best Female Vocals" 2005** **Salt Lake Metro "Best Local Band" 2005** Debi is currently involved in several projects including four national compilations, writing a movie score, and filming her first video. Debi partnered with Grammy Award Winner Rubén Blades in his current international release "Concepts" a diverse compilation of rock and pop musicians from North and South America. Rubén Blades has chosen to use Internet as the only channel of distribution of his new disc, "Concepts." These ...
| | Ryoma Echizen Minnakokoniita-Unplugged CD (2008) (Import)
$14.45 | | Kamera Resurrection CD (2007) (Import) Netherlands
Keep It Simple songs
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| | Reign Supreme American Violence CD (2008)
Keep It Simple album
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| | Miguel Zenon Awake CD (2008)
Keep It Simple CD music
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| | Gemma Hayes Hollow Of Morning CD (2008)
Keep It Simple music CDs
$13.79
After the failed attempt to break through into the mainstream with her radio-friendly second album, The Hollow of Morning sees Gemma Hayes reverting back to the lo-fi guitar sound of her Mercury Music Prize-nominated debut. The first release through her self-titled, self-funded label, this is obviously the record Hayes wants to make. Produced by Night on My Side's David Odlum and featuring My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields on guitar, its back-to-basics approach is unlikely to yield any hit singles, but by abandoning any notions of commercial success, Hayes has been given a new lease of life. On first listen, only the crunching rock of "Out of Our Hands" and the California sun-soaked guitar pop of "Don't Forget" stand out, but Hayes' records have a habit of appearing rather nondescript at first, only to unfold after further plays to reveal an almost dreamlike quality, and this is no exception. Stripped-down opener "This Is What You Do" is an intimate acoustic number filled with melancholic harmonies; the atmospheric "Home" combines layered guitars with distorted vocals; and the epic "At Constant Speed" effortlessly switches from a wistful ballad to a synth-driven pop song. There are occasions when the presence of an obvious hook or chorus wouldn't go amiss, ...
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