New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Van Morrison's 40th studio album, The Prophet Speaks, will be released on December 7 via Caroline International/Universal Music. This fourteen-track album follows a recent run of hugely acclaimed albums (Roll With The Punches,
Versatile and You're Driving Me Crazy), each of which has delved deep into the musical styles that have continued to inspire Van throughout his life - vocal jazz and R&B. Here, Van takes on a series of unarguable classics by the likes of John Lee Hooker,
Sam Cooke and Solomon Burke (among others) and makes them unmistakably his own. Alongside these reinterpretations, The Prophet Speaks features six phenomenal new
Van Morrison compositions.
Van Morrison says of The Prophet Speaks: "It was important for me to get back to recording new music as well as doing some of the blues material that has inspired me from the beginning. Writing songs and making music is what I do, and working with great musicians makes it all the more enjoyable."
The Prophet Speaks again finds Van working with the incredible multi-instrumentalist Joey DeFrancesco (the artist co-credited on You're Driving Me Crazy) and his band (including
Dan Wilson on guitar, Michael Ode on drums and Troy Roberts on tenor saxophone).
Van Morrison - The Prophet Speaks:
Gonna Send You Back To Where I Got You From (Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson,
Leona Blackman)
Dimples (John Lee Hooker,
James Bracken)
Got to Go Where The Love Is (Van Morrison)
Laughin' and Clownin' (Sam Cooke)
5 am Greenwich Mean Time (Van Morrison)
Gotta Get You Off My Mind (Solomon Burke, Delores Burke, Josephine Burke Moore)
Teardrops (J.D. Harris)
I Love The Life I Live (Willie Dixon)
Worried Blues / Rollin' and Tumblin' (J.D. Harris)
Ain't Gonna Moan No More (Van Morrison)
Love Is A Five Letter Word (Gene Barge)
Love Is Hard Work (Van Morrison)
Spirit Will Provide (Van Morrison)
The Prophet Speaks (Van Morrison)
Praise for You're Driving Me Crazy: "Thrilling" Mojo 4*, "Irresistable" Record Collector 4*, "The sort of album carping fans have wanted for a long time" The Mirror 5*.
Praise for Versatile: "A curious little joy of a record" the Guardian 4*,"A masterclass in jazz phrasing" The i 4*, "At 72, Van seems to be speeding up rather than slowing down... and that's no bad thing" the Sun 4*.
Praise for Roll With The Punches: "Proof that, at 71, Morrison can still perform with gusto" Mojo, "His 37th album brings an intimate, ad-libbed feel to standards by Bo Diddley, Lightnin' Hopkins and Fifties R&B queen Ruth Brown" The Mail 4*, "Joyous" Uncut, "Knockout" The Mirror 4*
