Album review: Keep Me Singing by Van Morrison is soothing for the soul

Keep Me Singing by Van Morrison.

Keep Me Singing

Van Morrison

(Caroline Records)

Three-and-a-half stars

When Van Morrison's fiercest critic likes his work, it's easy to tell. There's an audible murmur of approval – and it comes from the man himself. It's the sound Morrison makes when he's into the music. He does it a few bars into Let It Rhyme, the opener to Keep Me Singing – an early hint that this might be his best album since The Healing Game nearly two decades ago.

With playful references to past lyrics, nods to heroes such as Sam Cooke and Chet Baker, and heartfelt singing throughout, Morrison harks back to the gentle, wistful spirit that made him Hollywood's go-to guy for movie soundtracks. He's in a better mood than on other recent albums and it's easy to imagine songs such as Every Time I See a River, written with lyricist Don Black, or In Tiburon, a name-dropping homage to the San Francisco Bay, playing as credits roll.

At the age of 71, Morrison might not be as audacious as he once was, but he can still soothe the soul – and he won’t be the only one murmuring his approval this time.