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Remembering Now. Van Morrison

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What does it sound like?:

Reviewing a new Van Morrison album has been a tough sell for a good few years now. His pervasive mood of persecution and paranoia has led to him writing lumpy twelve-bar blues songs about going down to Monte Carlo to get away from the Press and, in the main, the albums have rarely made it past a third play. In our house, Van invented a new acronym; AFNK; All Filler No Killer.

Well, people; let me tell you that Remembering Now is Van’s best album in 30 years and he has restored that acronym to its rightful order. It is AKNF.

I remember sitting in a cinema in January 2022 to see Kenneth Branagh’s new film, Belfast and being captivated by the opening montage, filmed over a Van Morrison song called Down to Joy. The song sounded like it could have come from the sessions for his 1982 album, Beautiful Vision; it would have sat perfectly alongside Cleaning Windows and Dweller On the Threshold; and I realised how much I missed ‘spiritual, happy Van.’

Down to Joy is the opener here and it is immediately better than anything on his last 24 albums; which is everything this century, for God’s sake. Dave Keary’s slide guitar sets the tone perfectly, as does the introduction of the three female backing singers; they lift the mood just by their presence. The band are fabulous and they slide easily into the organ-driven shuffle of If It Wasn’t For Ray with experienced ease. The ‘boys in the band’ sing the title with Van and it’s a joyous sound which makes you yearn for him to insert these opening two tracks into his live set.

Haven’t Lost My Sense of Wonder is somewhat of an explanation of whatever it is that has caused this transformation in the old curmudgeon’s mood. It talks about ‘just trying to find my way back home,’ and ‘peace be still.’ Once again, the glorious Hammond organ solo by John McCullough elevates an already wonderful song.

Cutting Corners introduces the violin of Seth Lakeman and immediately takes you back to those early days of Nathan Rubin and that incredible band from the live album, It’s Too Late to Stop Now. Back to Writing Love Songs tells the story of the change in our protagonist. ‘What about soul and inspiration? What about taking it right back to the day?’ That song is followed by a beautiful, simple love song; The Only Love I Ever Need Is Yours, the second of three co-writes with lyricist Don Black; the kind of love song that would have been unthinkable on those last 24 albums.

Stomping Ground is a tour around his boyhood Belfast; the kind of thing Van used to do so well. His voice wraps itself around the lyrics like a smoky sax solo and he sounds fifty years younger.

When The Rains Came is a slow, spiritual, six-minute journey that allows Van to stretch his voice and hark back to that live set; it would be a brilliant piece for the band to show off their skills.

The album’s title track is the mission statement, an achingly good tour through some memories, prompting lots of staccato phrases like; ‘This is who I am,’ ‘This is where it started,’ ‘Back here on the street,’ ‘Golden days of wonder, golden days of youth.’

It’s the best song he’s written in many decades.

The eight minute closer, Stretching Out, wraps itself around a gorgeous string-hook while Van plays sax-licks with his voice. Listening through a set of cans, I got lost in it and found myself shedding a tear for all of the years that voice has meant so much to me.

Now, he needs to ditch seven or eight of those turgid blues covers from his live set and replace with two-thirds of this wonderful album. The band and singers are already there but, can you imagine an uplifting, spiritual Van gig? Can you even remember what it was like?

What does it all *mean*?

Look; I’m not saying this album is St. Dominic’s Preview or Into the Music; I’m not. But it is up there with Days Like This or The Healing Game or Beautiful Vision. As a return to form it is as unexpected as Leicester winning the Prem and as welcome as Spurs winning the Europa League.

Goes well with…

Hearing this album has made me so happy.

Welcome back, old friend; we’ve missed you.

Release Date:

13th June 2025

Might suit people who like…

Vintage Van

10

Comments

  1. My wife is a big Van fan, perversely (in my view) preferring his 21st century output to his golden age in the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately for me, she frequently makes it past the three play mark with his CDs.

    This has been playing in our house for the last couple of weeks and I have to agree with Niall, it’s his best album this century.

    I have actually enjoyed it rather than endured it.

  2. ‘Golden days of wonder…’ – I misread that as ‘Days of Golden Wonder…’ 😀

    For those who don’t know, Golden Wonder is a Northern Ireland crisp brand. I was imagining him singing something like…

    ‘Days of Golden Wonder, Bobby Charlton, Double Diamond and Noggin the Nog… Dickie Davis, Old English Spangles, Fusco’s ice cream, Willie Whitelaw an’ the Singin’ Postman… Playin’ R an’ B down by Avalon with Buster Keaton, Brian Moore an’ Big Ron, Big Ron… Georgie Best, Jimmy Clitheroe an’ Elton Wellesby – AND IT STONED ME YESITDIDYESITDIDYESITDID… [continues in this vein for several hours]’

  5. I’m just spinning the last Van I purchased, shamefully 9 years ago with “Keep me singing”. As I said in my review at the time. I planned to flash the plastic. I also discovered, in looking for my review, that almost everything he has released since then has apparently been a magnificent return to/maintenance of form. Hmm. I still like KMS mind.

    Van Morrison – “Keep me singing”

  6. I absolutely concur. A wonderful, welcome surprise from someone who had gone so far off the rails in recent years, both personally and creatively, that it was actually beginning to impact on how I perceived his entire canon.

    From down the pan to Van The Man once more…who’da think it?

  8. Thanks Niall.
    When you said best album in 30 years I thought that can’t be right. So I reviewed and by my estimation his last really good record was the Healing Game, healing game, healing in 1997, 97, 97 way way back in ..
    So 28 years and what a lot of dross since then. As that book I reviewed some years ago on here, he has a few themes , spiritualism, love, reminiscing and whinging. Whinging seems to lead the pack this century.

    I’ve played it and it’s quite good for the most , some genuinely good and still a few clunkers.
    He reminds me of late period Steve Earle or Bob Dylan in his dry period. I keep wanting to like it, yeah yeah this is ok but no not really that great. Quite good for the main and thankfully much better than that other crap. .

  11. I think this is a pretty decent album, as far as I can tell. It’s hard to form a coherent opinion on him these days, as he is moving fast to ‘do stuff’ and over time it will be easier to see the picture. I also liked the Orangefield album. I greatly disliked his personal politics, but I guess he was livid about being stopped from playing live during the pandemic, which is probably his only large source of income (divorces, children, being ripped off…) – in a way I don’t blame him. He’s lived his life.

    Thinking right back, some of his albums that are now considered classics (e.g. Veedon Fleece) were regarded with a bit of suspicion at the time. He’s just very hard to pin down.

  12. About 15 years ago I made the mistake of reading Johnny Rogan’s biography of Van. The book was so dull and Van such a tosser, even more so than legend, that it was one of the worst reading experiences of my life and I don’t think I’ve listened to him since. So, nice review, but don’t think this one will tempt me back! Maybe in another 15 years.

  13. Remembering Now is a very good Van Morrison album it’s had several plays around here and will no doubt get several more

    When it comes to Van I’m easily pleased so I won’t say I’ve really enjoyed some of his albums from the last 30 years

    Mr niallb your review was spot on and rather excellent

  15. Lovely review @niallb.

    I’m still getting to know the record but my impression is that it’s good, but not THAT good. I’d probably place it with the likes of Magic Time or Down the Road. As you say, of course it’s not St Dominic’s Preview ( very few albums by anyone are as good as that) but it’s more than decent and certainly not dross. But then I stand by my view that amongst the middling mediocrity of the last 30 years or so there are plenty of very good songs. Few of his albums – even the worst ones – are without any merit at all.

    I agree that Down to Joy is a belter and The Only Love I Ever Need is Yours is a classic Van love song. Its interesting that he references so much of his earlier work in songs like I Haven’t Lost My Sense of Wonder, Stomping Ground and Remembering Now – it feels slightly forced to me as if he is consciously trying to give his audience what he knows they want and to repair the damage he’s done to his reputation in recent years. But hey that’s not a bad thing and certainly better than pissing everyone off as he has done with his last couple of self written albums.

    To be producing work like this at the age of 80 – work which is absolutely worthy of him – is a hugely impressive feat. All power to him.

    • Agree with everything you say BB.
      It’s definitely good and the first song is a belter.
      But it’s almost as though it’s a very good Van tribute act. An AI Van.

  16. ‘Middling mediocrity, middling mediocrity, reworking the catalogue, duets wi’ nonentities, R an’ B, R an’ B, Mahalia Jackson comin’ through the ether sayin’ ‘Van, what kind of s***t is this?’ IAN PAISLEY IAN PAISLEY COVID DRUMSHANBO GETTIN’ RIPPED OFF IN THE SIXTIES ROBIN SWANN ROBIN SWANN playin’ R an’ B down by the nuthouse wi’ Yuri Geller an’ the Mad Hatter, David Icke David Icke, Reggie Perrin, Bernie Madoff, Harri Houdini, Rhodes Boyson CURLY WURLY CURLY WURLY RANCHEROS MADAME BLAVATSKY PLASTIC BERTRAND KEITH HARRIS & ORVILLE DOWN BY AVALON DOWN BY AVALON…’

  17. Why, when book cover design is at such a high level, is the design of grumpyvan album sleeves at such a low level?
    It’s gotta be deliberate, yeah. Some sort of ironic thing? Or is it just shite?

    Imagine if Astral Weeks looked like that. Put you off, wouldn’t it?

        • With you on this one, DD. I feel for my AW chums who still buy LPs as album art, in general, has just become abysmal over the last ten to fifteen years. The last album I saw where I thought that would be lovely to have as an LP was You’re The One by Rhiannon Giddens in 2023 (itself a sort of pastiche of a 60s-style cover) and before that I think it was Public Service Broadcasting’s The Race For Space… in 2015!!

  18. I was absorbed in some work and ended having this play through 3 times in a row. Ok it’s not Tigger’s 6. But it’s enough.
    I now think is better than what I said above. It’s a good record. It’s not great but there are a few very good songs and I could still to Van singing the phone book.

  19. Sonically it’s kind of a cross between Avalon Sunset and Veedon Fleece. To use Van’s least favourite word, it’s one of his “introspective” albums. It’s a pleasant surprise: his best since Days Like This or Hymns to the Silence. I love questing Van as much as I love full-throated soul man Van. I can do business with jaunty big band Van, too, and this new record seems to have elements of them all. Only the song Colourblind lets it down, with some rather childlike lyrics.

  20. Been thinking of doing a review myself but I’m a lazy git so thank you @Niallb. I agree with most comments above in that on one hand this is undoubtedly (IMHO) the best Van album in c.30 years but it isn’t Veedon Fleece or even Hymns to the Silence but that is a very high bar indeed. I was initially quite bowled over by how good it was and wondered if I was being overly swayed by the generally effusive reviews but I’ve listened to it more than anything else in the last few weeks and it just makes me happy to hear the curmudgeonly one getting at least some of the way back (way way way back) to the spiritual sound of yore. I did then go back through all of his albums from this century to see if I’d missed anything but apart from Keep on Singing it really has been a barren period. For once the ‘return to form’ cliche turned out to be true. Finally picking up on @Twang about shite sleeve art – I’d never thought about it before but so true. Barely a decent one in his whole career.

  23. Mmm I’ve given it 3 spins. A few pretty good tracks, especially the opener with the lap steel. Later on we get BK style BVs but by female singers (singers). One classic “funny Van” lyric – “I thought my jumper was blue but it’s black, I’m colourblind” I think it was.

    I’m glad everyone likes it so much but I probably won’t play it again and I think “Keep me singing” is a much better album. Horses/courses I guess.

    • Yes, ‘Colourblind’ is definitely one of the songs that should have been left on the cutting room floor. I like ‘Keep me Singing’ as well. Again, a lot of filler but ‘Holy Guardian Angel’ and ‘ In Tiburon’ are great tracks that would earn their place on almost any Van album.

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