Van Morrison
Brighton Dome
It’s 8.15pm at the Brighton Dome. ‘Will you please welcome,’ says a voice, ‘SIR Van Morrison!’ Out comes a small figure in a hat, suit and shades. He could be one of his own tribute acts – Van The Man or Van-tastic!
There’s a simple test that should establish whether this is the real Van: seeing how grumpy he is. Beforehand, one fan was reminiscing about the time Van even walked out on himself and left Georgie Fame to hold the fort for half an hour.
Personally, I’ve never seen him in a good mood.
Out comes a small figure in a hat, suit and shades. Van Morrison could be one of his own tribute acts – Van The Man or Van-tastic!
But what’s this? He’s getting on with the show, telling nobody off, not smiling but not growling either. There are some rather brusque arm signals, like a novice conductor, yet he doesn’t appear to be in a strop. What on earth has gone right?
At 74 he’s in fine voice, rolling out each verse as if it has just occurred to him, making even the plainest line feel musical. He plays acoustic guitar, harmonica, sax, tambourine and piano, as if thinking of becoming Van The One-Man Band.
But, alongside him are four men and two women, a proper ensemble, looking intently at each other, delivering crisp solos and snap endings.
The songs he plays are not all familiar, but they’re nearly all good. And they’re absolutely his: blues-rock, folk and jazz, all given an Irish accent. When he does a country ballad, The Beauty Of The Days Gone By, you could be in a bar in Tennessee or Crossmaglen.
On the duet Whenever God Shines His Light, the role of Cliff Richard goes to the soulful backing singer Dana Masters, who grew up in South Carolina and now lives in Lisburn with her Northern Irish husband. It is – sorry, Cliff – a clear improvement.
The songs Van likes best from his vast catalogue are often music about music. He pays homage to Little Richard, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Sonny Boy Williamson, taking his influences and turning them into subject matter.
As songwriters go, he’s almost an organic farmer.
There’s a touch of perversity in the set list, with at least one track from 12 different albums and none from the most famous of them all, Astral Weeks. But Van eventually lets us have the hits: a jazzed-up Moondance, a happy-clappy Brown Eyed Girl and a rousing Gloria.
It’s now after 10pm, and he’s still on his best behaviour. Can we have our money back?
Van Morrison plays the London Palladium, March 20-26
THIS WEEK’S CD RELEASES
By Adam Woods
Harry Styles Fine Line Out now
Rating: 
Styles is very much the most interesting One Direction refugee, with an easy-going charm, mysterious lifestyle and reluctance to slap together a musical formula. Fine Lines is a charming set of warm-hearted California folk-pop, with traces of late Seventies Fleetwood Mac and late Sixties Crosby, Stills & Nash. No likely mega-hits here but he sounds comfortable plotting his own course
Camila Cabello Romance Out now
Rating: 
A spot among the Arianas, Taylors and Mileys is Cabello’s for the taking as she seeks to build on her smash hits Havana and Señorita. This concept album about young love has some sultry Latin pop, moody confessionals (Easy), besotted love notes, presumably to pop star boyfriend Shawn Mendes (Living Proof, Dream Of You), and a breathless closing shout-out to dad Señor Cabello
Katie Melua Featuring Gori Women’s Choir Live In Concert Out now
Rating:
In 2018, Melua took a Georgian women’s choir on tour with her, and this double-CD set commemorates that jaunt. The old hits are here, but so are Georgianed-up hymns and carols, as well as supple covers of The Cure, Joni Mitchell and Black’s Wonderful Life, all adding up to an impressively atmospheric, wintry statement of miles travelled
Kylie Golden: Live In Concert Out now
Rating:
There are piles of songs here, from smiley Stock Aitken Waterman cheese through to various hip rebrands, great lost singles such as All The Lovers sitting beside much-loved old tosh like Especially For You and lots of stylish modern disco. She’s not the world’s loveliest singer, but over two hours Kylie’s breadth and relentless drive for success start to look fairly awe-inspiring