VAN Morrison keeps on going, chugging out his Irish take on rhythm and blues, jazz, skiffle and soul, all put through his own sometimes glorious glower.
He couldn't make a bad album if he tried, but he doesn't always make good ones either. Down The Road is far from being as tepid as some critics have claimed, yet is does roll down a too-familiar groove.
The unkind theory that Morrison no longer makes decent albums has been disproved twice in recent years, with 1995's Days Like This and, from two years later, The Healing Game.
Down The Road isn't up there with those two, but it has its moments of glory, notably Whatever Happened To PJ Proby? - a stand-out piece of Morrison nostalgia, woven into a playful, upbeat jazz song. Talk Is Cheap and Choppin' Wood are lovely examples of Van making poetry out of the ordinary - but, sadly, Man Has To Struggle is ordinary without the poetry.
A surprise success lies in Evening Shadows, an Aker Bilk tune with new-spun lyrics from Morrison. Given time, Down The Road grows - but it is a familiar road and the scenery hasn't changed a lot.
Updated: 15:32 Thursday, May 30, 2002
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