Concert Review: York 07-Oct-06

Review: Van Morrison, The Barbican Centre, York VAN Morrison has a career that has spanned not only decades but generations, and on Saturday night at the Barbican it was clear to see why.

Without hesitation, Van The Man broke straight into his set, demonstrating exactly how a man born the son of a shipyard worker in 1945 took the influences of music from the likes of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and made a genre all of his own, with tracks displaying major leanings towards R&B, soul and rock, many of which had a distinct taste of the South.

The performance was flawless, as Van and his band belted out hit after hit, including the classics In The Midnight, What Makes The Irish Heart Beat, Big Blue Diamonds and the amazing Back On Top.
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Personally. I would have loved to have heard a track or two from Irish Heartbeats, especially Ta Mo Chleamhnas Deanta.

But Morrison can still get the audience whooping and dancing after four decades in the business, and Saturday night was no exception.

This was a highly-polished performance which is no less than you would expect from a man who has perfected his art in both America and Ireland.

The tracks that stood out were the timeless Moondance and no Van Morrison set would be complete without Brown Eyed Girl, a track which he closed on, and is as every bit as strong today as it was when he first recorded it in 1967 for his first solo album Blowin' Your Mind.

And that's exactly what he does, every time.