Van Morrison’s Remembering Now finds him deep in the groove of original music again, blending soul, jazz, blues, folk, and country with the quiet confidence of an artist who’s never looked back.
At 78, Van Morrison isn’t chasing anything - not trends, not nostalgia, not even redemption. He’s just creating. And Remembering Now finds him back in the deep waters of original music, shaking off the cover-song detour with a record that blends soul, jazz, blues, folk, and country like smoke curling through an open window.
It’s not a comeback. Morrison never left. But after 2022’s original material and two tribute albums that nodded to skiffle and rock ‘n’ roll’s foundational ghosts, Remembering Now feels more personal. Looser. Reflective without leaning on sentimentality. The kind of album that unfolds at its own speed, uninterested in whether you’re keeping up.
Lead single “Down To Joy” finally gets an official release after drifting through Belfast, Kenneth Branagh’s cinematic memoir. Here, it lands with more muscle, strings rising, horns strutting, Morrison's voice seasoned but clear, like someone who’s stopped trying to out-sing the years and instead just lets them in.
The songs don’t announce themselves so much as settle in. “Stomping Ground” and the title track trace the contours of Morrison’s youth without pretending the old haunts haven’t changed. “Once In A Lifetime Feelings” leans into romance without chasing the past, while “The Only Love I Ever Need Is Yours” cuts the sentiment with dry wit. And yes, “When The Rains Came” carries a faint echo of “Brown Eyed Girl,” but this time there’s weather in the air.
His band, Richard Dunn, Stuart McIlroy, Pete Hurley, and Colin Griffin, have been in the pocket with him since Three Chords And The Truth, and they don’t miss a step. There’s no showboating here, just players who know the terrain. Add in string arrangements by Fiachra Trench (who’s been with Morrison since Avalon Sunset), contributions from lyricist Don Black and folk artist Seth Lakeman, and the spiritual leanings of Michael Beckwith, and you’ve got a record that doesn’t need a genre to hold it together. It just breathes.
Remembering Now is Van Morrison doing what he’s always done: ignoring the map, following the sound, and letting it all blur until you stop trying to name it and just feel it.