With the exception of a couple of Fleadh festival appearances, Van Morrison has not played a Chicago area concert hall in many years. As a result, his two-night stand at the Rosemont Theatre became one of the hottest tickets in recent memory.
After years of singing about meditation and the Irish countryside, Morrison has rediscovered his roots, participating in musical tributes to early influences like Mose Allison and skiffle king Lonnie Donegan. For his latest recording, “You Win Again,” Morrison hooked up with the musicians who accompanied him Tuesday–Welsh bar band the Red Hot Pokers and pianist-vocalist Linda Gail Lewis–for a set of blues and country standards.
Morrison and company leaned heavily on material from their recent disc, with arrangements that deviated little from the record. Lewis is a fine vocal foil for Morrison. Their voices mesh well and Lewis is masterful at anticipating and complementing Morrison’s often unexpected departures from the original melody.
The Pokers, resplendent in bright red suits, proved to be a tight band, honed by years of playing together. They brought a slick energy but I suspect the show’s reliance on uptempo standards and Morrison’s most familiar work may have been a move to play to the band’s strengths. The Pokers’ most expressive players, saxophonists Martin Winning and Ned Edwards, both contributed expressive solos, but on the whole the Pokers worked best playing loud and fast. Lewis did a fine job on piano, playing in the same rockabilly style her brother Jerry Lee Lewis perfected in the 1950s. Prior to Morrison’s arrival onstage, Lewis also sang a soulful version of “Dark End of the Street.”
Like the Pokers, Morrison made a striking sartorial statement. Clad in a black sparkly suit, felt hat and shades, the compact singer looked for all the world like a dazed refugee from the convention center across the road. Although his voice was in fine fettle, Morrison seemed emotionally detached from most of the material. Only on a few pieces, notably an energized “These Dreams of You,” (a tune from “Moondance” that Morrison rarely performs) did Morrison’s vocals really catch fire. He and Lewis also delivered a couple of sassy duets, on “Real Gone Lover” and “I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You.”
Morrison rarely packs a show with as many hits as he did Tuesday, dragging out chestnuts such as “Brown-Eyed Girl,” and “Moondance” alongside his recent anthem “Back On Top.” These, blended with the standards from “You Win Again,” made for a relatively safe show that clearly pleased the graying and well-heeled audience. There may have been a passion missing that he found in some of his earlier forays into the Celtic mists, but a somewhat indifferent Morrison is still more interesting than almost any other vocalist in popular music today.
