Van Morrison

1 Star Of The County Down 2:41
2 Irish Heartbeat
Written-By – Van Morrison
3:52
3 Tá Mo Chleamhnas Déanta 3:31
4 Raglan Road 4:43
5 She Moved Through The Fair 4:44
6 I'll Tell Me Ma 2:29
7 Carrickfergus 4:23
8 Celtic Ray
Written-By – Van Morrison
3:47
9 My Lagan Love 5:19
10 Marie's Wedding 3:17
Credits:
Arranged By – Paddy Moloney, Van Morrison
Backing Vocals – June Boyce (tracks: 2, 8, 10), Mary Black (tracks: 3, 10), Maura O'Connell (tracks: 10)
Bagpipes – Paddy Moloney
Bass – Ciarán Ó Braonáin*
Bodhrán – Kevin Conneff
Drums – Van Morrison
Dulcimer [Tiompán] – Derek Bell
Fiddle – Martin Fay (2), Seán Keane*
Flute – Matt Molloy
Guitar – Van Morrison
Harp – Derek Bell
Keyboards – Derek Bell
Percussion [Bones] – Martin Fay (2)
Producer – Paddy Moloney, Van Morrison
Vocals – Kevin Conneff (tracks: 1, 3, 6), Van Morrison
Whistle – Paddy Moloney
Written By – Traditional (tracks: 1, 3 to 7, 9, 10)… (mer)

A generally middle-of-the-road set of Morrison covers, tracks and artists selected by The Man himself, who also co-produced the album. So, unlike a lot of tribute albums, this one has the hand of the original on the tiller. A shame, then, that Van piloted it through such safe waters.

There are a few better than average tracks here, though, being Crazy Love by Cassandra Wilson, which captures the emotionality of Morrison's original; Full Force Gale done a capella by Elvis Costello with backing vocals by a male close-harmony trio, and; You Make Me Feel So Free done by Sinead O'Connor in rhythm-and-blues songstress mode. 3.5 stars, then, rather than 3 stars, thanks to these songs.… (mer)