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Naming his new release "Latest Record Project, Vol. 1" sounds like a threat that there is a vol.2 coming.
What happened to Van Morrison? The fall from eccentric genius to conspiracy theorist
https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...atest-record-project-antisemitism-coronavirus
Outside of the circles of his most dedicated fans, the arrival of a Van Morrison album in the 21st century has not been a news event. That trend stopped last week, however, when Morrison, 75, released “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” a 28-track double album that includes eyebrow-raising song titles such as “Where Have All the Rebels Gone,” “Why Are You on Facebook?” and “Stop Bitching, Do Something.” This album is now very much news: Variety published a list of “The 10 Craziest Lyrics” from the record, while the Jerusalem Post rounded up all of the claims of anti-Semitism implied in his song called “They Own the Media” and other lyrics scattered throughout.
This turn toward the alt-right didn’t come out of nowhere. Broadly speaking, Morrison’s career arc looks something like this: He went from being a brash teenage wunderkind with his band Them, to a promising young solo artist (“Brown Eyed Girl”), to a moody, soulful poet casually creating masterpieces (“Astral Weeks” and “Moondance”), to a middle-aged curmudgeon showcasing occasional moments of brilliance (“Common One”), until he slowly devolved into a boozy-uncle type, cranking out boilerplate blues LPs while leaning on his earlier legacy to fill concert halls.
Morrison’s unpredictability, temper and bitterness have become the stuff of legend, including everything from smashing someone else’s guitar onstage during a show to firing members of his band with little notice or cause and confronting a journalist about their credentials during an interview.
This all sets the stage for “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” where Morrison baldly airs his complaints, both personal and political, for two-plus bewildering hours. Unlike some of his peers, Morrison’s voice has remained startlingly strong, and its depth and richness comprise the sole positive attribute of this release. The music itself is bland, standard blues executed so precisely and unimaginatively that there are times you will wonder if these backing tracks were generated by artificial intelligence. What once came off as an act of beautiful, stream-of-consciousness songwriting now takes on the air of an extended Alex Jones rant. Even during moments when Morrison indulges in nostalgia about his interesting career, it immediately careens into the overarching theme of victimhood. “I was playing at the Whiskey / When The Doors were opening up,” he sings on “Up County Down,” but he quickly sours the memory by adding, “Sometimes I sat there drinking / From a poisoned cup.”
If these were the only missteps on the record, it would just be another entry in Morrison’s milquetoast late-career discography, but the further you go into “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” the more troubling it becomes. It’s impossible to hear a song like “They Control the Media” — with lyrics that claim, “They control the narrative, they perpetuate the myth / Keep on telling you lies, tell you ignorance is bliss” — and not seriously confront its references to the well-established anti-Semitic trope. Elsewhere, the title and lyrics of “Western Man” seem to evoke the same fears promoted by white nationalist movements. Here, Morrison sings about how “caretakers have taken over the main building” and how the “Western Man” has “let others steal his rewards,” summarizing the themes of the 2017 book “The Fall of Western Man,” a 324-page rallying cry for white supremacy. This is to say nothing of his duet with singer Chris Farlowe, who once put his musical career on pause to pursue an interest in Nazi memorabilia. Currently on the 4Chan message board, where the QAnon movement originated, there is an active thread celebrating Morrison’s new record where his new songs are described as “inspired” and their subjects referred to using racial slurs and memes.
Morrison repeatedly sings about “mind control” across the expanse of the double disc, and about being a “targeted individual,” a likely reference to a growing community of people who believe they are being harassed and “gang-stalked” by unknown assailants as part of a larger conspiracy.
In his final interview in 2016, “Astral Weeks”’ producer Lewis Merenstein lamented Morrison’s reputation for being vitriolic and holding grudges, noting, “He’s a beautiful poet. He should be a kind person with love in his heart.” For the large majority of Morrison’s career, when it was time to write and record new songs, it was the “beautiful poet” who most often showed up at the studio. Now, with “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” Morrison’s surly persona has fully merged with his songwriting muse, unveiling some deeply upsetting worldviews that undoubtedly will cause his loyal fans to assess whether they can still stomach his musical blues.
What happened to Van Morrison? The fall from eccentric genius to conspiracy theorist
https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...atest-record-project-antisemitism-coronavirus
Outside of the circles of his most dedicated fans, the arrival of a Van Morrison album in the 21st century has not been a news event. That trend stopped last week, however, when Morrison, 75, released “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” a 28-track double album that includes eyebrow-raising song titles such as “Where Have All the Rebels Gone,” “Why Are You on Facebook?” and “Stop Bitching, Do Something.” This album is now very much news: Variety published a list of “The 10 Craziest Lyrics” from the record, while the Jerusalem Post rounded up all of the claims of anti-Semitism implied in his song called “They Own the Media” and other lyrics scattered throughout.
This turn toward the alt-right didn’t come out of nowhere. Broadly speaking, Morrison’s career arc looks something like this: He went from being a brash teenage wunderkind with his band Them, to a promising young solo artist (“Brown Eyed Girl”), to a moody, soulful poet casually creating masterpieces (“Astral Weeks” and “Moondance”), to a middle-aged curmudgeon showcasing occasional moments of brilliance (“Common One”), until he slowly devolved into a boozy-uncle type, cranking out boilerplate blues LPs while leaning on his earlier legacy to fill concert halls.
Morrison’s unpredictability, temper and bitterness have become the stuff of legend, including everything from smashing someone else’s guitar onstage during a show to firing members of his band with little notice or cause and confronting a journalist about their credentials during an interview.
This all sets the stage for “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” where Morrison baldly airs his complaints, both personal and political, for two-plus bewildering hours. Unlike some of his peers, Morrison’s voice has remained startlingly strong, and its depth and richness comprise the sole positive attribute of this release. The music itself is bland, standard blues executed so precisely and unimaginatively that there are times you will wonder if these backing tracks were generated by artificial intelligence. What once came off as an act of beautiful, stream-of-consciousness songwriting now takes on the air of an extended Alex Jones rant. Even during moments when Morrison indulges in nostalgia about his interesting career, it immediately careens into the overarching theme of victimhood. “I was playing at the Whiskey / When The Doors were opening up,” he sings on “Up County Down,” but he quickly sours the memory by adding, “Sometimes I sat there drinking / From a poisoned cup.”
If these were the only missteps on the record, it would just be another entry in Morrison’s milquetoast late-career discography, but the further you go into “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” the more troubling it becomes. It’s impossible to hear a song like “They Control the Media” — with lyrics that claim, “They control the narrative, they perpetuate the myth / Keep on telling you lies, tell you ignorance is bliss” — and not seriously confront its references to the well-established anti-Semitic trope. Elsewhere, the title and lyrics of “Western Man” seem to evoke the same fears promoted by white nationalist movements. Here, Morrison sings about how “caretakers have taken over the main building” and how the “Western Man” has “let others steal his rewards,” summarizing the themes of the 2017 book “The Fall of Western Man,” a 324-page rallying cry for white supremacy. This is to say nothing of his duet with singer Chris Farlowe, who once put his musical career on pause to pursue an interest in Nazi memorabilia. Currently on the 4Chan message board, where the QAnon movement originated, there is an active thread celebrating Morrison’s new record where his new songs are described as “inspired” and their subjects referred to using racial slurs and memes.
Morrison repeatedly sings about “mind control” across the expanse of the double disc, and about being a “targeted individual,” a likely reference to a growing community of people who believe they are being harassed and “gang-stalked” by unknown assailants as part of a larger conspiracy.
In his final interview in 2016, “Astral Weeks”’ producer Lewis Merenstein lamented Morrison’s reputation for being vitriolic and holding grudges, noting, “He’s a beautiful poet. He should be a kind person with love in his heart.” For the large majority of Morrison’s career, when it was time to write and record new songs, it was the “beautiful poet” who most often showed up at the studio. Now, with “Latest Record Project, Vol. 1,” Morrison’s surly persona has fully merged with his songwriting muse, unveiling some deeply upsetting worldviews that undoubtedly will cause his loyal fans to assess whether they can still stomach his musical blues.
