His Band & The Street Choir - VAN MORRISON***

Domino/Crazy Face/I've Been Working/Call Me Up In Dreamland/I'll Be Your Lover Too/Blue Money/Virgo Clowns/Gypsy Queen/Sweet Jannie/If I Ever Needed Someone/Street Choir

Released a little too quickly after his previous album Van Morrison's His Band & The Street Choir is let down by a number of sub par tracks. Includes the US No. 9 hit Domino. (US:32 UK:18)

"It's not that any of these songs are bad, it's that they weren't treated with the care and polish they deserve. The swinging rock 'n' roll Sweet Jannie is a highlight for me - actually the last three songs are particularly strong. It doesn't help that some of these are throwaways that weren't good enough for his previous records."

"Most of it is commercial, radio-friendly R & B - not fake soul, and is the sound of Van actually enjoying himself, making music similar to that he grew up with. The tracks are mostly short, and you can dance to much of this."

"Any release that includes Morrison's Domino is worth buying, no matter what. Not nearly as creative nor as acclaimed as Astral Weeks or Moondance, this LP is still a fun listen. I dare you not to get up and dance to Domino. If those few initial guitar pluckings don't prompt you to crank up the volume and hit the floor, then there's no hope for you. Nothing spectacular about the rest of the songs though."

"Well, the opening R & B heavy Domino is a cracking little tune. It swings, it moves, Van sounds full of beans and such forth. Unfortunately, much else of what's here is Van by numbers. Well, not even that. The simpler forms of parts of Moondance have seemingly been taken as a starting point and its all downhill from there."

"He drops the mysticism of the last records almost entirely. For some, that makes this fare poorly by comparison. Yet, setting aside the fact that both Astral Weeks and Moondance were some of the best albums of the era, His Band is a wonderful record all on its own. It feels a little more extroverted, alternating between bar-room soul/R & B sound and more intimate folk, and a few tunes that fall somewhere in between. So much of this is so good-natured, fun and impassioned, still with touches of poignancy, that it should be easy to love."

"All of the songs are good, some are very good and at least two are brilliant. But the album is so laid back that it might be boring to some people, especially the second half. That's why this is an album for chilling out, for leisurely and relaxed enjoyment."