Dating back to those halcyon days of the ’70s, Van Morrison has made something of a habit of releasing memorable records in the fall. Three Chords and the Truth is but the latest entry in a tradition including Tupelo Honey and Wavelength and this, the Belfast Cowboy’s sixth LP in four years and forty-first to-date, compares favorably to those autumn items in terms of musical variety in and depth of feeling.
Its title an oft-quoted phrase coined by songwriter Harlan Howard to describe country music, this record has virtually nothing to do with C & W except the steel-like guitar tones of the uncharacteristically tongue-in-cheek “Bags Under My Eyes.” However, the acoustic guitar picking of Jay Berliner, as on the opener “March Winds In February,” hearkens directly to Morrison’s own past, specifically those mystical explorations of Astral Weeks to which the aforementioned musician contributed. Even more to that point, this track befits its title as it occupies a time and space all its own, one in which the guttural sound of Morrison’s voice resounds. As with the even more open-ended likes of “Dark Night of the Soul,” “You Don’t Understand” and “Up on Broadway,” there is still a relaxed air to the performance that belies its intensity.
In that respect, Three Chords more appropriately calls to mind the 1980’s expansive Common One, particularly as the atmospheric electric guitar on “Fame Will Eat the Soul” calls to mind how impeccably recorded is this album. Yet the sonics are hardly antiseptic: the molten organ there mirrors the heat in Van The Man’s voice during call and response plus vocal harmony segments where’s he’s joined by Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers.
For the inveterate follower as well as the more casual Van Morrison fan, the upbeat likes of “Read Between the Lines“ will sound especially welcome in its wordless scatting over a cushion of vibes. With its boogie-woogie piano, “Early Days” is even more buoyant and, along similarly joyful lines, the nonchalant shuffle “Nobody In Charge” recalls nothing so much as “Blue Money” off His Band And The Street Choir. Indicative of the range of moods on the records, the downright cynical and self-serving attitude within “You Don’t Understand” deserves its bluesy air: Van’s self-professed mentor John Lee Hooker would be proud.
The placement of the chipper “In Search of Grace” speaks volumes of the wisdom involved in the sequencing of these fourteen tracks. As producer of the album himself, Van Morrison can take credit for that optimum pacing and, likewise, for the astute positioning of “Days Gone By” right at the end of this LP). As prolific as this artist has been in recent years, there’s hardly any sense he’s making new records out of obligation (except perhaps 2016’s Keep Me Singing).
On the contrary, throughout Three Chords and The Truth, there’s an abiding sense of confident inspiration permeating the material as well as the musicianship, including most especially the worldly performances of Van Morrison himself.
