Van Morrison - Moving On Skiffle [2LP Blue]

Van Morrison goes back to the music that first lit his fuse on Moving On Skiffle, a 2023 double album pressed here on blue vinyl.

Skiffle was the scrappy, homemade folk and blues craze that swept 1950s Britain, and it was the soundtrack of Morrison's youth. His 44th studio album is his second dive into the style, following The Skiffle Sessions, a 1998 Belfast concert recording made with Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber. Fellow skiffle pioneer Chas McDevitt was on hand during these sessions too, which gives the whole project a lovely sense of continuity.

Across 23 tracks, Morrison works through traditional songs and well-loved country numbers with an easy, unhurried swing. "Freight Train" and "Streamline Train" rattle along on light, rolling rhythms and nimble picking, "Cotton Fields" gets a warm, back-porch lilt, and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" lets that weathered voice slow right down and savour every word. Dave Keary's guitar work is a constant pleasure, bright and supple without ever crowding the singer.

After a run of more combative records, this one simply sounds happy: a great singer enjoying old songs with good friends. It is the kind of set that turns a quiet evening into a kitchen-table singalong.