Review

By Liam Hughes | 08/04/2026

At 79, one might have expected Van the Man to have said all he had to say. Yet here comes *Remembering Now*, his 47th studio album, sounding refreshingly unencumbered by the weight of expectation that has occasionally hobbled his recent output. This is Morrison returning to original songwriting with a renewed sense of purpose, "fluently capturing the essence of soul/R&B/pop" that made him essential listening decades ago. The opening salvo, "Down to Joy" – already familiar from Kenneth Branagh's *Belfast* – sets the tone with its warm brass arrangements and gospel-inflected backing vocals. It's a reminder that when Morrison taps into his wellspring of Celtic soul, few can match his intuitive grasp of melody and mood. The album's 63-minute runtime does occasionally test one's patience, as has become customary with Morrison's latter-day releases, yet there's an intimacy here that feels genuinely earned rather than manufactured. "Soul, jazz, blues, folk, country" – the usual Morrison potpourri is present, but rendered with a lightness of touch that suggests the Belfast sage has rediscovered the joy in his own musical alchemy. Collaborations with Don Black and others inject fresh blood into familiar veins, whilst Morrison's weathered vocals remain as compelling as ever, carrying these songs with the authority of someone who's lived through every note. Not quite the masterpiece his most devoted followers might claim, but *Remembering Now* stands as a convincing argument that Van Morrison's muse hasn't entirely deserted him. In an era of diminished returns from rock's elder statesmen, that's no small achievement.