Album reviews: Van Morrison’s latest celebrates the early rock ’n’ roll songs that made him
Elsewhere, art-punk legends make songs of dissonance and dystopia; and a country singer’s style is imbued with real soul and electrified blues
Van Morrison, Accentuate the Positive (Exile)
Following this year’s Moving on Skiffle album, Van Morrison continues to highlight the music that influenced him as a teenager by focusing on the sounds he first heard from his father’s notable record collection. Short and sharp versions of 19 of his favourite songs of that era, some of which are decidedly pre-rock ’n’ roll, are here, from the expected (including Big Joe Turner’s Flip, Flop and Fly, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates’ Shakin’ All Over, Johnny Burnette Trio’s Lonesome Train, Fats Domino’s Blueberry Hill, Bill Haley and the Comets’ Shake, Rattle and Roll, and Little Richards’ Lucille) to the less so (including Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters’ title track, Don Gibson’s Sea of Heartbreak, The Platters’ Red Sails in the Sunset, and Pee Wee King’s Bonaparte’s Retreat).
