Van Morrison Roll With the Punches 180g 2LP (Vinyl)

37th Album On 180g Vinyl Double LP Features R&B Covers Alongside Originals!

Roll With The Punches, the Belfast legend’s 37th album, sees him simultaneously hand-picking a selection of rhythm’n’blues classics (by the likes of Bo Diddley, Mose Allison, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Lightnin’ Hopkins, among others) and recording a set of new self-written songs.

Songs including Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing’s ‘Goin’ To Chicago’, Bo Diddley’s ‘Ride On Josephine’ and Lightnin’ Hopkins’ ‘Automobile Blues’ are among Morrison’s raw, intimate reinterpretations of some of the cornerstones of rock’n’roll, alongside five original numbers including ‘Transformation’, ‘Fame’, ‘Ordinary People’ and the titular song, which is co-written with Don Black.

Roll With The Punches was produced by Van Morrison and recorded with an incredible team of studio collaborators including Chris Farlowe, Georgie Fame, Jeff Beck, Paul Jones and Jason Rebello.

Van commented: “From a very early age, I connected with the blues. The thing about the blues is you don’t dissect it – you just do it. I’ve never over-analysed what I do; I just do it. Music has to be about just doing it and that’s the way the blues works – it’s an attitude. I was lucky to have met people who were the real thing – people like John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bo Diddley, Little Walter and Mose Allison. I got to hang out with them and absorb what they did. They were people with no ego whatsoever and they helped me learn a lot.

“The songs on Roll With The Punches – whether I’ve written them or not – they’re performance oriented,” he continues. “Each song is like a story and I’m performing that story. That’s been forgotten over years because people over-analyse things. I was a performer before I started writing songs and I’ve always felt like that’s what I do.”

"Roll With the Punches includes tunes by Bo Diddley ("I Can Tell," "Ride on Josephine"), Lightnin' Hopkins ("Automobile Blues") and Little Walter ("Mean Old World"). Several of Van Morrison's selections are popular post-war standards, like "Stormy Monday," which has been recorded by Lou Rawls and the Allman Brothers and lead single "Bring It on Home to Me," originally performed by Sam Cooke and later rendered as a duet by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas." - rollingstone.com

Features:
• Double LP
• 180g Vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Made in Netherlands

Selections:
Side A:
1. Roll With The Punches
2. Transformation
3. I Can Tell
4. Stormy Monday / Lonely Avenue
Side B:
5. Goin' To Chicago
6. Fame
7. Too Much Trouble
Side C:
8. Bring It On Home To Me
9. Ordinary People
10. How Far From God
11. Teardrops From My Eyes
Side D:
12. Automobile Blues
13. Benediction
14. Mean Old World
15. Ride On Josephine