Moving On Skiffle in Bloomington, MN

After two albums where
Van Morrison
spent a great deal of time griping about the modern world, it's hard not to interpret the title of
Moving On Skiffle
as "moving on from the political unpleasantness of the last few years to skiffle, the music of my childhood."
Morrison
has returned to skiffle before, cutting a dynamite live album with
Chris Barber
and
Lonnie Donegan
at the tail-end of the 2000s, but
is a different beast. Where
The Skiffle Sessions: Live in Belfast 1998
benefitted from its live setting,
is clearly a studio album, a record so relaxed and unhurried it takes over 90 minutes to reach its conclusion. That's not to say it doesn't have its share of sprightly tempos: the band often kick up dust to a train-track rhythm, yet they never seem on the verge of descending into a frenzied rave-up or hoedown. The music's easy touch allows
to be a bit playful, juxtaposing familiar melodies and lyrics in a surprising fashion; for instance, "Worried Man Blues" has him riffing upon words from "Mystery Train." This same attitude leads
to reworking "Mama Don't Allow" into "Gov Don't Allow," giving him a place to grouse about how the government is shutting down free speech and skiffle. It's the one time on
where
allows his inner curmudgeon to take the reins; otherwise,
is light and lively, an easy record to enjoy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine