Van Morrison in his happy space at the Olympia as a smile creases his face

VAN MORRISON

3Olympia Theatre, Dublin

★★★★☆

Anyone who turned up at Van Morrison’s concert at 3Olympia Theatre in Dublin on Monday night – the first of two consecutive nights at the venue – expecting verbal fireworks over lockdowns and the like was sorely disappointed. The only fireworks were of the musical kind as he and his excellent seven-piece band expertly paced their way through a 90-minute selection of songs from his forthcoming album, Moving on Skiffle, a tribute to his earliest influence and musical education. The music was light relief from the irascible ramblings of recent years, which, ironically, have served to distract from some of Morrison’s better recent melodies and arrangements.

Covid restrictions prompted Morrison, now 77, to go through something of a prolonged public strop that, even by his choleric standards, has been more newsworthy than his musical output. If Three Chords & the Truth (2019) touched on his grievances, Latest Record Project Volume 1 (2021) and last year’s What’s It Gonna Take? were both suffused with bitterness and bile, his frustrations with personal issues finding common cause with his anger over what he perceived as government overreach on his liberty. We are used to right-wing extremists sounding off on this insidious construct. But even with Morrison’s reputation for crankiness, his repeated riffs on the topic left him open to accusations of being tone-deaf when many people were going through horrendous loss.

Van Morrison seemed to enjoy playing the African-American music that helped form him as a musician and a man in late 1950s and early 1960s. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

At the same time it must not be forgotten that Van Morrison is rightly regarded as one of the giants of popular music, someone who has created so many magical moments in his 60-year career that allowance should be made for an artist who clearly lives for the stage and who, no doubt, hears the ticking of the clock. On Monday night he was in his happy space, surrounded by like-minded musicians, playing the African-American music that helped form him as a musician and a man in late-1950s and early-1960s Belfast. While skiffle is essentially folk music, a lively British take on American jug bands and the folk-blues of Lead Belly and others, Morrison’s 2023 version is more layered, though no less lively and engaging. The spirit of the skiffle legend Lonnie Donegan is never far away. The band even includes a washboard player by the intriguing name of Sticky Wicket.

Morrison, resplendent in a natty blue suit, shades and hat, was in fine voice. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Morrison, resplendent in a natty blue suit, shades and hat, was in fine voice. He also blew some harmonica and played guitar and sax, much to the joy of the packed audience. There are 23 tracks on the new album, all well-known covers such as Freight Train, Cottonfields, Oh Lonesome Me and Come on In. (He changes the title of a 1920s blues song, Mama Don’t Allow, to Gov Don’t Allow, but thankfully there is no speech to go with it.) They previewed most if not all, their infectious versions converting an audience who, perhaps, were expecting more typical Morrison fare but nevertheless were sent home happy. They weren’t alone. I could be wrong, but I think I saw a smile crease the great man’s face.