Latest Record Project, Volume 1 is the 42nd studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on 7 May 2021 by Exile Productions and BMG.[1] The 28-track album includes the songs "Why Are You on Facebook?", "They Own the Media" and "Western Man". Released as a 2-CD set and on triple vinyl, the album marked a return to the UK Top Ten for Morrison, making the 2020s the fourth consecutive decade in which he has reached those heights.[2]
| Latest Record Project, Volume 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 7 May 2021 | |||
| Length | 127:44 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Van Morrison | |||
| Van Morrison chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 52/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Classic Rock |    [4] |
| The Guardian | [1] |
| The Irish Times | [5] |
| Pitchfork | 5.4/10[6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
While the album charted in the Top Ten in half a dozen countries, it received a "mixed or average" response, scoring 52 / 100 on review aggregator Metacritic.[3] Reviewing the album for Rolling Stone, Jonathan Bernstein wrote that "Morrison's new record bears a strange resemblance to the unhinged, rambling feel of the pandemic-era internet: more often than not, its 28 tracks come across as a collection of shitposts, subtweets, and Reddit rants set to knockoff John Lee Hooker grooves."[7] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave the album just one star in his review, praising the musical arrangements and performances while criticising its lyrical content as "boring and paranoid", describing the total product as "a genuinely depressing listen".[1] Elizabeth Nelson of Pitchfork expressed a similar sentiment in her review, stating that "as with all things Van, his genius consistently shines through irrespective of the asinine context", while simultaneously describing Morrison's lyricism as egotistical and "transparently insane".[6] Both Petridis and Nelson additionally commented on the presence of alt-right themes within the album.[1][6]
Ireland's Business Post said the album was "a late-career highlight" for Morrison who "displays an innate understanding of what swings with unusually direct lyrics".[8] For Classic Rock, Morrison is "surprisingly enjoyable on (an) album of grumpy but bouncy R&B", while Artsfuse concluded that the "[prickly] and polemical tunes are surrounded by some of the most enjoyable music Van Morrison has made in years", and found it "at various points, inspired, insipid, and infuriating".[9][4] Jackie Hayden wrote in Hot Press that while "Van Morrison is an angry man ageing disgracefully... [such] is the sense of confrontational immediacy, there's hardly a track that doesn't justify the price of admission".[10] The Scotsman praised the band who "remain mellow, intuitive and freewheeling throughout".[11][5]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Latest Record Project" | 5:06 |
| 2. | "Where Have All the Rebels Gone?" | 4:13 |
| 3. | "Psychoanalysts' Ball" | 5:17 |
| 4. | "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" | 3:08 |
| 5. | "Tried to Do the Right Thing" | 4:42 |
| 6. | "The Long Con" | 6:59 |
| 7. | "Thank God for the Blues" | 5:01 |
| 8. | "Big Lie" | 3:41 |
| 9. | "A Few Bars Early" | 4:52 |
| 10. | "It Hurts Me Too" | 3:03 |
| 11. | "Only a Song" | 4:00 |
| 12. | "Diabolic Pressure" | 5:27 |
| 13. | "Deadbeat Saturday Night" | 3:13 |
| 14. | "Blue Funk" | 4:21 |
| Total length: | 63:03 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Double Agent" | 4:52 |
| 16. | "Double Bind" | 5:23 |
| 17. | "Love Should Come with a Warning" | 4:03 |
| 18. | "Breaking the Spell" | 3:28 |
| 19. | "Up County Down" | 4:54 |
| 20. | "Duper's Delight" | 6:12 |
| 21. | "My Time After a While" | 6:15 |
| 22. | "He's Not the Kingpin" | 4:07 |
| 23. | "Mistaken Identity" | 4:26 |
| 24. | "Stop Bitching, Do Something" | 5:06 |
| 25. | "Western Man" | 3:32 |
| 26. | "They Own the Media" | 3:12 |
| 27. | "Why Are You on Facebook?" | 4:55 |
| 28. | "Jealousy" | 4:16 |
| Total length: | 64:41 (127:44) | |
Musicians
editAs posted on Discogs.[12]
- Van Morrison : Vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, harmonica, alto saxophone
- Dave Keary : Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, classical guitar, mandolin, banjo, backing vocals
- Jim Mullen : Electric guitar
- Pete Hurley : Bass guitar
- Paul Moore : Bass guitar
- Gavin Scott; Bass guitar
- Stuart McIlroy : Piano
- Paul Moran : Piano, Hammond organ
- Richard Dunn : Piano, Hammond organ, Clavinet
- Chris J White : Tenor saxophone
- Alistair White; Trombone
- Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, Kelly Smiley : Backing vocals
- Mez Clough : Drums, backing vocals
- Colin Griffin : Drums, percussion
- Jeff Lardner : Drums
- Teena Lyle : Percussion, vibraphone, backing vocals
- Ben McAuley : Percussion
- P.J. Proby : Vocals
- Chris Farlowe : Vocals
Charts
edit| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] | 41 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] | 4 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] | 8 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] | 81 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] | 4 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] | 3 |
| Irish Albums (OCC)[19] | 48 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] | 43 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] | 4 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] | 29 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] | 6 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[24] | 5 |
| US Billboard 200[25] | 182 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Petridis, Alexis (6 May 2021). "Van Morrison: Latest Record Project Volume 1 review – depressing rants by tinfoil milliner | Van Morrison". The Guardian.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
- ^ a b "Latest Record Project, Vol. 1 by Van Morrison Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ a b Quantick, David (7 May 2021). "Van Morrison is surprisingly enjoyable on album of grumpy but bouncy R&B". Classic Rock.
- ^ a b "Van Morrison: Latest Record Project Volume 1 – Brilliance battered by bitterness". The Irish Times.
- ^ a b c Nelson, Elizabeth (7 May 2021). "Van Morrison: Latest Record Project, Vol. 1 Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ a b Bernstein, Jonathan (6 May 2021). "Van Morrison's 'Latest Record Project' Is a Delightfully Terrible Study in Casual Grievance". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Clayton-Lea, Tony. "Album reviews: Van Morrison, Maria Doyle Kennedy and Sufjan Stevens". Business Post.
- ^ "Rock Album Review: Van Morrison's Latest - A Boatload of Rockers and Bellyaching". The Arts Fuse. 10 May 2021.
- ^ Hayden, Jackie. "Album Review: Van Morrison, Latest Record Project Volume 1". Hotpress.
- ^ "Album reviews: Van Morrison | The Coral | Colonel Mustard & the Dijon Five". The Scotsman.
- ^ "Van Morrison - Latest Record Project (Volume 1)". Discogs.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Van Morrison – Latest Record Project - Volume 1" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Van Morrison – Latest Record Project - Volume 1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Van Morrison – Latest Record Project - Volume 1" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Van Morrison – Latest Record Project - Volume 1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Van Morrison – Latest Record Project - Volume 1" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 19 (dal 7.5.2021 al 13.5.2021)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Van Morrison – Latest Record Project - Volume 1". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Van Morrison – Latest Record Project - Volume 1". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (2/2)..." Retrieved 17 May 2021.