Van Morrison Announces New Album 'Moving On Skiffle' And Intimate UK Release Shows
Tuesday, 25 October 2022
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Bradley Quinn
Van Morrison has announced a new album and accompanying live shows.
'Moving On Skiffle' will arrive on March 10 and, as the title suggests, finds the singer-songwriter revisiting his love of the skiffle genre that dates back to his childhood.
Recalling a time when he would hang out at Belfast's Atlantic Records, where he'd listen to early 20th century folk, blues and jazz from the likes of Lead Belly and Jelly Roll Morton, the now 77-year-old commented:
"I was still in school when I performed with a skiffle band – a couple of guitars, washboard, tea-chest bass. I was already familiar with Lead Belly's recordings so when I heard Lonnie Donegan's version of Rock Island Line I intuitively understood what he was creating, I knew that it was what I wanted to do. It was like an explosion. This record retranslates songs from that era.
"Chas McDevitt’s book is where to start when it comes to the history of skiffle. From the very beginning with Lead Belly and the jug bands laying the foundations through to Lonnie Donegan's influence, and Chas McDevitt’s skiffle group, it’s all in there."
As a preview, Morrison has shared the record's lead single, Streamline Train, which was written in the 1930s by Mississippi bluesman Red Nelson.
Popularised when The Vipers Skiffle Group took it into the UK singles chart in 1957, the song is given another fresh, richer revamp with Morrison's smoky, soulful singing style and a Hammond organ solo, accompanied by gospel-influenced backing vocals over a shuffling rhythm.
Van Morrison will support the LP' with three intimate launch shows at The Stables in Milton Keynes and two dates at Belfast's Whitla Hall between March 13 and April 7. Tickets go on general sale at 10am on November 4.
'Moving On Skiffle' tracklist:
1. Freight Train
2. Careless Love
3. Sail Away Ladies
4. Streamline Train
5. Take This Hammer
6. No Other Baby
7. Gypsy Davy
8. This Loving Light of Mine
9. In The Evening When the Sun Goes Down
10. Yonder Comes A Sucker
11. Travellin’ Blues
12. Gov Don’t Allow
13. Come On In
14. Streamlined Cannonball
15. Greenback Dollar
16. Oh Lonesome Me
17. I Wish Was An Apple On A Tree
18. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
19. I’m Movin’ On
20. Cold Cold Heart
21. Worried Man Blues
22. Cotton Fields
23. Green Rocky Road
Van Morrison Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Mon March 13 2023 - MILTON KEYNES Stables
Tue March 14 2023 - MILTON KEYNES Stables
Wed March 15 2023 - MILTON KEYNES Stables
Thu April 06 2023 - BELFAST Whitla Hall
Fri April 07 2023 - BELFAST Whitla Hall
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