Down the Road | 
 enlarge | Artist: Van Morrison
Label: Umvd Labels
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $3.29
You Save: $10.69 (76%)
New (5) Used (19) Collectible (1) from $3.29
Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 50405
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 731458917724
EAN: 0731458917724
ASIN: B0000646UW
Release Date: May 14, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Down the Road | | • | Meet Me in the Indian Summer | | • | Steal My Heart Away | | • | Hey Mr DJ | | • | Talk is Cheap | | • | Choppin' Wood | | • | What Makes The Irish Heart Beat | | • | All work and No Play | | • | Whatever Happened to PJ Proby ? | | • | The Beauty of the Days Gone BY | | • | Georgia on my Mind | | • | Only a Dream | | • | Man Has to Struggle |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Van Morrison's childhood was steeped in American music, in part because he grew up the son of a rabid collector of classic jazz and R&B records. Morrison's infatuation with the music understandably led to the raucous, blues-rooted performances of Them and his early solo records, but it also inspired his long, oft-misunderstood journey to find music more spiritually and geocentrically rooted. This inviting, if typically restive, collection brings the singer full circle, suggesting you can indeed go home again--and that your life's journey just might make you appreciate it with new eyes. Thirteen of these tracks are Morrison originals, though they have a warm, almost subliminal familiarity. Good-natured shuffles like the title track, "Choppin' Wood," and "Hey Mr. DJ" have a nostalgic edge that sharpens considerably on the jaunty "Whatever Happened to PJ Proby?," where Morrison grouses, "Nothin' much to relate to anymore / 'less you wanna be mediocre." But there's considerably more than simple blues redux on Morrison's agenda, as his graceful ballad "Steal My Heart Away" and sublime covers of Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia" and Acker Bilk's "Evening Shadows" (originally an instrumental but now with lyrics by Morrison and an evocative, signature clarinet solo from Bilk himself) prove. A return to the classic Morrison sound, perhaps, but one gratifyingly informed by three decades of musical and spiritual pondering. --Jerry McCulley
Album Description
2002 album with 2 UK bonus tracks added 'Evening Shadows' & 'Fast Train'.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Does Van ever make a bad album? March 9, 2007
K. Tarin (Calif)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I dont know what else to say in here that is not already covered, only this is now my 9th Van CD on my ipod. while allot of all bleeds together in "sameness" it just works. I use shuffle and my pod is on most of the day, so this kind of music along with classical opera and bluegrass just seems to work great for all day listening.
swinging r & b from van the master. February 20, 2007
fluffy, the human being. (forest lake, mn)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
two wonderful slow numbers, "the beauty of the day's gone by," and "georgia on my mind," and thirteen swinging uptempo r & b treats make up this fine recording. the mood is relaxed and easy, with plenty of guitar, horns, and hammond organ along the way to provide a soulful groove on which van's singular voice can ride. released in 2002 this is one of mr morrison's strongest releases of the twenty-first century. long may he record.
Solid classic Van April 9, 2006
Pieter (Johannesburg)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The album opens with the title track, setting the tone as one of reflection on days gone by. This mellow mid-tempo song with intricate instrumental flourishes is followed by the buoyant Meet Me In The Indian Summer, a catchy love song.
Steal My Heart Away is also a love song, but slower and more soulful with evocative imagery, Hey Mr DJ is a chugging pop number with lovely backing vocals and a bit of Morrison's wordless vocalising, whilst Talk Is Cheap is a slow bluesy song about the pitfalls of fame.
The tuneful ballad What Makes The Irish Heart Beat is a definite highlight of the album, infused with Celtic soul. All Work And No Play is a pleasant enough pop ditty and the next one, Whatever Happened To PJ Proby is really interesting as he references various obscure British singers from the 1960s.
One of my favourites is the stirring nostalgic ballad The Beauty Of The Days Gone By with its gorgeous melody and poetic lyrics. I also love the tuneful and lilting Only A Dream. The last song, Fast Train with its appealing organ and harmonica made me think of Arlo Guthrie's Last Train, but is nowhere near as heart-breaking and intense. And that is what I miss on this album: Van's intensely devotional moments.
Down The Road displays all the various styles of the artist, like R & B, rock and his Irish soulfulness but sticks mostly to the middle of the road. The songs are mostly good and sometimes great as in the aforementioned tracks. Down The Road is really a 5-star album, but measured against Van Morrison's vast body of musical genius, it comes in at four.
I have them all. September 14, 2005
B. K. Sheffield (Atlanta Ga)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have been listening to Van Morrison since I stumbled upon a copy of "Tupelo Honey" when I was 18 and it blew me away. He never really made a bad album, but you can spend you money safely here. I keep waiting for another "No Guru" or "Astral Weeks" and this is not that but it is better than 99% of the music out there. Keep it coming Van!
Van Morrison's best latter-day album September 3, 2005
Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Not only is "Down The Road" better than the highly succesful semi-comeback "Back On Top", it is one of Irishman Van Morrison three or four best records, period.
More accessible than most of his records, but still not quite mainstream (and thank God for that), "Down The Road" is a retrospective look at music and musicians, filled with tales of recollection and regret which are as well-wrought lyrically as they as they are musically.
Morrison employs his usual blend of R&B, jazz, folk, blues and country on this album. His phrasing is magnificent, subtle and jazzy, and the arrangements are often jazz-influenced as well...Martin Winning plays a couple of wonderful clarinet solos on the swinging numbers "Meet Me In The Indian Summer" and "Choppin' Wood", and Morrison is backed by a small, warm and unobtrusive brass band on the majority of these fourteen songs.
It seems moot to point out highlights...the entire album is one. Van Morrison has penned some of his very best melodies for "Down The Road", including the bluesy "Talk Is Cheap", the R&B-like "Hey Mr DJ", the lovely folkish "What Makes The Irish Heart Beat", and the curious and thoughtful "Whatever Happened To P.J. Proby?" with the lines "Don't have no frame of reference no more / Not even Screaming Lord Sutch / Without him now there's no Raving Loony Party / Nowadays I guess there's not much / To relate to anymore / Unless you wanna be mediocre..."
The mood is lighthearted even when the lyrics aren't, and this album is made for a 62-minute and five second drive along the highway, windows rolled down, fingers tapping the steering wheel, head bopping like a deranged chicken's.
Perfect band, perfect arrangements, wonderful songs, and Morrison himself has never sounded better, either singing or playing the saxophone.
A must-have for fans, and newcomers can start here as well.
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