Editing Van Morrison (section)

==Life and career==
===Early life and musical roots: 1945–1964===
George Ivan Morrison was born on 31 August 1945,<ref>{{AllMusic|tab=biography|title=Van Morrison biography}}</ref> at 125 [[Hyndford Street]], [[Bloomfield, Belfast]], Northern Ireland,<ref name="nosurrender">{{cite book |title=Van Morrison: No Surrender |last=Rogan |first=Johnny |authorlink=Johnny Rogan |year= 2006 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Van_Morrison/BGaqpDx31s4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Van+Morrison:+No+Surrender+born+%2231+August%22&pg=PA15&printsec=frontcover |location=London |publisher=Vintage Books |isbn=978-0-09-943183-1 |page=15}}</ref> as the only child of George Morrison, a [[shipyard]] electrician, and Violet Morrison (née Stitt), who had been a singer and [[tap dance]]r in her youth. The previous occupant of the house was the writer [[Lee Child]]'s father.<ref name="Van the Man">{{cite news|date=22 September 2007|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/its-van-the-mam-13478426.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629025223/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/its-van-the-mam-13478426.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2012|first=Claire|last=McNeilly|title=It's Van: The Mam|newspaper=[[The Belfast Telegraph]]|access-date=26 September 2007}}</ref> Morrison's family were working class [[Ulster Protestants|Protestants]] descended from the [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] population that settled in Belfast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=16537 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901033338/http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=16537 |url-status=dead |archive-date= 1 September 2009|website=Allaboutjazz.com|title=Van Morrison at All About Jazz|access-date=12 December 2009}}</ref><ref name="HintonPage18">Hinton (1997), page 18.</ref><ref name="HeylinPage4">Heylin (2003), p. 4.</ref> From 1950 to 1956, Morrison, who began to be known as "Van" during this time, attended [[Elmgrove Primary School]].<ref name="TurnerPage20">Turner (1993), p. 20.</ref> His father had what was at the time one of the largest record collections in Northern Ireland (acquired during his time in Detroit, Michigan, in the early 1950s)<ref name="HintonPage19">Hinton (1997), p. 19.</ref> and the young Morrison grew up listening to artists such as [[Jelly Roll Morton]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Lead Belly]], [[Sonny Terry]] and [[Brownie McGhee]] and [[Solomon Burke]];<ref name="TurnerPage20" /><ref name="HintonPage20">Hinton (1997), p. 20.</ref> of whom he later said, "If it weren't for guys like Ray and Solomon, I wouldn't be where I am today. Those guys were the inspiration that got me going. If it wasn't for that kind of music, I couldn't do what I'm doing now."<ref name="Renaissance Van">{{cite magazine|date=2 June 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618182003/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/articles/story/7371946/renaissance_van|archive-date=18 June 2008|title=Renaissance Van|first=David|last=Wild|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=30 April 2010|url-status=dead|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/articles/story/7371946/renaissance_van}}</ref>

His father's record collection exposed him to various musical genres, such as the [[blues]] of [[Muddy Waters]]; the [[Gospel music|gospel]] of [[Mahalia Jackson]]; the [[jazz]] of [[Charlie Parker]]; the [[folk music]] of [[Woody Guthrie]]; and [[country music]] from [[Hank Williams]] and [[Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]],<ref name="TurnerPage20" /> while the first record he ever bought was by blues musician [[Sonny Terry]].<ref name="Listening Party">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/03/09/090309ta_talk_greenman|title=Listening Party|magazine=The New Yorker|first=Ben|last=Greenman|date=9 March 2009|access-date=18 May 2010}}</ref> When [[Lonnie Donegan]] had a hit with "[[Rock Island Line (song)|Rock Island Line]]", written by Huddie Ledbetter ([[Lead Belly]]), Morrison felt he was familiar with and able to connect with [[skiffle]] music as he had been hearing Lead Belly before that.<ref name="CollisPage 33">Collis (1996), page 33.</ref><ref name="Van Morrison – salon.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/people/bc/2000/09/19/morrison/index.html|title=Van Morrison|website=[[Salon.com|Salon]]|first=Sean|last=Elder|date=19 September 2000|access-date=18 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130053259/http://www.salon.com/people/bc/2000/09/19/morrison/index.html|archive-date=30 January 2011}}</ref>

Morrison's father bought him his first acoustic guitar when he was 11, and he learned to play rudimentary [[chord (music)|chords]] from the song book ''The [[Carter Family]] Style'', edited by [[Alan Lomax]].<ref name="TurnerPage25">Turner (1993), p. 25.</ref> In 1957, at the age of twelve, Morrison formed his first band,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=d25c7b6a-7ddb-4540-84db-9dc6cd09f632|title=Van Morrison: The Irascible Mystic|website=2.canada.com|access-date=18 May 2010|date=30 June 2007|last=Perusse|first=Bernard|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905142831/http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=d25c7b6a-7ddb-4540-84db-9dc6cd09f632|archive-date=5 September 2012}}</ref> a skiffle group, "The Sputniks", named after the satellite, [[Sputnik 1]], that had been launched in October of that year by the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="HintonPage22">Hinton (1997), page 22.</ref> In 1958, the band played at some of the local cinemas, and Morrison took the lead, contributing most of the singing and arranging. Other short-lived groups followed – at 14, he formed Midnight Special, another modified skiffle band, and played at a school concert.<ref name="TurnerPage25" /> Then, when he heard [[Jimmy Giuffre]] playing saxophone on "The Train and The River", he talked his father into buying him a [[tenor saxophone]],<ref name="HeylinPage34">Heylin (2003), page 34.</ref> and took saxophone and music reading lessons from jazz musician [[George Cassidy (jazz musician)|George Cassidy]], who Morrison saw as a "big inspiration", and they became friends, he also grew up with him on Hyndford Street.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 April 2020 |title=Van Morrison on his musical memories and what he sings when he's washing his hands |language=en-GB |work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/van-morrison-on-his-musical-memories-and-what-he-sings-when-hes-washing-his-hands/39092301.html |access-date=7 November 2023 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref name="TurnerPage26">Turner (1993), page 26.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rogan |first=Johnny |title=Van Morrison : no surrender |publisher=Secker & Warburg |year=2005 |isbn=9780436205668 |location=London |language=English}}</ref> Now playing the saxophone, Morrison joined with various local bands, including one called Deanie Sands and the Javelins, with whom he played guitar and shared singing. The line-up of the band was lead vocalist Deanie Sands, guitarist [[George Jones (radio presenter)|George Jones]], and drummer and vocalist Roy Kane.<ref name="Rolling Stone Interview">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/14639/80271|last=Grissim|first=John Jr.|title=Van Morrison: The Rolling Stone Interview|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=22 June 1972|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210031156/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/14639/80271|archive-date=10 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Later the four main musicians of the Javelins, with the addition of Wesley Black as pianist, became known as the Monarchs.<ref name="TurnerPage28">Turner (1993), page 28.</ref>

Morrison attended [[Orangefield High School|Orangefield Boys Secondary School]], leaving in July 1960 with no qualifications.<ref name="O'Hagan">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/nov/02/vanmorrison-popandrock|title=Is this the best album ever made?|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 November 2008|access-date=18 May 2010|last=O'Hagan|first=Sean}}</ref> As a member of a working-class community, he was expected to get a regular full-time job,<ref name="TurnerPage28" /> so after several short apprenticeship positions, he settled into a job as a [[window cleaner]]—later alluded to in his songs "[[Cleaning Windows]]" and "[[Saint Dominic's Preview (song)|Saint Dominic's Preview]]".<ref>Rogan (2006), page 48.</ref> However, he had been developing his musical interests from an early age and continued playing with the Monarchs part-time. Young Morrison also played with the Harry Mack Showband, the Great Eight, with his older workplace friend, Geordie (G. D.) Sproule, whom he later named as one of his biggest influences.<ref name="RoganPage43-44">Rogan (2006), pages 43–48.</ref>

At age 17, Morrison toured Europe for the first time with the Monarchs, now calling themselves the International Monarchs. This [[Irish showband]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geocities.com/the_strath/1963.htm|title=1963|website=Geocities.com|access-date=21 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028141151/http://geocities.com/the_strath/1963.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 October 2009}}{{Cite web |url=http://geocities.com/the_strath/1963.htm |title=1963 |access-date=20 October 2011 |archive-date=28 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028141151/http://geocities.com/the_strath/1963.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> with Morrison playing saxophone, guitar and harmonica, in addition to back-up duty on bass and drums, toured seamy clubs and US Army bases in Scotland, England and Germany, often playing five sets a night.<ref name="Rolling Stone Interview" /> While in Germany, the band recorded a single, "Boozoo Hully Gully"/"Twingy Baby", under the name Georgie and the Monarchs. This was Morrison's first recording, taking place in November 1963 at [[Ariola]] Studios in [[Cologne]] with Morrison on saxophone; it made the lower reaches of the German charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html|title=Van Morrison with The Monarchs / Them Chronology 1947/8-1969|website=Geocities.com|access-date=21 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028031225/http://www.geocities.com/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 October 2009}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html |title=Van Morrison with the Monarchs / Them Chronology 1947/8-1969 |access-date=21 April 2009 |archive-date=28 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028031225/http://www.geocities.com/tracybjazz/hayward/van-the-man.info/miscellaneous/themchrono.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iangallagher.com/monarchsvanmorrison.html|title=monarchsvanmorrison|website=Iangallagher.com|access-date=21 April 2009|archive-date=19 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119235418/http://www.iangallagher.com/monarchsvanmorrison.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Upon returning to Belfast in November 1963, the group disbanded,<ref name="TurnerPage33-38">Turner (1993), pp. 33–38.</ref> so Morrison connected with Geordie Sproule again and played with him in the Manhattan Showband along with guitarist [[Herbie Armstrong]]. When Armstrong auditioned to play with Brian Rossi and the Golden Eagles, later known as [[the Wheels]], Morrison went along and was hired as a blues singer.<ref>Rogan (2006), p. 78.</ref><ref>Hodgett, Trevor. "Wheel Away the Years. ''Shindig!'' No. 27. Volcano Publishing, p. 51.</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Chris|last=Bishop|date=27 August 2010|url=http://www.garagehangover.com/wheels/|title=The Wheels (The Wheel-a-Ways) – Garage Hangover|access-date=30 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530082010/http://www.garagehangover.com/wheels/|archive-date=30 May 2015}}</ref>

===Them: 1964–1966===
{{Main|Them (band)}}
The roots of Them, the band that first broke Morrison on the international scene, came in April 1964 when he responded to an advert for musicians to play at a new [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] club at the Maritime Hotel in College Square North&nbsp;– an old Belfast hostel frequented by sailors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.superseventies.com/ssvanmorrison.html|title=Van Morrison&nbsp;– In His Own Words|website=Superseventies.com|access-date=23 April 2009}}</ref><ref>[https://ulsterhistorycircle.org.uk/maritime-hotel/ 'The Maritime Hotel']. Ulster History Circle, 15 April 2015, retrieved 3 June 2022.</ref> The new club needed a band for its opening night. Morrison had left the Golden Eagles (the group with which he had been performing at the time), so he created a new band out of the Gamblers, an [[Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)|East Belfast]] group formed by Ronnie Millings, Billy Harrison and Alan Henderson in 1962. Morrison took the place of his friend, Bill Dunn, who left the band months earlier to become a pastor.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/rocker-turned-pastor-bill-dunn-to-me-van-morrison-is-a-giant-and-a-real-groundbreaker-for-northern-ireland-im-proud-to-know-him/42150242.html |title=Rocker-turned-pastor Bill Dunn: ‘To me, Van Morrison is a giant and a real groundbreaker for Northern Ireland... I’m proud to know him’ |work=Belfast Telegraph |last=Little |first=Ivan |date=17 November 2022 |access-date=22 April 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="The rough guide">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haEfq-nKqjgC&q=The+Gamblers+van+morrison&pg=RA1-PA424|title=The rough guide to rock – Google Book Search|access-date=24 April 2009|last=Buckley|first=Peter|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0|date=31 July 2002|publisher=Rough Guides }}</ref><ref name="The Belfast Blues">{{cite web|url=http://www.thembelfast.com/|title=THEM the Belfast Blues-Band|website=Thembelfast.com|access-date=24 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817111831/http://www.thembelfast.com/|archive-date=17 August 2009}}</ref> [[Eric Wrixon]], still a schoolboy, was the piano player and keyboardist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://music.aol.com/artist/eric-wrixon/biography/1166048|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121129141027/http://music.aol.com/artist/eric-wrixon/biography/1166048|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 November 2012|title=Eric Wrixon Biography&nbsp;– AOL Music|website=Music.aol.com|access-date=24 April 2009}}</ref> Morrison played saxophone and harmonica and shared vocals with Billy Harrison. They followed Eric Wrixon's suggestion for a new name, and the Gamblers morphed into [[Them (band)|Them]], their name taken from the 1954 horror movie ''[[Them!]]''<ref>Rogan (2006), pp. 79–83</ref>

The band's R&B performances at the Maritime attracted attention. Them performed without a routine and Morrison [[ad lib]]bed, creating his songs live as he performed.<ref name="HintonPage40">Hinton (1997), page 40.</ref> While the band did covers, they also played some of Morrison's early songs, such as "Could You Would You", which he had written in [[Camden Town]] while touring with the Manhattan Showband.<ref>Rogan (2006), page 76</ref> The debut of Morrison's "[[Gloria (Them song)|Gloria]]" took place on stage here. Sometimes, depending on his mood, the song could last up to twenty minutes. Morrison has said, "Them lived and died on the stage at the Maritime Hotel", believing the band did not manage to capture the spontaneity and energy of their live performances on their records.<ref name="TurnerPage44">Turner (1993), page 44.</ref> The statement also reflected the instability of the Them line-up, with numerous members passing through the ranks after the definitive Maritime period. Morrison and Henderson remained the only constants, and a less successful version of Them soldiered on after Morrison's departure.<ref>Heylin (2003), page 118</ref>

[[Dick Rowe]] of [[Decca Records]] became aware of the band's performances and signed Them to a standard two-year contract. In that period, they released two albums and ten singles, with two more singles released after Morrison departed the band. They had three [[record chart|chart]] hits, "[[Baby, Please Don't Go]]" (1964), "[[Here Comes the Night (Them song)|Here Comes the Night]]" (1965), and "[[Mystic Eyes]]" (1965),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&q=Baby+Please+Don%27t+Go+/+Gloria&pg=PT1077|title=The rough guide to rock&nbsp;– Google Book Search|access-date=17 April 2009|last=Buckley|first=Peter|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0|year=2003|publisher=Rough Guides }}</ref> but it was the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go", the [[garage band]] classic "Gloria",<ref name="TurnerPage48-51">Turner (1993), pages 48–51</ref> that went on to become a rock standard covered by [[Patti Smith]], [[the Doors]], [[the Shadows of Knight]], [[Jimi Hendrix]] and many others.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t3122630|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=[[AllMusic]]|last=Janovitz |first=Bill|title=Gloria: Them – song review|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref>
{{listen
 |filename = Gloria - Them.ogg|
 |title=Gloria|description=Morrison's garage rock classic was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. As described by [[Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! creator)|Paul Williams]]: "Van Morrison's voice a fierce beacon in the darkness, the lighthouse at the end of the world. Resulting in one of the most perfect rock anthems known to humankind."<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! creator)|last2=Berryhill |first2=Cindy Lee|title=Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles|edition=Hardcover|date=December 1993|publisher=Entwhistle Books|location=United States|isbn=978-0-934558-41-9|pages=71–72|chapter=Baby Please Don't Go / Gloria&nbsp;– Them (1964)}}</ref>
}}

Building on the success of their singles in the United States, and riding on the back of the [[British Invasion]], Them undertook a two-month tour of America in May and June 1966 that included a residency from 30 May to 18 June at the [[Whisky a Go Go]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="TurnerPage65">Turner (1993), pages 65 – 66.</ref> [[The Doors]] were the supporting act on the last week,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.waiting-forthe-sun.net/Pages/Venues/whisky_them.html|last=Lawrence |first=Paul |date=2002|title=The Doors and Them: twin Morrisons of different mothers|website=Waiting-forthe-sun.net|access-date=7 July 2008}}</ref> and Morrison's influence on the Doors singer [[Jim Morrison]] was noted by [[John Densmore]] in his book ''Riders on the Storm''. [[Brian Hinton]] relates how "Jim Morrison learned quickly from his near namesake's stagecraft, his apparent recklessness, his air of subdued menace, the way he would improvise poetry to a rock beat, even his habit of crouching down by the bass drum during instrumental breaks."<ref name="HintonPage67">Hinton (1997), page 67.</ref> On the final night, the two Morrisons and the two bands jammed together on "Gloria".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Whisky-A-Go-Go%20History.htm|author=Arnold, Corry|date=23 January 2006|title=The History of the Whisky-A-Go-Go|website=Chickenonaunicyle.com|access-date=30 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323010118/http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Whisky-A-Go-Go%20History.htm|archive-date=23 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="VanM">{{cite web|url=http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/~hayward/van/glossary/doors.html|title=Glossary entry for The Doors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310195120/http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/~hayward/van/glossary/doors.html|archive-date=10 March 2007}} from Van Morrison website. Photo of both Morrisons on stage. Access date 26 May 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doorshistory.com/doors1966.html|title=Doors 1966 – June 1966|website=Doorshistory.com|access-date=13 October 2008}}</ref>

Toward the end of the tour the band members became involved in a dispute with their manager, Decca Records' [[Phil Solomon (music executive)|Phil Solomon]], over the revenues paid to them; that, coupled with the expiry of their work visas, meant the band returned from America dejected. After two more concerts in Ireland, Them split up. Morrison concentrated on writing some of the songs that would appear on ''[[Astral Weeks]]'', while the remnants of the band reformed in 1967 and relocated to America.<ref name="TurnerPage72-73">Turner (1993), pages 72–73.</ref>

===Start of solo career with Bang Records and "Brown Eyed Girl": 1967===
{{listen
 |filename = Van Morrison-Brown Eyed Girl.ogg
 |title=Brown Eyed Girl|description=Morrison's classic 1967 hit single which appeared on the album ''Blowin' Your Mind!''. In 2007, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame|title=Grammy Hall of Fame award|publisher=National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences|access-date=18 December 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122042616/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame|archive-date=22 January 2011}}</ref>
}}
[[Bert Berns]], Them's producer and composer of their 1965 hit "Here Comes the Night", persuaded Morrison to return to New York to record solo for his new label, [[Bang Records]].<ref name="RoganPagep188">Rogan (2006), page 188.</ref> Morrison flew over and signed a contract he had not fully studied.<ref>Heylin (2003), pages 144–147</ref> During a two-day recording session at [[A & R Studios]] starting 28 March 1967, he recorded eight songs, originally intended to be used as four singles.<ref>Turner (1993), page 76</ref> Instead, these songs were released as the album ''[[Blowin' Your Mind!]]'' without Morrison's consultation. He said he only became aware of the album's release when a friend mentioned that he had bought a copy. Morrison was unhappy with the album and said he "had a different concept of it".<ref name="RoganPage204">Rogan (2006), page 204.</ref>

"[[Brown Eyed Girl]]", one of the songs from ''Blowin' Your Mind!'', was released as a single in mid-June 1967,<ref>Rogan (2006), p.201</ref> reaching number ten in the US charts. "Brown Eyed Girl" became Morrison's most-played song.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aperfectdj.com/Z%20Most%20played%20songs.htm#200%20from%202007//www.aperfectdj.com/Z%20Most%20played%20songs.htm#101|title=Most played 2007|website=Aperfectdj.com|access-date=11 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905101925/http://www.aperfectdj.com/Z%20most%20played%20songs.htm#200%20from%202007//www.aperfectdj.com/Z%20Most%20played%20songs.htm|archive-date=5 September 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The song spent a total of sixteen weeks on the chart.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/van-morrison|title=Van Morrison Brown Eyed Girl Chart History|magazine=Billboard}}</ref> An evaluation in 2015 of downloads since 2004 and airplay since 2010 had "Brown Eyed Girl" as the most popular song of the entire 1960s decade.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6472929/revisionist-history-valentines-day-edition-captain-tennille |title=Revisionist History, Valentine's Day Edition: Captain & Tennille Crunches Aerosmith, Van Morrison Boots Lulu |last=Appel |first=Rich |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=/sbs/awardsbmi.html}}</ref> In 2000, it was listed at No.&nbsp;21 on the ''Rolling Stone''/MTV list of 100 Greatest Pop Songs<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/rsmtv100.htm|title=Rolling Stone's and MTV's 100 Greatest Pop Songs|publisher=rockonthenet.com|access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> and as No. 49 on [[VH1]]'s list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/vh1rocksongs.htm|title=VH1: 100 Greatest Rock Songs|publisher=rockonthenet.com|access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> In 2010, "Brown Eyed Girl" was ranked No.&nbsp;110 on the ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine list of [[500 Greatest Songs of All Time]].<ref name="RS500GRSONGS">{{cite web|url=http://www.metrolyrics.com/rs |title=Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Songs |access-date=24 October 2010 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524154958/http://www.metrolyrics.com/rs/4 |archive-date=24 May 2013 }}</ref> In January 2007, "Brown Eyed Girl" was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Grammy Hall of Fame">{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame |title=Grammy Hall of Fame Award |publisher=[[Grammy]] |access-date=20 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707235113/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame |archive-date=7 July 2015 }}</ref>

Following the death of Berns in 1967, Morrison became involved in a contract dispute with Berns' widow, [[Ilene Berns]], that prevented him from performing on stage or recording in the New York area.<ref name="RoganPage212-215">Rogan (2006), pages 212–215.</ref> The song "Big Time Operators", released in 1993, is thought to allude to his dealings with the New York [[music industry|music business]] during this period.<ref name="RoganPage216">Rogan (2006) page 216.</ref> He moved to [[Boston]], Massachusetts, and faced personal and financial problems; he had "slipped into a malaise" and had trouble finding concert bookings.<ref name="RoganPage217">Rogan (2006) page 217.</ref> He regained his professional footing through the few gigs he could find, and started recording with [[Warner Bros. Records]].<ref name="HeylinPage170">Heylin (2003), page 170.</ref><ref name="HeylinPage176,177">Heylin (2003), pages 176–177.</ref>

Warner Bros. bought out Morrison's Bang contract with a $20,000 cash transaction that took place in an abandoned warehouse on [[Ninth Avenue (Manhattan)|Ninth Avenue]] in Manhattan.<ref name="WalshPages15-19">Walsh (2018), pages 15–19.</ref> A clause required Morrison to submit 36 original songs within a year to Berns' music publishing company. He recorded them in one session on an out-of-tune guitar, with lyrics about subjects including [[Dermatophytosis|ringworm]] and sandwiches. Ilene Berns thought the songs were "nonsense" and did not use them.<ref name="RoganPage212-222">Rogan (2006), pages 212–222.</ref><ref>Turner (1993), page 80</ref> The throwaway compositions came to be known as the "revenge" songs,<ref>Heylin (2003), page 159</ref> and did not see official release until the 2017 compilation ''[[The Authorized Bang Collection]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=30 March 2017|title=Van Morrison Details 'Authorized Bang Collection'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/van-morrison-details-authorized-bang-collection-117565/|access-date=31 December 2020|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref>

===''Astral Weeks'': 1968===
{{Main|Astral Weeks}}
{{listen
| pos=right
| filename = Van Morrison Astral Weeks.ogg
| title    = Astral Weeks|description= The 1968 title song featuring the opening lines of the album: "If I ventured in the slipstream between the viaducts of your dream". His early voice was described as "flinty and tender, beseeching and plaintive".<ref name="O'Hagan, Sean" />}}
Morrison's first album for Warner Bros Records was ''Astral Weeks'' (which he had already performed in several clubs around Boston), a mystical [[song cycle]], often considered to be his best work and one of the best albums of all time.<ref name="AS2008">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/nov/02/vanmorrison-popandrock|title=Is this the best album ever made?|author=O'Hagan, Sean|date=2 November 2008|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref><ref name="allmusicAW">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r13454|pure_url=yes}}|title=Astral Weeks Review|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|author=Ruhlmann, William|access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="RoganPage223">Rogan (2006), page 223.</ref> Morrison has said, "When ''Astral Weeks'' came out, I was starving, ''literally''."<ref name="HintonPage100">Hinton (1997), page 100.</ref> Released in 1968, the album originally received an indifferent response from the public, but it eventually achieved critical acclaim.

The album is described by [[AllMusic]]'s William Ruhlmann as hypnotic, meditative, and as possessing a unique musical power.<ref name="allmusicAW" /> It has been compared to French [[Impressionism]] and mystical Celtic poetry.<ref>{{cite news|title=Let's record gratitude for Van's monumental talent|last=Adams|first=David|date=28 February 2008|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfloman.com/vanmorrison.html#1|title=Astral Weeks|website=Sfloman.com|last=Floman|first=Scott|access-date=8 October 2010}}</ref><ref name="HintonPage88,99">Hinton (1997), pages 88–89.</ref> A 2004 ''Rolling Stone'' magazine review begins with the words: "This is music of such enigmatic beauty that thirty-five years after its release, ''Astral Weeks'' still defies easy, admiring description."<ref name="RS19">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/astral-weeks-van-morrison-19691231 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219205236/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/astral-weeks-van-morrison-19691231 |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 December 2010|title=(19) Astral Weeks|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> [[Alan Light (journalist)|Alan Light]] later described ''Astral Weeks'' as "like nothing he had done previously—and really, nothing anyone had done previously. Morrison sings of lost love, death, and nostalgia for childhood in the Celtic soul that would become his signature."<ref name="Astral Weeks, Light" /> It has been placed on many lists of best albums of all time. In the 1995 ''Mojo'' list of 100 Best Albums, it was listed as number two and was number nineteen on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]" in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo.html|title=Mojo: 100 Greatest albums ever made (1995)|website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=25 May 2010|archive-date=29 June 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629064840/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo.html%23guitar|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="500 Greatest Albums">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/van-morrison-moondance-19691231 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602152130/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/van-morrison-moondance-19691231 |url-status=dead |archive-date= 2 June 2012|title=66Van Morrison, 'Moondance'|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=20 August 2012}}</ref> In December 2009, it was voted the top Irish album of all time by a poll of leading Irish musicians conducted by ''[[Hot Press]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/news/6125654.html|title=Van's album tops musician's poll|work=Hot Press|date=18 December 2009|access-date=18 December 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1219/1224260976188.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019202458/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1219/1224260976188.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 October 2012|title=Stellar Van Morrison album tops best album list|author=McGreevy, Ronan|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=19 December 2009|access-date=21 December 2009}}</ref>

===''Moondance'' to ''Into the Music'': 1970–1979===
[[File:Van Morrison (1972).png|thumb|right|Morrison in 1972]]
Morrison's third solo album, ''[[Moondance]]'', which was released in 1970, became his first million selling album and reached number twenty-nine on the Billboard charts.<ref name="TurnerPage95">Turner (1993), page 95.</ref><ref name="TurnerPage98">Turner (1993), page 98.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=van%20morrison&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723045104/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=van%20morrison&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25 |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 July 2013|website=Riaa.com|title=RIAA-Gold and Platinum|access-date=21 April 2009}}</ref> The style of ''Moondance'' stood in contrast to that of ''[[Astral Weeks]]''. Whereas ''Astral Weeks'' had a sorrowful and vulnerable tone, ''Moondance'' restored a more optimistic and cheerful message to his music,<ref name="YorkePage69">Yorke (1975), page 69.</ref> which abandoned the previous record's abstract folk compositions in favour of more formally composed songs and a lively [[rhythm and blues]] style he expanded on throughout his career.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=DeCurtis|editor1-first=Anthony|editor-link1=Anthony DeCurtis|editor2-last=Henke|editor2-first=James|editor3-last=George-Warren|editor3-first=Holly|year=1992|last=Evans|first=Paul|chapter=Van Morrison|title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=0-679-73729-4|edition=3rd|pages=487–88|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide}}</ref>

The title track, although not released in the US as a single until 1977, received heavy play in [[FM broadcasting|FM radio]] formats.<ref name="RoganPage250">Rogan (2006), page 250.</ref> "[[Into the Mystic]]" has also gained a wide following over the years.<ref name="allmusic Biography: Van Morrison">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p107175|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=[[AllMusic]]|title=Van Morrison Biography|author=Ankeny, Jason|access-date=7 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xpn.org/images/pdfs/wxpn_885songslist.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105155906/http://www.xpn.org/images/pdfs/wxpn_885songslist.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 January 2009|website=Xpn.org|title=885songslist|access-date=14 May 2009}}</ref> "[[Come Running]]", which reached the [[American Top 40]], rescued Morrison from what seemed then as Hot 100 obscurity.<ref name="allmusic.com">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p107175|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|title=Van Morrison Chart Awards:singles|access-date=24 September 2008}}</ref> ''Moondance'' was both well received and favourably reviewed. [[Lester Bangs]] and [[Greil Marcus]] had a combined full-page review in ''Rolling Stone'', saying Morrison now had "the striking imagination of a consciousness that is visionary in the strongest sense of the word."<ref name="Marcus, Bangs">{{cite web|url=http://www.superseventies.com/spmorrisonvan.html|author1=Marcus, Greil|author2=Bangs, Lester|name-list-style=amp|title=Moondance:Van Morrison|website=Superseventies.com|date=17 March 1970|access-date=29 April 2010}}</ref> "That was the type of band I dig," Morrison said of the ''Moondance'' sessions. "Two horns and a rhythm section—they're the type of bands that I like best." He produced the album himself as he felt like nobody else knew what he wanted.<ref name="HeylinPage226">Heylin (2003), page 226.</ref> ''Moondance'' was listed at number sixty-five on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's ''The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time''.<ref name="500 Greatest Albums" /> In March 2007, ''Moondance'' was listed as number seventy-two on the [[National Association of Recording Merchandisers|NARM]] [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] list of the "Definitive 200".<ref name="Narm">{{cite web|url=http://www.timepieces.nl/Top100's/2007NARM.html|website=Timepieces.nl|title=2007 National Association of Recording Merchandisers|access-date=6 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210030146/http://timepieces.nl/Top100%27s/2007NARM.html|archive-date=10 February 2010}}</ref>

Over the next few years, he released a succession of albums, starting with a second one in 1970. ''[[His Band and the Street Choir]]'' had a freer, more relaxed sound than ''Moondance'', but not the ''perfection'', in the opinion of critic [[Jon Landau]], who felt like "a few more numbers with a gravity of 'Street Choir' would have made this album as perfect as anyone could have stood."<ref name="HBATSC">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/2747/21378|last=Landau|first=John|title=His Band and the Street Choir music review|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=4 February 1971|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212075624/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/2747/21378|archive-date=12 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> It contained the hit single "[[Domino (Van Morrison song)|Domino]]", which charted at number nine in the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].<ref name="CollisPage122">Collis (1996), page 122.</ref>

In 1971, he released another well-received album, ''[[Tupelo Honey]]''.<ref name="RoganPage259">Rogan (2006), page 259.</ref> This album produced the hit single "[[Wild Night]]" that was later covered by [[John Mellencamp]] and [[Meshell Ndegeocello]]. The title song has a notably country-soul feel about it<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1648130|pure_url=yes}}|title=allmusic Tupelo Honey Review|last=Janovitz|first=Bill|access-date=6 February 2010}}</ref> and the album ended with another country tune, "[[Moonshine Whiskey]]". Morrison said he originally intended to make an all-country album.<ref name="RoganPage267-268">Rogan (2006), pages 267–268.</ref> The recordings were as live as possible—after rehearsing the songs the musicians would enter the studio and play a whole set in one take.<ref>Turner (1993), page 107</ref> His co-producer, [[Ted Templeman]], described this recording process as the "scariest thing I've ever seen. When he's got something together, he wants to put it down right away with no overdubbing."<ref name="HintonPage137">Hinton (1997), page 137.</ref>

Released in 1972, ''[[Saint Dominic's Preview]]'' revealed Morrison's break from the more accessible style of his previous three albums and moving back towards the more daring, adventurous, and meditative aspects of ''Astral Weeks''. The combination of two styles of music demonstrated a versatility not previously found in his earlier albums.<ref name="Saint Dominic's Preview Music Review">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/2747/21052|last=Holden|first=Stephen|title=Saint Dominic's Preview Music Review|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=31 August 1972|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228224126/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanmorrison/albums/album/186447/review/5945763|archive-date=28 February 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Two songs, "[[Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)]]" and "[[Redwood Tree (song)|Redwood Tree]]", reached the Hot 100 singles chart.<ref name="allmusic.com" /> The songs "[[Listen to the Lion]]" and "[[Almost Independence Day]]" are each over ten minutes long and employ the type of poetic imagery not heard since ''Astral Weeks''.<ref name="Saint Dominic's Preview Music Review" /><ref name="HeylinPage255-256">Heylin (2003), pages 255–256.</ref> It was his highest-charting album in the US until his Top Ten debut on [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] in 2008.<ref name="Charts & Awards">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p107175|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|title=Charts & Awards: Van Morrison|access-date=9 April 2009}}</ref>

He released his next album, ''[[Hard Nose the Highway]]'', in 1973, receiving mixed, but mostly negative, reviews. The album contained the popular song "[[Warm Love]]" but otherwise has been largely dismissed critically.<ref name="HeylinPage265-267">Heylin (2003), pages 265–267.</ref> In a 1973 ''Rolling Stone'' review, it was described as: "psychologically complex, musically somewhat uneven and lyrically excellent."<ref name="HNTH">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/2747/21055|last=Holden|first=Stephen|title=Hard Nose the Highway Music Review|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=27 September 1973|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210031207/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/2747/21055|archive-date=10 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During a three-week vacation visit to Ireland in October 1973, Morrison wrote seven of the songs that made up his next album, ''[[Veedon Fleece]]''.<ref name="TurnerPage122">Turner (1993), page 122.</ref> Though it attracted scant initial attention, its critical stature grew markedly over the years—with ''Veedon Fleece'' now often considered to be one of Morrison's most impressive and poetic works.<ref name="RoganPage301">Rogan (2006), page 301.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r13462|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|title=Veedon Fleece: Review|author1=Ankeny, Jason |author2=Jurek, Thom |name-list-style=amp |access-date=13 May 2009}}</ref> In a 2008 ''Rolling Stone'' review, Andy Greene writes that when released in late 1974: "it was greeted by a collective shrug by the rock critical establishment" and concludes: "He's released many wonderful albums since, but he's never again hit the majestic heights of this one."<ref name="Veedon Fleece">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7910/38434|last=Greene|first=Andy|title=Veedon Fleece Music Review|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=14 July 2008|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210035114/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7910/38434|archive-date=10 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> "[[You Don't Pull No Punches, but You Don't Push the River]]", one of the album's side closers, exemplifies the long, hypnotic, cryptic Morrison with its references to visionary poet [[William Blake]] and to the seemingly [[Holy Grail|Grail]]-like Veedon Fleece object.<ref name="RoganPage300">Rogan (2006), page 300.</ref>

Morrison took three years to release a follow-up album. After a decade without taking time off, he said in an interview, he needed to get away from music completely and ceased listening to it for several months.<ref name="RoganPage306">Rogan (2006), page 306.</ref> Also suffering from [[writer's block]], he seriously considered leaving the music business for good.<ref name="HeylinPage305">Heylin (2003), page 305.</ref> Speculation that an extended [[jam session]] would be released either under the title ''Mechanical Bliss'', or ''Naked in the Jungle'', or ''Stiff Upper Lip'', came to nothing,<ref name="RoganPages304-306">Rogan (2006), pages 304–306.</ref> and Morrison's next album was ''[[A Period of Transition]]'' in 1977, a collaboration with [[Dr. John]], who had appeared at ''[[The Last Waltz]]'' concert with Morrison in 1976. The album received a mild critical reception and marked the beginning of a very prolific period of song-making.
{{listen
 |filename = Van Morrison-Wavelength.ogg
 |title=Wavelength|description=Morrison sings the opening lines in falsetto and synthesisers mimic the sounds of the short wave radio stations that he listened to as a boy.
}}{{Quote box
| quote = ''[[Into the Music]]'': The album's last four songs, "Angelou", "And the Healing Has Begun", and "It's All in the Game/You Know What They're Writing About" are a veritable tour-de-force with Morrison summoning every vocal trick at his disposal from Angelou's climactic shouts to the sexually-charged, half-mumbled monologue in "And the Healing Has Begun" to the barely audible whisper that is the album's final sound.
| source = Scott Thomas Review
| align = left
| width = 30%
}}
The following year, Morrison released ''[[Wavelength (album)|Wavelength]]''; it became at that time the fastest-selling album of his career and soon went gold.<ref name="HintonPage210">Hinton (1997), page 210.</ref> The title track became a modest hit, peaking at number forty-two. Making use of 1970s synthesisers, it mimics the sounds of the [[shortwave]] radio stations he listened to in his youth.<ref name="Wavelength song review">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1621843|pure_url=yes}}|title=Wavelength:song review|author=Janovitz, Bill|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=11 September 2008}}</ref> The opening track, "Kingdom Hall"—the name given by [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] to their [[Kingdom Hall|places of worship]]—evoked Morrison's childhood experiences of religion with his mother,<ref name="HintonPage210" /> and foretold the religious themes that were more evident on his next album, ''[[Into the Music]]''.<ref name="Timepieces ITM">{{cite web|url=http://www.timepieces.nl/Albums-M/VanMorrisonIntoTheMusic.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107162617/http://www.timepieces.nl/Albums-M/VanMorrisonIntoTheMusic.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 November 2007|author=Cocks, Jay|date=1 November 1979|website=Timepieces.nl|title=Van Morrison: Into the Music|access-date=29 April 2010}}</ref>

Considered by [[AllMusic]] as "the definitive post-classic-era Morrison",<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r13465|pure_url=yes}}
| title=Into the Music Review
| publisher=[[AllMusic]]
| access-date=21 May 2010
| last=Erlewine
| first=Stephen Thomas
}}</ref> ''Into the Music'' was released in the last year of the 1970s. Songs on this album for the first time alluded to the healing power of music, which became an abiding interest of Morrison's.<ref name="HagePage89">Hage (2009), page 89.</ref> "[[Bright Side of the Road]]" was a joyful, uplifting song that is featured on the soundtrack of the movie, ''[[Michael (1996 film)|Michael]]''.<ref name="Van Morrison at IMDb">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607341/|title=Van Morrison at IMDb|publisher=IMDb|access-date=12 January 2009}}</ref>

===''Common One'' to ''Avalon Sunset'': 1980–1989===
With his next album, the new decade found Morrison following his [[muse]] into uncharted territory and sometimes merciless reviews.<ref name="HeylinPage364">Heylin (2003), page 364.</ref><ref name="RoganPage330">Rogan (2006), page 330.</ref> In February 1980, Morrison and a group of musicians travelled to Super Bear, a studio in the [[French Alps]], to record (on the site of a former [[abbey]]) what is considered to be the most controversial album in his discography; later "Morrison admitted his original concept was even more esoteric than the final product."<ref name="HintonPage230">Hinton (1997), page 230.</ref><ref name="HeylinPage365">Heylin (2003), page 365.</ref> The album, ''[[Common One]]'', consisted of six songs; the longest, "[[Summertime in England]]", lasted fifteen and a half minutes and ended with the words ''"Can you feel the silence?"''. ''[[NME]]'' magazine's [[Paul Du Noyer]] called the album "colossally smug and cosmically dull; an interminable, vacuous and drearily egotistical stab at spirituality: Into the muzak."<ref name="HintonPage230" /> [[Greil Marcus]], whose previous writings had been favourably inclined towards Morrison, critically remarked: "It's Van acting the part of the 'mystic poet' he thinks he's supposed to be."<ref name="HeylinPage364" /> Morrison insisted the album was never "meant to be a commercial album."<ref name="HeylinPage364" /> Biographer [[Clinton Heylin]] concludes: "He would not attempt anything so ambitious again. Henceforth every radical idea would be tempered by some notion of commerciality."<ref name="HeylinPage365" /> Later, critics reassessed the album more favourably with the success of "Summertime in England".<ref name="HeylinPage365" /> [[Lester Bangs]] wrote in 1982, "Van was making holy music even though he thought he was, and us rock critics had made our usual mistake of paying too much attention to the lyrics."<ref name="HeylinPage364" />

Morrison's next album, ''[[Beautiful Vision]]'', released in 1982, had him returning once again to the music of his Northern Irish roots.<ref name="RoganPage338">Rogan (2006), page 338.</ref> Well received by the critics and public, it produced a minor UK hit single, "[[Cleaning Windows]]", that referenced one of Morrison's first jobs after leaving school.<ref name="RoganPage337-338">Rogan (2006), pages 337–338.</ref> Several other songs on the album, "[[Vanlose Stairway]]", "She Gives Me Religion", and the instrumental, "[[Scandinavia (composition)|Scandinavia]]" show the presence of a new personal muse in his life: a Danish public relations agent, who would share Morrison's spiritual interests and serve as a steadying influence on him throughout most of the 1980s.<ref name="HeylinPage371">Heylin (2003), page 371.</ref> "Scandinavia", with Morrison on piano,<ref name="Inarticulate Speech of the Heart">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/3045/21723|last=Fricke|first=David|title=Inarticulate Speech of the Heart Music Review|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=28 April 1983|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210033928/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/3045/21723|archive-date=10 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> was nominated in the ''Best Rock Instrumental Performance'' category for the 25th Annual [[Grammy Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1983/grammys.htm|title=Rock on the Net: 25th Annual Grammy Awards-1983|website=Rockonthenet.com|access-date=8 October 2009}}</ref>

Much of the music Morrison released throughout the 1980s continued to focus on the themes of [[spirituality]] and faith. His 1983 album, ''[[Inarticulate Speech of the Heart]]'', was "a move towards creating music for meditation" with synthesisers, uilleann pipes and flute sounds, and four of the tracks were instrumentals.<ref name="TurnerPage153">Turner (1993), page 153.</ref> The titling of the album and the presence of the instrumentals were noted to be indicative of Morrison's long-held belief that "it's not the words one uses but the force of conviction behind those words that matters."<ref name="Inarticulate Speech of the Heart" /> During this period of time, Morrison had studied [[Scientology]] and gave "Special Thanks" to [[L. Ron Hubbard]] on the album's credits.<ref name="TurnerPage150">Turner (1993), page 150</ref>

''[[A Sense of Wonder]]'', Morrison's 1985 album, pulled together the spiritual themes contained in his last four albums, which were defined in a ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' review as: "rebirth (''Into the Music''), deep contemplation and meditation (''Common One''); ecstasy and humility (''Beautiful Vision''); and blissful, mantra like languor (''Inarticulate Speech of the Heart'')."<ref name="A Sense of Wonder">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/3045/21725|last=Puterbaugh|first=Parke|title=A Sense of Wonder Music Review|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=9 May 1985|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210035104/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/3045/21725|archive-date=10 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The single "[[Tore Down a la Rimbaud]]" was a reference to [[Arthur Rimbaud|Rimbaud]] and an earlier bout of [[writer's block]] that Morrison had encountered in 1974.<ref name="HeylinPage308">Heylin (2003), page 308.</ref> In 1985, Morrison also wrote the musical score for the movie ''[[Lamb (1985 film)|Lamb]]'' starring [[Liam Neeson]].<ref name="CollisPage162">Collis (1996), page 162.</ref>

Morrison's 1986 release, ''[[No Guru, No Method, No Teacher]]'', was said to contain a "genuine holiness ... and musical freshness that needs to be set in context to understand."<ref name="HintonPage255">Hinton (1997), page 255.</ref> Critical response was favourable with a ''Sounds'' reviewer calling the album "his most intriguingly involved since ''Astral Weeks''" and "Morrison at his most mystical, magical best."<ref name="HeylinPage396">Heylin (2003), page 396.</ref><ref name="RoganPage360">Rogan (2006), page 360.</ref> It contains the song "[[In the Garden (Van Morrison song)|In the Garden]]" that, according to Morrison, had a "definite meditation process which is a 'form' of transcendental meditation as its basis. It's not TM".<ref name="HintonPage255" /> He entitled the album as a rebuttal to media attempts to place him in various creeds.<ref name="HintonPage253">Hinton (1997), page 253.</ref> In an interview in the Observer he told Anthony Denselow:

{{blockquote|There have been many lies put out about me and this finally states my position. I have never joined any organisation, nor plan to. I am not affiliated to any guru, don't subscribe to any method and for those people who don't know what a guru is, I don't have a teacher either.<ref name="HintonPage253-254">Hinton (1997), page 253-254.</ref>}}

After releasing the "No Guru" album, Morrison's music appeared less gritty and more [[adult contemporary music|adult contemporary]] with the well-received 1987 album, ''[[Poetic Champions Compose]]'', considered to be one of his recording highlights of the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r13472|pure_url=yes}}|author=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas|title=AllMusic review:Poetic Champions Compose|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=7 July 2008}}</ref> The romantic ballad from this album, "[[Someone Like You (Van Morrison song)|Someone Like You]]", has been featured subsequently in the soundtracks of several movies, including 1995's ''[[French Kiss (1995 film)|French Kiss]]'', and in 2001, both ''[[Someone like You (2001 film)|Someone Like You]]'' and ''[[Bridget Jones's Diary (film)|Bridget Jones's Diary]]''.<ref name="Van Morrison at IMDb" /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2001/04/05/bridget-jones-duels-someone-you-soundtrack/|author=Bonin, Liane|date=4 April 2001|title=Song Sung Blue|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=13 July 2008|archive-date=28 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528102633/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,104926,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1988, he released ''[[Irish Heartbeat]]'', a collection of traditional [[Folk music of Ireland|Irish folk songs]] recorded with the Irish group [[the Chieftains]], which reached number 18 in the UK album charts. The title song, "[[Irish Heartbeat (song)|Irish Heartbeat]]", was originally recorded on his 1983 album ''Inarticulate Speech of the Heart''.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t877617|pure_url=yes}}|title=AllMusic: Irish Heartbeat|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=7 July 2008}}</ref>

The 1989 album, ''[[Avalon Sunset]]'', which featured the hit duet with [[Cliff Richard]] "[[Whenever God Shines His Light]]" and the ballad "[[Have I Told You Lately]]" (on which "earthly love transmutes into that for God" ([[Brian Hinton|Hinton]])),<ref name="HintonPage278">Hinton (1997), page 278.</ref> reached 13 on the UK album chart. Although considered to be a deeply spiritual album,<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r13474|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|title=Avalon Sunset Review|access-date=14 May 2009}}</ref> it also contained "Daring Night", which "deals with full, blazing sex, whatever its churchy organ and gentle lilt suggest"(Hinton).<ref name="HintonPage280">Hinton (1997), page 280.</ref> Morrison's familiar themes of "God, woman, his childhood in Belfast and those enchanted moments when time stands still" were prominent in the songs.<ref name="TurnerPage163">Turner (1993), page 163.</ref> He can be heard calling out the change of [[tempo]] at the end of this song, repeating the numbers "1–4" to cue the [[chord progression|chord changes]] (the first and fourth chord in the key of the music). He often completed albums in two days, frequently releasing first takes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electricrev.net/archive/2004/july/features-profiles1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040927190040/http://www.electricrev.net/archive/2004/july/features-profiles1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 September 2004|author=Aiello, John|date=18 July 2002|title=July 2004 archives Wild Veils|website=Electricrev.net|access-date=3 July 2008}}</ref><ref name="HeylinPage429-463">Heylin (2003) pages 429–463.</ref>

===''The Best of Van Morrison'' to ''Back on Top'': 1990–1999===
The early to middle 1990s were commercially successful for Morrison with three albums reaching the top five of the UK charts, sold-out concerts, and a more visible public profile; but this period also marked a decline in the critical reception to his work.<ref name="HeylinPage450-458">Heylin (2003), pages 450–458.</ref> The decade began with the release of ''[[The Best of Van Morrison]]''; compiled by Morrison himself, the album was focused on his hit singles, and became a multi-platinum success remaining a year and a half on the UK charts. [[AllMusic]] determined it to be "far and away the best-selling album of his career."<ref name="allmusic Biography: Van Morrison" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theirishworld.com/entertainment-latest-for-entertainment/music/4192-Te |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217004409/http://www.theirishworld.com/entertainment-latest-for-entertainment/music/4192-Te/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 December 2014|author=Marsden, Shelley|date=12 November 2007|title=Te's still Got It|publisher=The Irish World|access-date=5 April 2012}}</ref> In 1991 he wrote and produced four songs for [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] released on the ''Carrying A Torch'' album and performed a duet with [[Bob Dylan]] on BBC Arena special.<ref name=":02">{{cite journal|last=Sutcliffe|first=Phil|date=5 March 1991|title=Stories|journal=Q Magazine|volume=55|pages=10}}</ref>

The 1994 live double album ''[[A Night in San Francisco]]'' received favourable reviews as well as commercial success by reaching number eight on the UK charts.<ref name="ANISF">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7076/36727|last=Puterbaugh|first=Parke|title=A Night in San Francisco Music Review|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=14 July 1994|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210031212/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7076/36727|archive-date=10 December 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r202241|pure_url=yes}}
| title=A Night in San Francisco Review
| publisher=[[AllMusic]]
| access-date=21 May 2010
| last=Ruhlmann
| first=William
}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/05/27/night-san-francisco/|title=A Night in San Francisco|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=27 May 1994|access-date=21 May 2010|last=McDonnell|first=Evelyn|archive-date=21 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421105325/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,302402,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/27399/van-morrison/|title=Official Charts: Van Morrison|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=9 May 2016}}</ref> 1995's ''[[Days Like This (Van Morrison album)|Days Like This]]'' also had large sales—though the critical reviews were not always favourable.<ref name="Heylin Page458">Heylin (2003), page 458.</ref> This period also saw a number of side projects, including the live jazz performances of 1996's ''[[How Long Has This Been Going On (Van Morrison album)|How Long Has This Been Going On]]'', from the same year ''[[Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison]]'', and 2000's ''[[The Skiffle Sessions – Live in Belfast 1998]]'', all of which found Morrison paying tribute to his early musical influences.

In 1997, Morrison released ''[[The Healing Game]]''. The album received mixed reviews, with the lyrics being described as "tired" and "dull",<ref name="RoganPage450">Rogan (2006), page 450.</ref> though critic Greil Marcus praised the musical complexity of the album by saying: "It carries the listener into a musical home so perfect and complete he or she might have forgotten that music could call up such a place, and then populate it with people, acts, wishes, fears."<ref name="MarcusPage111">Marcus (2010), page 111.</ref> The following year, Morrison finally released some of his previously unissued studio recordings in a two-disc set, ''[[The Philosopher's Stone (album)|The Philosopher's Stone]]''. His next release, 1999's ''[[Back on Top (Van Morrison album)|Back on Top]]'', achieved modest success, being his highest-charting album in the US since 1978's ''[[Wavelength (album)|Wavelength]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p107175|pure_url=yes}}|title=Van Morrison: Billboard albums|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=12 September 2008}}</ref>

===''Down the Road'' to ''Keep It Simple'': 2000–2009===
Van Morrison continued to record and tour in the 2000s, often performing two or three times a week.<ref name="concerts">{{cite web|url=http://ivan.vanomatic.de/|title=concerts|website=Ivan.vanomatic.de|access-date=16 October 2008}}</ref> He formed his own independent label, Exile Productions Ltd, which enables him to maintain full production control of each album he records, which he then delivers as a finished product to the recording label that he chooses, for marketing and distribution.<ref name="CollisPage181">Collis (1996), page 181.</ref>

In 2001, nine months into a tour with [[Linda Gail Lewis]] promoting their collaboration ''[[You Win Again (album)|You Win Again]]'', Lewis left the tour, later filing claims against Morrison for unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination. Both claims were later withdrawn, and Morrison's solicitor said, "(Mr Morrison's) pleased that these claims have finally been withdrawn. He accepted a full apology and comprehensive retraction which represents a complete vindication of his stance from the outset. Miss Lewis has given a full and categorical apology and retraction to Mr Morrison." Lewis' legal representative Christine Thompson said both parties had agreed to the terms of the settlement.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|author=Linda Gail Lewis|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2656897.stm|title=UK &#124; Van Morrison case over|work=BBC News|date=14 January 2003|access-date=4 November 2012}}</ref>

The album ''[[Down the Road (Van Morrison album)|Down the Road]]'', released in May 2002, received a good critical reception and proved to be his highest-charting album in the US since 1972's ''Saint Dominic's Preview''.<ref name="Charts & Awards" /> It had a nostalgic tone, with its fifteen tracks representing the various musical genres Morrison had previously covered—including R&B, blues, country and folk;<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r589019|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|title=Down the Road Review|last= Ruhlmann|first= William|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> one of the tracks was written as a tribute to his late father George, who had played a pivotal role in nurturing his early musical tastes.<ref name="TurnerPage20" />

Morrison's 2005 album, ''[[Magic Time (Van Morrison album)|Magic Time]]'', debuted at number twenty-five on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] charts upon its May release, some forty years after Morrison first entered the public's eye as the frontman of Them. ''Rolling Stone'' listed it as number seventeen on ''The Top 50 Records of 2005''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rolling.htm#2005|website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk|title=Rolling Stone 2005 Critics|access-date=6 May 2010|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723004927/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rolling.htm|archive-date=23 July 2010}}</ref> Also in July 2005, Morrison was named by [[Amazon.com|Amazon]] as one of their top twenty-five all-time best-selling artists and inducted into the Amazon.com Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_July_11/ai_n14731632|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210082058/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_July_11/ai_n14731632|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 December 2008|title=Amazon.com Inducts 25 musicians into Hall of Fame|publisher=Bnet|date=11 July 2005|access-date=12 October 2008}}</ref> Later in the year, Morrison also donated a previously unreleased studio track to a charity album, ''[[Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now]]'', which raised money for relief efforts intended for [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] victims devastated by hurricanes [[Hurricane Katrina|Katrina]] and [[Hurricane Rita|Rita]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/hurricane-relief-come-together-now-r811104/review|title=Hurricane Relief Come Together Now|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|access-date=4 April 2011}}</ref> Morrison composed the song, "Blue and Green", featuring [[Foggy Lyttle]] on guitar. This song was released in 2007 on the album, ''[[The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3]]'' and also as a single in the UK. Van Morrison was a headline act at the international Celtic music festival, The [[Hebridean Celtic Festival]] in [[Stornoway]], Outer Hebrides in the summer of 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hebceltfest.com/past/2005/thursday.php|title=2005 Festival Reviews – FÈIS 2005|last=MacNeil|first=Kevin|website=Hebceltfest.com|access-date=21 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711161231/http://www.hebceltfest.com/past/2005/thursday.php|archive-date=11 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He released an album with a country music theme, entitled ''[[Pay the Devil]]'', on 7 March 2006 and appeared at the [[Ryman Auditorium]], where the tickets sold out immediately after they went on sale.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1525667/03082006/morrison_van.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070117193707/http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1525667/03082006/morrison_van.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 January 2007|title=Van Morrison offers country songs|publisher=CMT|date=8 March 2006|last=Gilbert |first= Calvin|access-date=10 December 2009}}</ref> ''Pay the Devil'' debuted at number twenty-six on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number seven on Top Country Albums.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-16-wk-albums16-story.html|title=Rapper Juvenile tops the charts|last=Boucher|first=Geoff|date=16 March 2006|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1526478/20060317/lost_trailers.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015062750/http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1526478/20060317/lost_trailers.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 October 2008|title=Van Morrison, Norah Jones visit the country top 10|last=Gilbert |first=Calvin|date=18 March 2006|publisher=CMT|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> Amazon Best of 2006 Editor's Picks in Country listed the country album at number ten in December 2006. Still promoting the country album, Morrison's performance as the headline act on the first night of the [[Austin City Limits Music Festival]] on 15 September 2006 was reviewed by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as one of the top ten shows of the 2006 festival.<ref name="10 Best Shows">{{cite magazine|last=Rogulewski & Smith|first=Charley, Dane|date=18 September 2006|title=10 Best Shows at Austin City Limits|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> In November 2006, a limited edition album, ''[[Live at Austin City Limits Festival]]'', was issued by Exile Productions, Ltd. A later deluxe CD/DVD release of ''Pay the Devil'', in the summer of 2006, contained tracks from the Ryman performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.losthighwayrecords.com/artist/releases/release.aspx?pid=1684&aid=248|title=Van Morrison-Pay the Devil|website=Losthighwayrecords.com|access-date=6 August 2008}}</ref> In October 2006, Morrison had released his first commercial DVD, ''[[Live at Montreux 1980/1974]]'', with concerts taken from two separate appearances at the [[Montreux Jazz Festival]].

A new double CD [[compilation album]], ''[[The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3]]'', was released in June 2007 containing thirty-one tracks, some of which were previously unreleased. Morrison selected the tracks, which ranged from the 1993 album ''Too Long in Exile'' to the song "[[Stranded (Van Morrison song)|Stranded]]" from the 2005 album ''Magic Time''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-16-2007/0004566380&EDATE=|title=Van Morrison's TBOVM Vol. 3 to be released June&nbsp;19|agency=PR Newswire|access-date=30 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502173813/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F04-16-2007%2F0004566380&EDATE=|archive-date=2 May 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 3 September 2007, Morrison's complete catalogue of albums from 1971 through 2002 were made available exclusively at the [[iTunes Store]] in Europe and Australia and during the first week of October 2007, the albums became available at the US iTunes Store.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://weblogs.variety.com/thesetlist/2007/10/van-morrison-fi.html |last=Gallo|first= Phil|date=30 October 2007|title=Van Morrison finds a fantabulous time to join Itunes|website=Variety|access-date=1 November 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102173041/http://weblogs.variety.com/thesetlist/2007/10/van-morrison-fi.html |archive-date=2 November 2007}}</ref>

''[[Still on Top – The Greatest Hits]]'', a thirty-seven-track double CD compilation album, was released on 22 October 2007 in the UK on the Polydor label. On 29 October 2007, the album charted at number two on the Official UK Top 75 Albums—his highest UK charting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/van_morrison/news/10548|title=Van Morrison Scores Highest Ever Album Chart Placing|website=Uncut|access-date=11 November 2007}}{{dead link|date=September 2016}}</ref> The November release in the US and Canada contains twenty-one selected tracks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicremedy.com/v/Van_Morrison/album/Still_On_Top-4439.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103201952/http://www.musicremedy.com/v/Van_Morrison/album/Still_On_Top-4439.html |url-status=dead |archive-date= 3 November 2007|title=Van Morrison Still on Top|publisher=Music Remedy|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> The hits released on albums with the copyrights owned by Morrison as Exile Productions Ltd.—1971 and later—had been remastered in 2007.

''[[Keep It Simple]]'', Morrison's 33rd studio album of completely new material, was released by Exile/Polydor Records on 17 March 2008 in the UK and released by Exile/[[Lost Highway Records]] in the US and Canada on 1 April 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/van-morrison-to-release-new-album-keep-it-simple|title=Van Morrison to release new album-Keep It Simple|website=Indielondon.co.uk|last=Foley|first=Jack|access-date=23 January 2008|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222344/http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/van-morrison-to-release-new-album-keep-it-simple|url-status=dead}}</ref> It comprised eleven self-penned tracks. Morrison promoted the album with a short US tour including an appearance at the [[South by Southwest|SXSW]] music conference,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/Morrison_Van/ConcertReviews/2008/03/14/pf-5002231.html|last=Sterdan|first=Darryl|date=14 March 2008|title=South by Southwest Music Festival Review|website=Canoe.ca|access-date=9 July 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629025229/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/Morrison_Van/ConcertReviews/2008/03/14/pf-5002231.html|archive-date=29 June 2012|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2008/03/13/sxsw_review_van_morrison.html|last= Davis|first= John T.|date=13 March 2008|title=SXSW Review: Van Morrison|website=Austin360.com|access-date=8 September 2008}}</ref> and a UK concert broadcast on [[BBC Radio 2]]. In the first week of release ''Keep It Simple'' debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number ten, Morrison's first Top Ten charting in the US.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1045912/strait-speeds-past-rem-to-debut-at-no-1|author=Hasty, Katie N.Y.|date=9 April 2008|title=Strait Speeds Past REM to debut at No. 1|magazine=Billboard|access-date=8 September 2008}}</ref>

===''Born to Sing'' to ''Three Chords'': 2010–2020===
Morrison released two albums in the first half of the decade, followed by a further six in just five years, his productivity increasing noticeably as he turned 70. ''[[Born to Sing: No Plan B]]'' was released on 2 October 2012 on [[Blue Note Records]]. The album was recorded in [[Belfast]], Morrison's birthplace and hometown.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2012/06/van-morrison-announces-new-album.html|title=Van Morrison Announces New Album|magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|last=Bort|first=Ryan|date=26 June 2012|access-date=26 June 2012|archive-date=1 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601040518/https://www.pastemagazine.com/music|url-status=dead}}</ref> The first single from this album, "Open the Door (To Your Heart)", was released on 24 August 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/open-door-to-your-heart-single/id550711587|title=iTunes Music – Open the Door (To Your Heart) – Single by Van Morrison|publisher=iTunes Store|date=24 August 2012|access-date=16 September 2012}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> A selection of Morrison's lyrics, ''Lit Up Inside'', was published by [[City Lights Books]] in the US and [[Faber & Faber]] in the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fabersocial.co.uk/2014/07/van-morrison-lit-up-inside-limited-and-deluxe-editions/|title=Stories, Music, Performance|publisher=Faber Social|date=28 July 2014|access-date=19 August 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024417/http://fabersocial.co.uk/2014/07/van-morrison-lit-up-inside-limited-and-deluxe-editions/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The book was released on 2 October 2014 and an evening of words and music commenced at the Lyric Theatre, London on 17 November 2014 to mark its launch. Morrison himself selected his best and most iconic lyrics from a catalog of 50 years of writing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100443070&fa=description|title=City Lights, Author Bio, Van Morrison|website=Citylights.com|access-date=28 September 2014}}</ref>

In 2015, Morrison sold the rights to most of his catalogue to [[Legacy Recordings]], the catalog division of [[Sony Music]]. This resulted in 33 of his albums being made available as digital releases and through all streaming services for the first time that August.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 October 2017 |title=Sony Music acquires Van Morrison catalogue: Press Release |url=https://themusicnetwork.com/sony-music-acquires-van-morrisson-catalogue/ |access-date=11 November 2022 |website=The Music Network}}</ref> His first album recorded with Sony under the new contract was ''[[Duets: Re-working the Catalogue]]'', released on 24 March 2015 on the subsidiary, [[RCA Records]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/van-morrison-duets-re-working-the-catalogue-20150324|title=Van Morrison Duets: Re-working the Catalogue|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=24 March 2015|access-date=17 May 2015|archive-date=7 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507070954/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/van-morrison-duets-re-working-the-catalogue-20150324|url-status=dead}}</ref> Morrison's 70th birthday in 2015 was marked by celebrations in his hometown of Belfast, commencing with [[BBC Radio Ulster]] presenting programs including "Top 70 Van Tracks" between 26 and 28 August. As the headline act ending the Eastside Arts Festival, Morrison performed two 70th-birthday concerts on [[Cyprus Avenue]] on his birthday 31 August. The first of the concerts was broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster and a 60-minute BBC film of highlights from the concerts, entitled ''Up On Cyprus Avenue'', was first shown on 4 September.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1f58ZyVP4rQVFW2Z8V0Vck3/van-morrison-70th-birthday-celebrations|title=Van Morrson 70th Birthday Celebrations|website=Bbc.co.uk|date=19 August 2015|access-date=20 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b068fvks|title=Van Morrison – Up On Cyprus Avenue|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=17 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="eastside arts fest">{{cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/van-morrisons-the-main-man-at-70-as-eastside-arts-festival-gets-under-way-31461746.html|last=Ferguson.|first=Amanda|title=Van Morrson's the main man at 70 as EastSide Arts Festival gets under way|work=The Belfast Telegraph|date=18 August 2015|access-date=20 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="Thousands attend">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-34109511|title=Van Morrison: Thousands attend concerts on Belfast's Cyprus Avenue|work=Bbc.co.uk|date=31 August 2015|access-date=2 September 2015}}</ref> The following year, on 30 September, Morrison released ''[[Keep Me Singing]]'', his 36th studio album. "Too Late", the first single, was released on the same day. The songs are twelve originals and one cover and the album represents his first release of originals since ''Born to Sing: No Plan B'' in 2012. A short tour of the U.S. followed with six dates in October 2016,<ref name="Keep Me Singing">{{cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2016/06/29/van-morrison-album-keep-me-singing/|title=New Van Morrison album 'Keep Me Singing' Due This Fall|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|last=Ayers|first=Mike|date=29 June 2016|access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref> followed by a short tour of the U.K. with eight dates in October—December 2016, including a London show at ''[[The O2 Arena]]'' on 30 October. The U.S. tour resumed in January 2017 with five new dates in [[Las Vegas]] and [[Clearwater, Florida]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.axs.com/van-morrison-announces-2017-u-s-winter-tour-dates-104411|title=Van Morrison announces 2017 U.S. winter tour dates|work=AXS|access-date=19 March 2019}}</ref>

Morrison's album ''[[Roll with the Punches (album)|Roll with the Punches]]'' was released on 22 September 2017. That July, he and Universal Music Group were sued by former professional wrestler [[Billy Two Rivers]] for using his likeness on its cover and promotional material without his permission. On 4 August, Two Rivers' lawyer said the parties had reached a preliminary agreement to settle the matter out of court.<ref>{{cite web|title=Billy Two Rivers, former pro wrestler, to settle lawsuit against Van Morrison|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/billy-two-rivers-van-morrison-lawsuit-settle-1.4235037|date=4 August 2017}}</ref> He released his 38th studio album, ''[[Versatile (Van Morrison album)|Versatile]]'', on 1 December 2017. It features covers of nine classic jazz standards and seven original songs including his arrangement of the traditional "Skye Boat Song".<ref name="Van Morrison 'versatile'">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/van-morrison-announces-new-album-versatile-w510967|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=1 September 2017|title=Van Morrison announces new album 'Versatile'|access-date=19 November 2017|archive-date=11 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111042152/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/van-morrison-announces-new-album-versatile-w510967|url-status=dead}}</ref> He quickly followed up with his 39th studio album, ''[[You're Driving Me Crazy (album)|You're Driving Me Crazy]]'', released on 27 April 2018 via Sony Legacy Recordings. The album features a collaboration with [[Joey DeFrancesco]] on a mixture of blues and jazz classics that include eight Morrison originals from his back catalogue.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/van-morrison-preps-new-lp-youre-driving-me-crazy-118640/|title=Van Morrison Preps New LP 'You're Driving Me Crazy'|first1=Ryan|last1=Reed|date=7 March 2018|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref>

In October 2018, Morrison announced that his 40th studio album, ''[[The Prophet Speaks]]'', would be released by Caroline International on 7 December 2018.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/van-morrison-new-album-the-prophet-speaks-731913/|title=Van Morrison Details New Album 'The Prophet Speaks'|first1=Althea|last1=Legaspi|date=2 October 2018|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref> A year later, in November 2019, he released his 41st studio album, ''[[Three Chords & the Truth (Van Morrison album)|Three Chords & the Truth]]''. On 5 March 2020 [[Faber and Faber]] published ''Keep 'Er Lit'', the second volume of Van Morrison's selected lyrics.<ref>[https://www.marlbank.net/posts/power-and-mystery-in-the-lyrics-of-van-morrison/907]{{Dead link|date=June 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> It features a foreword of fellow poet [[Paul Muldoon]] and comprehends 120 songs from across his career.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vanmorrison.com/news/2019/keep-er-lit |title=Keep 'Er Lit. Selected Lyrics |date=14 November 2019 |website=vanmorrison.com |access-date=8 March 2020}}</ref> In November 2020 Morrison and [[Eric Clapton]] collaborated on a single called "Stand and Deliver", whose profits from sales will be donated to Morrison's Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund.<ref>{{cite web|title=Eric Clapton, Van Morrison to release new single Dec. 4|url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2020/11/28/Eric-Clapton-Van-Morrison-to-release-new-single-Dec-4/8641606569592/|access-date=3 December 2020|website=UPI}}</ref>

===Coronavirus controversy===
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]], Morrison made numerous statements against [[Social distancing measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic|social distancing measures]] that affected live music events, and made calls to "fight pseudo-science".<ref>{{cite web|first=Taryn|last=Ryder|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/van-morrison-asks-artists-speak-out-against-socially-distant-concerts-fight-pseudoscience-175428889.html|title=Van Morrison asks artists to speak out against socially distant concerts: "Fight the pseudo-science"|website=[[Yahoo! Entertainment]]|date=25 August 2020 }}</ref> Continuing with this narrative, Morrison released three new songs in September 2020, which had messages of protest against [[COVID-19 lockdowns]] in the UK. Morrison accused the UK government of "taking our freedom".<ref name=":0">{{cite news|last=Savage|first=Mark|date=18 September 2020|title=Van Morrison to release lockdown protest songs|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54194498|access-date=18 September 2020}}</ref> He had performed socially distanced concerts previously, but said that the shows were not a sign of "compliance".<ref>{{cite web|first=Nick|last=Reilly|date=18 September 2020|title=Van Morrison hits out at "crooked facts" in new anti-lockdown protest songs|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/van-morrison-hits-out-at-crooked-facts-in-new-anti-lockdown-protest-songs-2756262|access-date=18 September 2020|website=[[NME]]}}</ref>

There were calls in Belfast for Belfast City Council to revoke his [[Freedom of the City]] honour following the statements: city councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown said that his lyrics were "undermining the guidance in place to protect lives and are ignorant of established science as we grapple with Covid-19."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2020/09/18/calls-for-van-morrison-to-be-stripped-of-city-honour/|title=Calls for Van Morrison to be stripped of city honour|website=www.shropshirestar.com|date=18 September 2020 }}</ref> Northern Ireland health minister [[Robin Swann]] accused Morrison of smearing public health practitioners<ref name="Swann">{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/sep/22/northern-ireland-health-minister-criticises-van-morrison-anti-lockdown-songs|title=Northern Ireland health minister criticises Van Morrison anti-lockdown songs|date=22 September 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref> and called Morrison's anti-lockdown songs "dangerous".<ref name=":0" /> In November 2021, Swann sued Morrison for [[defamation]], after he said that Swann was a "fraud" and "very dangerous".<ref>{{cite web|date=8 November 2021|title=N. Ireland official suing Van Morrison over COVID criticism|url=https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-health-9811c0204c3913f4f9ac846acb61e918|access-date=11 November 2021|website=AP NEWS}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Whyte|first=Barry J.|title=Into the mystic: How a musical superstar tumbled down a rabbit-hole|url=https://www.businesspost.ie/profile/into-the-mystic-how-a-musical-superstar-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole-96b09fdd|access-date=25 November 2021|website=Business Post}}</ref> In 2022, Morrison issued legal proceedings against Swann over an opinion piece in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine that was critical of Morrison's anti-lockdown songs and actions.<ref>{{cite web |last=Snapes |first=Laura |date=30 May 2022 |title=Van Morrison takes legal action against Northern Ireland health department and minister over Covid article |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/30/van-morrison-takes-legal-action-against-northern-ireland-health-department-and-minister-over-covid-article |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Both legal claims were settled confidentially shortly before their respective court proceedings were to begin in September 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Van and Robin Swann settle defamation battle |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wj02gx4p1o |website=bbc.com |publisher=BBC |access-date=18 September 2024}}</ref>

===2020s===
In March 2021, Morrison announced that his 42nd album, ''[[Latest Record Project, Volume 1]]'', would be released by Exile Productions and [[BMG Rights Management|BMG]] on 7 May. The 28-track album includes songs such as "Why Are You on Facebook?", "They Own The Media" and "Western Man". In addition to digitally, it was released as a 2-CD set and on triple vinyl.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/pre-order-a-signed-cd-of-van-morrisons-forthcoming-latest-record-project/|title=Pre-order a signed CD of Van Morrison's forthcoming 'Latest Record Project' &#124; superdeluxeedition|date=3 March 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/van-morrison-latest-record-project/|title=Van Morrison Announces New Double LP, 'Latest Record Project'|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=3 March 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/van-morrisons-new-album-has-an-eyebrow-raising-tracklisting|title=Van Morrison's New Album Has An Eyebrow-Raising Tracklisting|website=Clash Magazine|date=3 March 2021 }}</ref> The album marked a return to the UK Top Ten for Morrison, making the 2020s the fourth consecutive decade in which he has achieved such success.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/|title=Official Albums Chart Top 100 &#124; Official Charts Company|website=www.officialcharts.com}}</ref>

The following year, ''[[What's It Gonna Take?]]'' explored many of the same themes, but was less successful commercially.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hasted |first=Nick |date=12 May 2022 |title=Album – Van Morrison: What's it Gonna Take? |url=https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-van-morrison-whats-it-gonna-take |access-date=19 September 2022 |website=The ArtsDesk}}</ref> In 2023, he returned to his roots with ''[[Moving on Skiffle]]'' and ''[[Accentuate the Positive (Van Morrison album)|Accentuate the Positive]]''.<ref name="Uncut">{{cite web|url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/van-morrison-moving-on-skiffle-142121/|title=Van Morrison – Moving On Skiffle|work=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|last=Watts|first=Peter|date=17 March 2023|accessdate=1 April 2023}}</ref> He also issued archival material via his own direct-to-consumer label Orangefield Records, beginning with ''Beyond Words: Instrumental'' and continuing in 2024 with ''Live at Orangefield'', taken from a run of 2014 concerts at his former secondary school. His 2024 studio album ''New Arrangements and Duets'' also compiled unreleased material, including big band reworkings of songs from his catalogue and duets with [[Kurt Elling]], [[Curtis Stigers]], [[Joss Stone]] and [[Willie Nelson]] recorded between 2014 and 2019.<ref name="The Arts Desk">{{cite web|url=https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-van-morrison-new-arrangements-and-duets|title=Album: Van Morrison - New Arrangements and Duets|work=[[The Arts Desk]]|last=Cumming|first=Tim|date=25 September 2024|accessdate=27 February 2025}}</ref>

Van Morrison's songs were used extensively in [[Kenneth Branagh]]'s Oscar-winning 2021 film ''[[Belfast (film)|Belfast]]'':<ref>{{citation|title=Belfast (2021) – IMDb|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt12789558/fullcredits|access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref> Morrison received his first nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]] for "Down to Joy".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscar-nominations-2022-nominees-list-1235088770/|title=Oscars: Full List of Nominations|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|first1=Kimberly|last1=Nordyke|first2=Hilary|last2=Lewis|date=8 February 2022|accessdate=8 February 2022}}</ref> Several tracks were also featured in ''[[Cherry (2021 film)|Cherry]]'', released the same year. "Down to Joy" would not be released on a Van Morrison album until 2025, when it became the lead single from ''Remembering Now'', his first album of original material since 2022.