Roll with the Punches is the 37th studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on 22 September 2017 by Caroline Records.[4] It features Jeff Beck on guitar, and charted in the Top 10 in five countries, and the Top 40 in a further six, including the US.
Guests on the album include Jeff Beck on electric guitar, Georgie Fame on Hammond organ and vocals, Paul Moran also on Hammond organ and trumpet, Paul Jones on harmonica and vocals and Chris Farlowe on vocals.
The album consists of five original songs and ten covers.[5] The cover originally featured former professional wrestler and Mohawk chief Billy Two Rivers, who sued the singer and the label, Universal Music Group, claiming that they did not seek permission to use his likeness. The parties agreed to settle out of court, and the cover was replaced, to feature Omagh boxer William Mitchell.[6][7][8]
On 25 September, Morrison spoke to Paul Jones - who is a guest musician on the album - on his BBC Radio 2 show to coincide with its release. [9] When Morrison received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from Emmylou Harris at the 2017 Americana Music Honors & Awards ceremony, he performed "Transformation", from the album. He has said that the inspiration for the song came from encountering the Californian Christian community, Agape.[10]
Critical reception
Pitchfork says that Roll with the Punches is "a thorough exploration of the blues", the first time Morrison has dedicated an entire album to that genre. Hailing it as "crisp, precise", it "reveals [Morrison's] ability to inhabit classic songs while paying respect to their form."[11]Slate finds that it "plays like a party album", and in departing from "his trademark blend of jazz, folk, and Celtic soul" is Morrison's "most distinctive album since 2006’s country covers collection Pay the Devil".[12]Greil Marcus called it "a tremendous rebound from his last few albums," writing that Morrison "makes Sam Cooke’s 'Bring It on Home to Me' feel like it has a hundred years ahead of it."[13]
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