Van Morrison

Pay The Devil - 2006

There not without a reason they call Van Morrison "The Belfast Cowboy". Now his latest album release 'Pay The Devil', that good reason has resulted in a great new album. From the start, the deeply soulful sounds of the American South helped inspire Morrison to one of the most enduring and consistently impressive careers in music history. For decades he's drawn upon the greats of Rhythm & Blues to create his own unique and influential blend of soul and Celtic influences. On 'Pay The Devil', Morrison explores his inner cowboy more than ever before -- recording a compelling mix of his favorite country compositions

as well as a few equally strong originals that more than earn their place among such distinguished company. Those who have been following Van Morrison for years might praise him for his remarkable range in taking this turn down a country road.

To listen to 'Pay The Devil', one might naturally think that Morrison has traveled to Nashville and handed himself over to Music City's finest players and producers. Remarkably, Morrison has done nothing of the sort - recording 'Pay The Devil' in Ireland with the same wonderful musicians who have been playing with him for years now with exceptional results. Even more remarkably, it turns out that Morrison has never even been to Nashville before. Regardless of that, he has made a classic album that sounds like Nashville at its finest and stands as tall as anything that's come out of the town in recent years. 'Pay The Devil' is not just great country music, it's great music - whatever country you happen to come from. And that's just the sort of expectations we have from this great musician.