On his jazzy "What's Wrong With This Picture?," Van Morrisonindulges a lifelong affection for jazz and blues, ruminates on loveand loneliness and assails tabloids. In his only U.S. interview,conducted by e-mail, the Irish singer, 58, discusses music and media.
Q. How did "Picture" evolve toward jazz?
A. In the past, I've been working with either rock musicians ormodern jazz players, or funk-jazz. My inclination was always towardthe older-style R&B, soul and even New Orleans jazz. With a lot ofthe concepts I was working in, I was really frustrated that Icouldn't address some of these areas. So it was a conscientiouseffort to find musicians that were more compatible with the styles Ienvisioned playing.
Q. Did you sign with Blue Note because its jazz-blues bent suitsyou artistically or philosophically?
A. Blue Note wasn't a conscious move. I really didn't know whereto go, because the mainstream labels all seemed to have the sameagenda, which was marketing pop music. I was very frustrated workingwith major labels because they were promoting me in relation to thecurrent pop situation, so they would either pay lip service to havingme on the label or they would ignore [my work] and not know how tomarket it, not even want to market it in some situations. So I feltthat there was no point in being with a major label when their onlyobjective was to promote current trends in pop music. I've neverreally felt like I fit into this category, anyway.
Q. How did you cope or adjust?
A. Sometimes when I'd write songs, I wouldn't want to play thembecause they didn't fit or evolve in a live context. They were morejazz as opposed to rock or blues or soul and so it was becoming moreof a problem. Then the live thing became more integrated with thewriting and recording. I feel that the current album isrepresentative of where I'm at, in the overall picture.
Q. Has your approach to songwriting changed or gotten easier overtime?
A. It varies with each song. Some songs are easier; other onesaren't so easy. There's no set rule. These [11 originals] werewritten over a two- to three-year period. Writing songs is veryrandom. I don't know when I'm going to get the inspiration I need toget it kicked off, but they're basically all written one at a time.Sometimes I might get on a roll and I might write two or three songsin a one-month period or whatever and then not write any for sixmonths.
Q. Are the songs dealing with fame meant to counter misconceptionsperpetuated by the press?
A. It's a way of deconstructing the mythology on me. It's notgeneral; it's specifically addressing how I feel about the situation,and basically it's my concept of freedom of speech to address thissituation. But it's nothing new. The concepts on "Too Many Myths" and"Goldfish Bowl" I've said so many times over the years. As long asI've been famous, I've been saying these things. Now I've started toput them into songs.
Q. Why not write an autobiography to set the record straight?
A. I'd consider writing a biographical record in relation to mymusic when I have the time. It would be a long process.
Gannett News Service
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