Van Morrison's road has been rocky, and it has not left him unscarred, but it is now obvious that he has not only made it through his personal bad times, but that he has come upon a period of great personal creativity. Beginning with Astral Weeks, he has released three albums of extraordinary quality in the last two years.

Moondance is, in my mind, one of the great albums of 1970. In it Van presented his fully developed musical style…. The lyrics were simple, personal and intense….

If Moondance had a flaw it was in its perfection. Sometimes things fell into place so perfectly I wished there was more room to breathe. Every song was a polished gem, and yet too much brilliance at the same time and in the same place can be blinding. The album would have benefitted by some changes in mood and pace along the way. One or two light and playful cuts would have done the job.

On His Band and the Street Choir he seems to have realized that and has tried for a freer, more relaxed sound. Knowing he could not come up with another ten songs as perfectly honed as those on Moondance, he has chosen to show another side of what goes on around his house.

"Give Me A Kiss," "Blue Money," "Sweet Jannie," and "Call Me Up In Dreamland" are all examples of Van's new rollicking, good-timey style….

As "Domino" opens the album with a show of strength, "Street Choir" closes it with a burst of both musical and poetic energy which is not only better than anything else on the album but may well be one of Van's two or three finest songs…. Van's lyrics take over to complete the album's statement….

His Band and the Street Choir is a free album. It … was obviously intended to show the other side of Moondance. And if it has a flaw it is that, like Moondance, it is too much what it set out to be. A few more numbers with a gravity of "Street Choir" would have made this album as close to perfect as anyone could have stood.

But notwithstanding its limitations, His Band and the Street Choir is another beautiful phase in the continuing development of one of the few originals left in rock. In his own mysterious way, Van Morrison continues to shake his head, strum his guitar and to sing his songs. He knows it's too late to stop now and he quit trying to a long, long time ago. Meanwhile, the song he is singing keeps getting better and better.

Van Morrison: Rock on.