You Win Again
Van Morrison, never the most predictable of performers, takes yet another odd turn withYou Win Again, a collection of rootsy duets with one Linda Gail Lewis. And who is this belter who holds her own while sharing the mic and billing with Van the Man on cuts ranging fromHank Williams's "Jambalaya" to Stephen Foster's "Old Black Joe" toJohn Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen"? Turns out she's the sister ofJerry Lee Lewis; in fact, Morrison came across her at a Jerry Lee convention in Wales. The unlikely twosome were soon rushing through live studio recordings of a bunch of country, blues, and R&B; favorites backed by a rockin' combo. Coming as it does on the heels of Morrison's for-the-fun-of-itSkiffle Sessions,You Win Againsignals Morrison's continuing impulse to wallow joyfully in the music of his youth. It's actually superior toThe Skiffle Sessions, and while it won't make anyone forgetAstral Weeks, so what? There's no reason Morrison fans can't have as much fun listening toYou Win Againas their hero apparently had making it.--Steven Stolder