I have had this album in my collection for almost a year and it never ceases to amaze and please! Truly "A Gem" of a recording! With the exception of Pop's version, there has never been a better recording of St. james Infirmary. Acquire and treasure this masterful effort by VM with extraordinary pereformances by the best sidemen in the business! I guarantee you will become succesively more and more addicted to this album with each new earful! Enjoy citizens, enjoy!!

Van Morrison's first for the prestigious Blue Note label has him on good vocal form and clearly enjoying performing, despite the vitriolic nature of a few of the lyrics, and there is an enjoyable variety of styles throughout, with plenty of room for the excellent team of musicians to breathe and play.
Van himself contributes alto sax on three of the tracks and acoustic guitar on several others. Acker Bilk brings some beautiful clarinet to Somerset, a tune he wrote with David Collett; and Pirates guitarist Mick Green turns up on Lightnin' Hopkins' Stop Drinking (with some additional lyrics from Van) and on the closing track, Get On With The Show.

The only other cover on the album is Saint James Infirmary, a much recorded standard that dates back to Louis Armstrong, of which Van Morrison's version makes a worthwhile addition (for a very different interpretation, try Snakefarm's 1998 version on Songs For My Funeral). I wonder if he had in mind the sixties version by the Graham Bond Organisation?

Most of the album was made at Bath's Wool Hall, with the odd excursion to Kilmurray House and Westland Studios, Dublin, and is all beautifully recorded

I have been a Van Morrison fan for over 25 years. I have seen him in concert several times and I own virtually every recording he has ever made. Among these are numerous amazing albums as well as some mediocre efforts.

I find this album to be his best in many years. Most Van albums in the past 20 years have had some great tunes, some good tunes and a few songs that I am always skipping past. With What's Wrong With This Picture, it is one solid song after another - no filler on this album!

The album is nicely diverse. He includes blues tunes, beautiful ballads and a few typically Van pop tunes. The arrangements range from 40s sounding strings, to Chicago blues to jazzy horns.

Lyrically, this album is typical Van. He fills his songs with Clichés that would sound, well, cliché if performed by anyone else. For example, in Get On With The Show, he sings, "Nero fell while Rome was burnt, Napoleon met his Waterloo..." But for Van, it works. I have always felt like Van uses words as much for their sound as for their meaning. These sounds create a feel that is really what his songs are about. Perhaps this is why Van hates when interviewers ask what he means with his lyrics.

If you are a hard-core Van fan like me, this album is a must. If you are just beginning to assemble a Van Morrison collection you should first get his great early albums like Moondance, Astral Weeks, and Saint Dominic's Preview. But this album should also be high on your list.

This isn't as bad as the garbage tracks Morrison did to get out of his Bang recording contract (nothing like "Ringworm" in this collection), but this is not even a mediocre Van release. I like most of his releases, even COMMON ONE, INARTICULATE SPEECH, and BEAUTIFUL VISION. Here, Van just seems commited to getting the "product" out on time. DOWN THE ROAD was much stronger, and DAYS LIKE THIS.

I went to his concert in Minneapolis 2004 not much of a fan, and purchased this CD prior, to hear some of his latest work, to get aquainted with the performer he is today. The CD was okay. But after seeing him live at an incredible show,this CD is now my new favorite!....He rocks, and in a good way. DRINKING is a particular favourite song. He is not for everyone, but if you aren't familiar with his music, this is the CD to buy...