This is a great cd. I like Down the road and hey mr dj the best.

I haven't been a big fan of Van Morrison's albums in the last 15 years. "A Night In San Francisco" is a nice live CD, but the studio albums, from 1990's "Enlightenment" to the present, have never appealed to me that much. They usually have one, maybe a few tracks that I really like, but that's it.

"Down The Road" was a surprise. I got it after reading a little bit of Clinton Heylin's recent Van Morrison biography. Clinton savaged most of Van Morrison's 90's output, but he had kind words to say about this (though he did add that the 'original' 10-track version, featuring Linda Gail Lewis and titled "Choppin' Wood," would've been much better). So I got it.

First of all, I got this in a U.S. store. NOT an import, but it's got 15 tracks, not 13 like it says here on Amazon.com. Maybe there was a change after the original U.S. pressing, but my copy has the additional tracks, 'Fast Train' and 'Evening Shadows.'

Most of the album is really good. Some tracks may be slight, but they're really fun and enjoyable. The title track opens thing off nicely, and is every bit as engaging as 'Meet Me In The Indian Summer,' and 'Hey Mr. DJ,' all VERY catchy. They could all be Top 40 singles. 'Choppin' Wood' is a tribute to Van's departed Dad, but it's such an upbeat tribute, it could be a single as well. 'Beauty of Days Gone By' and 'Fast Train' are beautiful songs, darker in mood and tone but still gorgeous. 'Man Has To Struggle' is another great track, defiant and strong without ever getting sour or bitter, like 'Talk Is Cheap,' one of the few duds on this CD. 'Georgia On My Mind' is a nice cover of the Hoagy Carmichael standard made even more famous by Ray Charles's hit recording from the 1960's. Again, there are a few duds, but overall, it's still a fine album. The SOUND is also very nice. It's pretty compressed, but it isn't overly sharp or bright like past Van Morrison CD's. A nice big, warm sound.

If you've been disappointed with Van's albums in the past 15 years, give this one a try. It may win you over like it won me over.

I listen to this album, or indeed Van's latest, What's Wrong With This Picture, most days. I love the joyful articulation of the ups and downs of ordinary life. The highways and byways of consciousness. The sheer celebratory quality evident in each and every song. It is great to be able to participate in one man's journey down the neverending road towards peace, harmony and integration. Sheer joie de vivre.

Since you're reading this review, you must have this music already, or are consider buying it. You must also be somewhat of a Van fan to even get this far, so my advice to you is to buy it and you will eventually love it.

As with most of Van's music, I don't like it much the first couple of times I listen to it. I may even put it away for a few days, or a week or so, if there aren't any songs that really catch my attention. I bought this and Van's "What's Wrong With This Picture?" at about the same time, and actually liked the other CD better in the beginning. Not so now. I still think "What's Wrong With This Picture?" is one of Van's weakest efforts, and I'm a huge Van fan.

I started fully appreciating the greatness of this CD after I had had it for a couple of months. There are five tracks that are brilliant songs, in my opinion. They are, in order of greatness: What Makes The Irish Heartbeat, Whatever Happened to P.J. Proby, Georgia on My Mind, Steal My Heart Away, and Down the Road. Only a Dream is decent, and the rest of the songs are throw away material. If you are a Van fan, I would think you'll eventually love this CD. Give it some time. If you're truly a Van fan, you will, and you will be rewarded. If you can't appreciate this music, go to Walmart and pay $14 for a Brittany Spears CD. You know what I mean.

A point I want to make is that to have 5 or 6 really good songs on one CD is fantastic. Just because the rest of the music is trash does not make this any less of a CD. If you read these reviews often, you will notice that just about everything gets a 4 or 5 star review. That's because the people reviewing are generally fans of the music they're reviewing. So, I'm really no different, except that I would be critical of Van if the music was not good, but that's not the case here.

I particularly didn't care for his version of Georgia on My Mind, after several listens. But this is a very strong effort that is one that I just can't get enough of now. His vocals are just fabulous as is the rest of his band.

So, I guess I'm making a similar point that another reviewer has made. Don't judge Van material by a couple of listens. Hang in there and you'll be rewarded with music that will bring you countless hours of joy. There's probably only a small percentage of the population that has the intellect and the ability to appreciate Van's music. We're not the Walmart croud. We're smarter than most people and are taste is better than most. We're the 10% of the population that has a clue as to what's going on in this world and a love and appreciation for the music of Van Morrison is just one other thing we have in common.

Buy, or burn this CD and enjoy.

I probably bought this CD about a year ago, listened to it once or twice, and it subsequently made it's way to the back of my CD collection.

Not sure what made me pull it out today, perhaps it's because he has another new CD out, but I gave this another try with far lower expectations. Lesson learned on my part, I found that I liked it a LOT more than on my fist listen.

As a fan, I have to say I'm often let down by Van's newer CDs. Each time I hope I'll immediately find that gem on par with "Moondance", "Domino", etc. Problem is, while some of his songs are great on first listen ("Brown Eyed Girl", "Wild Night", "Jackie Wilson Said"), many of my favorite Van songs such as "Tupelo Honey" and "Caravan" grew better with repeated listens when I just allowed them sink in.

The musicianship on this CD is so far above most of what's on the radio today. That in itself is worthy of a few stars. It's just SUCH a refreshing change to everything else out there that you really owe it to your ears to give them something this substantial. :)

I have the import of this CD which includes "Evening Shadows" and "Fast Train". It's worth the extra few bucks.

This CD does have a couple of clunkers and unfortunately they come early on - "Talk Is Cheap" and "Choppin Wood" (those background vocals unfortunately just kill this song). Buy the CD, burn a copy without those two tunes, and play it next time you have friends over for dinner. Trust me, you'll get at least a few guests who ask "Who is this?" and in such a setting you'll probably appreciate this CD that much more as well.