Van Morrison – Roll With The Punches

Does anyone have any info on the other 9 alternate covers??? Citing a not so credible source but it's all I have...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roll_with_the_Punches_(album)

The Art Print isn't part of the album. It's a giveaway for the order by JPC. this version should be merged with the existing 2 LP version.

I think this version should be merged with Van Morrison - Roll With The Punches because jpc added only the 12" print to the existing 2LP. It is not an own version.

I’ve no idea how carefully Morrison chose the songs for Roll With The Punches, where he doesn’t so much deliver the music, but rather seems to transport each track, encoming and rapturing his listeners with a vocal range and voice that’s simply gotten better and more rich over the years.

There’s no way I can convince you that these songs are mellow, though if you’re a fan of the man, you know exactly what to expect, except that here you get an undefinable something ‘more’ that will resonate with you long after the tonearm has been lifted and the record’s been shelved. Perhaps that something ‘more’ is his solid grooves, his stance, his disposition, and a relentless bluesy lightness that will have your head bobbing from the first number to the last, while your fingers dance across an imagined piano without a sense of urgency, because Van takes his time with each track, perfectly in sync with his band, delivering a soulful concoction of emotional bliss that actually sounds as if he’s having a great deal of fun here.

And those numbers I spoke of earlier, the medley of “Stormy Monday / Lonely Avenue” penned by Doc Pomus and T-Bone Walker will have you down on your knees testifying, one hand over your heart, the other raised to the sky, while his take on “Teardrops From My Eyes” penned by Ruby Toombs' rains down with tearful intoxication, and if the Jimmy Rushing & Count Basie track “Goin’ To Chicago” doesn’t splinter every floorboard in your living room, then there’s something seriously awry with your stereo system. Yet distinguishing his five originals from the ten others is nearly impossible, because Van owns every note he lays down here, with dare I say, his version of the Sam Cooke song “Bring It On Home To Me,” sounds fresh and full of life fashioned in blues.

But Van doesn’t do this all on his own, this album is finger popping tight, and as solid as a brick wall, with contributors that include Paul Jones, Chris Farlowe, Georgie Fame, Jeff Beck and Jason Rebello … and one can only hope that this lineup will be ing his live shows, though that wish does seem a bit improbable.

1. "Roll With the Punches" (Van Morrison & Don Black)
2. "Transformation" (Van Morrison)
3. "I Can Tell" (Bo Diddley & Samuel Bernard Smith)
4. "Stormy Monday / Lonely Avenue" (T-Bone Walker / Doc Pomus)
5. "Goin' To Chicago" (Count Basie & Jimmy Rushing)
6. "Fame" (Van Morrison)
7. "Too Much Trouble" (Van Morrison)
8. "Bring It on Home to Me" (Sam Cooke)
9. "Ordinary People" (Van Morrison)
10. "How Far From God" (Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
11. "Teardrops From My Eyes" (Rudy Toombs)
12. "Automobile Blues" (Lightnin' Hopkins)
13. "Benediction" (Mose Allison)
14. "Mean Old World" (Little Walter)
15. "Ride On Josephine" (Bo Diddley)

*** The Fun Facts: Historic ex-wrestler [sporting a mohawk] and Mohawk Council Chief of the Kahnawake, Billy Two Rivers, has sued and was awarded compensation from Van Morrison over the use of his image on the album jacket. The other wrestler has currently not been identified.

Review by Jenell Kesler