Hear Van Morrison’s Smoky Rendition of ‘Goin’ to Chicago’
Van Morrison delivers a simmering version of “Goin’ to Chicago” for the latest sampling of the singer’s upcoming new LP Roll With the Punches.
The smoky rendition of the Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing-penned swing era classic finds Morrison working alongside a band that includes organist and singer Georgie Fame, drummer James Powell and Chris Hill on the double bass. The ensemble slows down the “Goin’ to Chicago” to turn it into a straightforward blues cut.
“The thing about the blues is you don’t dissect it – you just do it,” Morrison previously said in a statement. “I was lucky to have met people who were the real thing, people like John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bo Diddley, Little Walter and Mose Allison. I got to hang out with them and absorb what they did. They were people with no ego whatsoever and they helped me learn a lot.”
The singer previously unveiled his rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me” and his own “Transformation,” both from Roll With the Punches, which features 10 covers and five originals. Roll With the Punches arrive September 17th.
Morrison added, “The songs on Roll With the Punches – whether I’ve written them or not – they’re performance oriented. Each song is like a story and I’m performing that story. That’s been forgotten over years because people over-analyze things. I was a performer before I started writing songs, and I’ve always felt like that’s what I do.”