Saint Dominic's Preview

At just seven songs, *Saint Dominic’s Preview* still manages to cover tremendous ground. The New Orleans R&B swagger of “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m In Heaven When You Smile),” the double-to-triple-time rhythmic mastery of “Gypsy,” and the bucolic complexity of “Redwood Tree” lead to two album-side-closing spiritual epics: “Listen to the Lion” and “Almost Independence Day.” Yet all is topped by the title track, which concentrates Morrison’s many vocal talents into one solitary stroke of genius.

While less thematically and sonically cohesive than Van Morrison's prior albums, Saint Dominic's Preview nonetheless hangs together on the strength of its songs, an intriguingly diverse collection which draws together the disparate threads of the singer's recent work into one sterling package.