1. There Stands The Glass
2. Half As Much
3. Things Have Gone To Pieces
4. Big Blue Diamonds
5. Playhouse
6. Your Cheatin' Heart
7. Don't You Make Me High
8. My Buckets Got A Hole In It
9. Back Street Affair
10. Pay The Devil
11. What Am I Living For
12. This Has Got To Stop
13. Once A Day
14. More and More
15. Till I Gain Control Again
Amazon.com
With stunning album-length explorations of jazz and 1950s acoustic skiffle and a country-rockabilly collaboration with Linda Gail Lewis behind him, Van Morrison continues exploring classic country with compelling reinterpretations of standards from the 1950s to the 1970s. He reaches back over half a century for Hank Williams Sr.'s "Half As Much," "Your Cheatin' Heart," and "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" and Webb Pierce's landmark honky-tonk hits "Back Street Affair," "There Stands the Glass," and "More and More." Moving to the mid-'60s, he capably explores George Jones's "Things Have Gone to Pieces" and Connie Smith's "Once a Day." The 1970s are his limit, however, as he probes Rodney Crowell's "'Til I Gain Control Again." Three Morrison originals blend nicely into this mix, as do two non-country favorites: Chuck Willis's "What Am I Living For" and a gleeful spin on Blue Lu Barker's 1938 jazzy, single-entendre favorite "Don't You Make Me High." Recorded in Ireland with uncluttered hard-country backing, Pay the Devil reiterates Morrison's own musical diversity and flair for making any song his own. --Rich Kienzle Recommended Van Morrison 
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About the Artist
There's a reason they call Van Morrison the Belfast Cowboy. Now with Morrison's latest album Pay The Devil, that good reason has resulted in a great new album. From the start, the deeply soulful sounds of the American South helped inspire Morrison to one of the most enduring and consistently impressive careers in music history. For forty-years, he's drawn upon the greats of Rhythm & Blues to create his own distinctive and influential blend of soul and Celtic influences. On Pay The Devil, Morrison explores his inner cowboy more than ever before -- recording a compelling mix of his favorite country compositions as well as a few equally strong originals that more than earn their place among such distinguished company. And just as Morrison's longtime hero Ray Charles did once upon a time on Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music, Morrison has taken some enduring, endlessly relevant songs of the south and somehow made them all his own. Those who have been following Van Morrison for years might praise him for his remarkable range in taking this turn down a country road. Recent years have seen Morrison cover the musical waterfront with recordings that touch upon traditional Irish music, jazz, skiffle and other musical forms that move him. But the secret of Morrison's ongoing artistic success is that he has never followed fashion in the slightest. Rather he continues to be a working musician who simply follows his own soulful muse wherever it may lead him. The outstanding, plainspoken songs on Pay The Devil range from the familiar, like Morrison's impressive take on Hank Williams' "Your Cheating Heart" and Webb Pierce's "There Stands The Glass" to somewhat less familiar Country & Western gems. It is a true tribute to Morrison's genius as a vocal stylist that he can take a song as often covered as "Half As Much" -- recorded over the years by everyone from Hank Williams to Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris - and manage to make it feel new all over again. He does so by clearly connecting with country's timeless themes of love and loss and life, sin and salvation. Through it all, Morrison proves to be one hell of a fine, subtle straight-ahead country singer in the grand tradition of George Jones. Indeed, one of Pay The Devil's many highlights is Morrison's take on "Things Have Gone To Pieces," a dark gem written by Leon Payne that Jones made famous. Then there's "What Am I Living For?" -- an old Chuck Willis number. Listen to how ! Morrison delivers Rodney Crowell's early masterpiece "Til I Gain Control Again" -- one of the more recent copyrights included here and a standout effort on an album full of them. Yet even among such high standards, Morrison's originals here are among the highlights - including "Playhouse" a sly, infectious song that one wishes the Genius of Soul had lived to record, and the title track - a reflection on making the devil's music and a fine reminder that "one man's meat is another man's poison" To listen to Pay The Devil, one might naturally assume that Morrison has traveled to Nashville and handed himself over to Music City's finest players and producers. Remarkably, Morrison has done nothing of the sort - recording Pay The Devil in Ireland with the same wonderful musicians who have been playing with him for years now with exceptional results. Even more remarkably, it turns out that Morrison has never even been to Nashville before. Regardless of that, he has made a classic album that sounds like Nashville at its finest and stands as tall as anything that's come out of the town in recent years. Pay The Devil is not just great country music, it's great music - whatever country you happen to come from. We've come to expect no less from Morrison. Finally, the Belfast Cowboy has come home.
Album Description
Pay The Devil is comprised of 15 tracks; three of these are originals and 12 are covers of some of Van Morrison's favorite classic country songs, including 'Your Cheatin Heart', 'Things Have Gone To Pieces' and 'Big Blue Diamonds'. Lost Highway. 2006.
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Pay the Devil
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2006-03-07)
- Publisher: Lost Highway
- Label: Lost Highway
- Studio: Lost Highway
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 81 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #5411
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: buy it 2008-05-28
Comment: I'm not a devoted van morrison fan. This is Van Morrison being a country music star. I love it. It's pure country and pure van morrison. Sounds impossible but it really really works.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: excellent products 2008-02-22
Comment: i received my 2 cd's really really fast, and they play with great clarity, packages were in perfect condition as well
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Um.....huh, flat soda? 2008-02-22
Comment: I have all of Van's albums except this one. He's just not on top with it. I've listened to it because I love his voice, but the country thing should've ended with the rockabilly co-effort he did with Linda Gail Lewis. The songs remind me of flat soda. Sorry Van. No crests, all valley.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Van Morrison's in town 2008-01-16
Comment: Well I put off getting this CD for a long time. It is a real revelation of country musical interpretation. Right to the bone you can feel the struggling spirit of the musical mayhem in a better forgotten lifestyle of drinkin' and carousing. THe accidental love affair wakking up in the morning. Van fits these songs well and his penning of a few of them shows his insight.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Magee 2008-01-14
Comment: If you are a Van Morrison fan you will appreciate this CD with it's C & W feel and the smoky voice of Van.
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Pay the Devil
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