Van Morrison & Linda Gail Lewis - You Win Again (2000)

Van Morrison, never the most predictable of performers, takes yet another odd turn with You Win Again, a collection of rootsy duets with one Linda Gail Lewis. And who is this belter who holds her own while sharing the mic and billing with Van the Man on cuts ranging from Hank Williams's "Jambalaya" to Stephen Foster's "Old Black Joe" to John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen"? Turns out she's the sister of Jerry Lee Lewis; in fact, Morrison came across her at a Jerry Lee convention in Wales. The unlikely twosome were soon rushing through live studio recordings of a bunch of country, blues, and R&B favorites backed by a rockin' combo. Coming as it does on the heels of Morrison's for-the-fun-of-it Skiffle Sessions, You Win Again signals Morrison's continuing impulse to wallow joyfully in the music of his youth. It's actually superior to The Skiffle Sessions, and while it won't make anyone forget Astral Weeks, so what? There's no reason Morrison fans can't have as much fun listening to You Win Again as their hero apparently had making it. --Steven Stolder