If Van Morrison wanted to milk the nostalgia game, there would have been a "Van Morrison plays the entire Astral Weeks album" tour years ago. Instead, the curmudgeonly Irish star is appearing, as usual, with no promotional round of interviews; even his record company "have no idea" what the man will be playing. In recent years, his bewildering and often insufferable sets have included everything from rock'n'roll medleys to campfire singsongs. The man makes Paul Weller's notoriously grumpy attitude to the niceties of the music business look like it was advised by Alastair Campbell.
When Morrison strides on with a barely audible grunt, his long-suffering followers resign themselves to the torture. Moments later, he is barking out his attitude to celebrity with searing lines about how everyone is "addicted to" or "corrupted by" fame. Point made, he settles back to deliver what may be his best set in a decade.
Morrison is trim and dapper in a grey suit, and there is raw power in his voice. Something - dieting, perhaps, or a good mood (he even says "thank you") - has given his range several new octaves. Surrounded by brass instruments (he plays sax himself), this year's Morrison is a soul man who explores the pantheon of the music: from brisk, snappy workouts to incandescent beauty.
When he says, "And now for something completely different!", he acknowledges the darting unpredictability of the show. One minute he is caressing Beautiful Vision and Into the Mystic, the next breaking off an extraordinary adaptation of All in the Game to yell "Ooh baby!" at bystanders. The house could be no closer to coming down if he had arrived with dynamite.
Morrison delivers the troubled Irish blues of 1974's You Pull No Punches but You Don't Push the River stunningly, punching the microphone to illustrate the song. There's even an unexpected double whammy of Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria, the former of which is blasted out of nearby pub jukeboxes in celebration an hour after he leaves the stage.
· At Hampton Court Festival, East Molesey, on Wednesday and Thursday. Box office: 0870 060 2338.
