Editing Van Morrison (section)

===''Down the Road'' to ''Keep It Simple'': 2000–2009===
Van Morrison continued to record and tour in the 2000s, often performing two or three times a week.<ref name="concerts">{{cite web|url=http://ivan.vanomatic.de/|title=concerts|website=Ivan.vanomatic.de|access-date=16 October 2008}}</ref> He formed his own independent label, Exile Productions Ltd, which enables him to maintain full production control of each album he records, which he then delivers as a finished product to the recording label that he chooses, for marketing and distribution.<ref name="CollisPage181">Collis (1996), page 181.</ref>

In 2001, nine months into a tour with [[Linda Gail Lewis]] promoting their collaboration ''[[You Win Again (album)|You Win Again]]'', Lewis left the tour, later filing claims against Morrison for unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination. Both claims were later withdrawn, and Morrison's solicitor said, "(Mr Morrison's) pleased that these claims have finally been withdrawn. He accepted a full apology and comprehensive retraction which represents a complete vindication of his stance from the outset. Miss Lewis has given a full and categorical apology and retraction to Mr Morrison." Lewis' legal representative Christine Thompson said both parties had agreed to the terms of the settlement.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|author=Linda Gail Lewis|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2656897.stm|title=UK &#124; Van Morrison case over|work=BBC News|date=14 January 2003|access-date=4 November 2012}}</ref>

The album ''[[Down the Road (Van Morrison album)|Down the Road]]'', released in May 2002, received a good critical reception and proved to be his highest-charting album in the US since 1972's ''Saint Dominic's Preview''.<ref name="Charts & Awards" /> It had a nostalgic tone, with its fifteen tracks representing the various musical genres Morrison had previously covered—including R&B, blues, country and folk;<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r589019|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|title=Down the Road Review|last= Ruhlmann|first= William|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> one of the tracks was written as a tribute to his late father George, who had played a pivotal role in nurturing his early musical tastes.<ref name="TurnerPage20" />

Morrison's 2005 album, ''[[Magic Time (Van Morrison album)|Magic Time]]'', debuted at number twenty-five on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] charts upon its May release, some forty years after Morrison first entered the public's eye as the frontman of Them. ''Rolling Stone'' listed it as number seventeen on ''The Top 50 Records of 2005''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rolling.htm#2005|website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk|title=Rolling Stone 2005 Critics|access-date=6 May 2010|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723004927/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/rolling.htm|archive-date=23 July 2010}}</ref> Also in July 2005, Morrison was named by [[Amazon.com|Amazon]] as one of their top twenty-five all-time best-selling artists and inducted into the Amazon.com Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_July_11/ai_n14731632|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210082058/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_July_11/ai_n14731632|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 December 2008|title=Amazon.com Inducts 25 musicians into Hall of Fame|publisher=Bnet|date=11 July 2005|access-date=12 October 2008}}</ref> Later in the year, Morrison also donated a previously unreleased studio track to a charity album, ''[[Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now]]'', which raised money for relief efforts intended for [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] victims devastated by hurricanes [[Hurricane Katrina|Katrina]] and [[Hurricane Rita|Rita]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/hurricane-relief-come-together-now-r811104/review|title=Hurricane Relief Come Together Now|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|access-date=4 April 2011}}</ref> Morrison composed the song, "Blue and Green", featuring [[Foggy Lyttle]] on guitar. This song was released in 2007 on the album, ''[[The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3]]'' and also as a single in the UK. Van Morrison was a headline act at the international Celtic music festival, The [[Hebridean Celtic Festival]] in [[Stornoway]], Outer Hebrides in the summer of 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hebceltfest.com/past/2005/thursday.php|title=2005 Festival Reviews – FÈIS 2005|last=MacNeil|first=Kevin|website=Hebceltfest.com|access-date=21 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711161231/http://www.hebceltfest.com/past/2005/thursday.php|archive-date=11 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He released an album with a country music theme, entitled ''[[Pay the Devil]]'', on 7 March 2006 and appeared at the [[Ryman Auditorium]], where the tickets sold out immediately after they went on sale.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1525667/03082006/morrison_van.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070117193707/http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1525667/03082006/morrison_van.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 January 2007|title=Van Morrison offers country songs|publisher=CMT|date=8 March 2006|last=Gilbert |first= Calvin|access-date=10 December 2009}}</ref> ''Pay the Devil'' debuted at number twenty-six on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number seven on Top Country Albums.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-16-wk-albums16-story.html|title=Rapper Juvenile tops the charts|last=Boucher|first=Geoff|date=16 March 2006|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1526478/20060317/lost_trailers.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015062750/http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1526478/20060317/lost_trailers.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 October 2008|title=Van Morrison, Norah Jones visit the country top 10|last=Gilbert |first=Calvin|date=18 March 2006|publisher=CMT|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> Amazon Best of 2006 Editor's Picks in Country listed the country album at number ten in December 2006. Still promoting the country album, Morrison's performance as the headline act on the first night of the [[Austin City Limits Music Festival]] on 15 September 2006 was reviewed by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as one of the top ten shows of the 2006 festival.<ref name="10 Best Shows">{{cite magazine|last=Rogulewski & Smith|first=Charley, Dane|date=18 September 2006|title=10 Best Shows at Austin City Limits|magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> In November 2006, a limited edition album, ''[[Live at Austin City Limits Festival]]'', was issued by Exile Productions, Ltd. A later deluxe CD/DVD release of ''Pay the Devil'', in the summer of 2006, contained tracks from the Ryman performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.losthighwayrecords.com/artist/releases/release.aspx?pid=1684&aid=248|title=Van Morrison-Pay the Devil|website=Losthighwayrecords.com|access-date=6 August 2008}}</ref> In October 2006, Morrison had released his first commercial DVD, ''[[Live at Montreux 1980/1974]]'', with concerts taken from two separate appearances at the [[Montreux Jazz Festival]].

A new double CD [[compilation album]], ''[[The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3]]'', was released in June 2007 containing thirty-one tracks, some of which were previously unreleased. Morrison selected the tracks, which ranged from the 1993 album ''Too Long in Exile'' to the song "[[Stranded (Van Morrison song)|Stranded]]" from the 2005 album ''Magic Time''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-16-2007/0004566380&EDATE=|title=Van Morrison's TBOVM Vol. 3 to be released June&nbsp;19|agency=PR Newswire|access-date=30 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502173813/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F04-16-2007%2F0004566380&EDATE=|archive-date=2 May 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 3 September 2007, Morrison's complete catalogue of albums from 1971 through 2002 were made available exclusively at the [[iTunes Store]] in Europe and Australia and during the first week of October 2007, the albums became available at the US iTunes Store.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://weblogs.variety.com/thesetlist/2007/10/van-morrison-fi.html |last=Gallo|first= Phil|date=30 October 2007|title=Van Morrison finds a fantabulous time to join Itunes|website=Variety|access-date=1 November 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102173041/http://weblogs.variety.com/thesetlist/2007/10/van-morrison-fi.html |archive-date=2 November 2007}}</ref>

''[[Still on Top – The Greatest Hits]]'', a thirty-seven-track double CD compilation album, was released on 22 October 2007 in the UK on the Polydor label. On 29 October 2007, the album charted at number two on the Official UK Top 75 Albums—his highest UK charting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/van_morrison/news/10548|title=Van Morrison Scores Highest Ever Album Chart Placing|website=Uncut|access-date=11 November 2007}}{{dead link|date=September 2016}}</ref> The November release in the US and Canada contains twenty-one selected tracks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicremedy.com/v/Van_Morrison/album/Still_On_Top-4439.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103201952/http://www.musicremedy.com/v/Van_Morrison/album/Still_On_Top-4439.html |url-status=dead |archive-date= 3 November 2007|title=Van Morrison Still on Top|publisher=Music Remedy|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> The hits released on albums with the copyrights owned by Morrison as Exile Productions Ltd.—1971 and later—had been remastered in 2007.

''[[Keep It Simple]]'', Morrison's 33rd studio album of completely new material, was released by Exile/Polydor Records on 17 March 2008 in the UK and released by Exile/[[Lost Highway Records]] in the US and Canada on 1 April 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/van-morrison-to-release-new-album-keep-it-simple|title=Van Morrison to release new album-Keep It Simple|website=Indielondon.co.uk|last=Foley|first=Jack|access-date=23 January 2008|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222344/http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/van-morrison-to-release-new-album-keep-it-simple|url-status=dead}}</ref> It comprised eleven self-penned tracks. Morrison promoted the album with a short US tour including an appearance at the [[South by Southwest|SXSW]] music conference,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/Morrison_Van/ConcertReviews/2008/03/14/pf-5002231.html|last=Sterdan|first=Darryl|date=14 March 2008|title=South by Southwest Music Festival Review|website=Canoe.ca|access-date=9 July 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629025229/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/Morrison_Van/ConcertReviews/2008/03/14/pf-5002231.html|archive-date=29 June 2012|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/music/entries/2008/03/13/sxsw_review_van_morrison.html|last= Davis|first= John T.|date=13 March 2008|title=SXSW Review: Van Morrison|website=Austin360.com|access-date=8 September 2008}}</ref> and a UK concert broadcast on [[BBC Radio 2]]. In the first week of release ''Keep It Simple'' debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number ten, Morrison's first Top Ten charting in the US.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1045912/strait-speeds-past-rem-to-debut-at-no-1|author=Hasty, Katie N.Y.|date=9 April 2008|title=Strait Speeds Past REM to debut at No. 1|magazine=Billboard|access-date=8 September 2008}}</ref>