Van Morrison, “The Prophet Speaks” (Caroline International)- Many of Van’s direct contemporaries from the golden age of rock and pop in the late sixties and early seventies may have fallen by the wayside over the years as time has taken its toll on their creativity but the irascible Ulsterman still surges on regardless, and his 40th studio album, “The Prophet Speaks,” is a back to the roots exercise of the highest quality . This heady blend of earthy blues, jazz and soul divides neatly between freshly minted Morrison ditties such as “Got To Go Where The Love Is” and affectionate revamps of numbers made famous by the likes of Solomon Burke, Sam Cook and John Lee Hooker, the latter the much recorded “Dimples.”