Album of the week: Van Morrison's 'Duets'

Van Morrison's Duets: Re-Working the Catalogue (*** out of four, out Tuesday) could have been a real mess.

So many collaborative collections feel like money grabs or efforts to introduce veterans artist to a younger generation by pairing them with their acolytes for anemic updates of classic tunes. Morrison, who has always had a singular artistic and vocal style, would have been served poorly by such an approach.

Fortunately, he took a different route. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer steered clear of his late '60s/'70s signature hits — Brown Eyed Girl, Moondance, Domino — and instead revisits songs that aren't part of his core canon. Morrison pulls material from as far back as 1970's His Band and the Street Choir (the gospel plea If I Ever Needed Someone, sung here with Mavis Staples) and as recently as 2012's Born to Sing: No Plan B (Born to Sing, with British R&B singer Chris Farlowe). Most songs, though, come from '80s and '90s albums, an era when Morrison had fallen out of favor with radio but continued to make superb, sometimes breathtaking, music.

Only Morrison's most devoted fans are likely to recognize more than half of this material, but Wild Honey and Rough God Goes Riding are every bit the songs Wild Night and And It Stoned Meare, and much worthier of a second look. Morrison's partners for these new versions skew toward R&B and R&B-influenced contemporaries, leading with the late Bobby Womack, whose appearance on Some Peace of Mind was one of his final studio recordings. George Benson scats and plays guitar on Higher than the World. Georgie Fame, a '60s British pop star with whom Morrison recorded an entire album in 1995, returns for a throwback R&B version of 2003's Get on with the Show. Steve Winwood, Natalie Cole and Simply Red's Mick Hucknall also bring out strong performances from Morrison.

The most surprising moment, though, comes when Michael Bublé joins Morrison for Real Real Gone. Bublé often gets categorized as a crooner in the Frank Sinatra/Tony Bennett mold, but this dynamic performance shows just how much Morrison influenced his style, too.

Duets is designed to please Morrison first and his hardcore fan base second. But with Don Was and Bob Rock producing with him, Duets will prove accessible to listeners who aren't as familiar with his idiosyncratic genius. And if Morrison's reworking of his catalog gets people to listen anew to overlooked gems, all the better.

Download:Real Real Gone with Michael Bublé, Some Peace of Mind with Bobby Womack, If I Ever Needed Someone with Mavis Staples