For all of the transcendent, meticulously crafted stream-of-consciousness vocal wanderings he has made over the years, and for all of his ethereal and profound, thinking-person’s wordsmithing, Van Morrison doesn’t always sound like he’s having fun. But put him in a recording studio with some old, trusted friends and set him loose on a passel of blues, and the joy radiates. Roll With the Punches is the Morrison who kept it raw and loose in his days with Them, before Astral Weeks and Moondance and all the rest. Aided here by sympathetic minds of Georgie Fame, Jeff Beck, Paul Jones, Jason Rebello and Chris Farlowe, Morrison digs deep. His medley of T-Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday” and Doc Pomus’ “Lonely Avenue”—segued seamlessly—is blues misery at its merriest, as the singer ruminates openly on his pain for our benefit, and his takes on tunes by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Walter, Mose Allison and Bo Diddley are as close to definitive as we’re gonna get at this late date. Count Basie/Jimmy Rushing’s “Goin’ to Chicago,” slowed to a funereal crawl, is all swampy mystery and Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me” hasn’t been this tough since Eric Burdon grabbed hold of it. It’s not all other people’s blues though: Among the five new originals, “Transformation,” with Beck providing the crisp licks, is more polished than the antique tracks but, nonetheless, burns with authenticity and love.