The bright side of the road

Van Morrison, Yusuf/Cat Stevens and Neil Young make a formidable trio on a golden afternoon

- Louis Chilton

It’s a three-for-one kind of afternoon at BST Hyde Park on Friday. There might be something inapt about using coupon terminology to describe an event that costs punters close to £100 (or more), but it’s true. Neil Young might be the headliner, but this is a triple bill of legends: Van Morrison and Yusuf/Cat Stevens make up a formidable undercard.

At first, it seems obvious why Morrison is first up. In his worst moments, the Northern Irish singer has the tepid banality of a lounge crooner, and the early number “Only a Dream” suggests we're in for a set of amiable but thoroughly unengaging mood music. Wearing a paisley shirt so bright and summery it’s impossible to picture him picking it out himself, Morrison adopts an utterly frill-less approach to showmanship: the band are hunkered down one side of the stage, with two gazebos to (I presume) fend off roasting heat.

Quickly, though, things turn. Morrison sings “Carrying a Torch”, from 1991’s Hymns to the Silence: more energy, more verve. Then an enthralling cover of Ray Charles’s “Night Time Is the Right Time” - better still. There’s something understatedly remarkable about the way Morrison, now 79, has evolved his singing to make the most out of his changing voice; he’s astutely aware of his register, and still hits notes forcefully and precisely. His band are superb, and he’s not shy about delegating the more acrobatic vocals to his backing singers.