Van Morrison’s new three-LP album Latest Record Project, Volume 1 is so radical — so out of fashion, it’s ahead of fashion — that it also recalls the most widely celebrated album from exactly 40 years ago: The Clash’s punk-reggae-rap lollapalooza, their triple LP Sandinista! The Clash’s overt political pop was dedicated to peer-pressure attitudes that define rock-music hipness. Morrison, at age 75, is no longer considered “hip,” but Latest Record Project, Volume 1 proves bolder than Sandinista! because Morrison’s emotional-political drive dares oppose genuine political conformity, the COVID lockdowns of the past year. Throughout 28 tracks, Morrison effectively challenges...