Van Morrison returns to his blues roots once again with his new upcoming album The Prophet Speaks, the prolific musicians 40th studio album, following his previous release Youre Driving Me Crazy.

In the same vein as Youre Driving Me Crazy, the album is collection of originals alongside eight covers of classics including Sam Cookes Laughin and Clownin, Dimples by John Lee Hooker, Solomon Burkes Gotta Get You Off My Mind and I Love the Life I Live by Willie, among others.

Morrison also teamed up with organist and trumpeter Joey DeFrancesco, who he collaborated with on Youre Driving Me Crazy and enlisted his own band, featuring guitarist Dan Wilson, drummer Michael Ode and tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts for the record.

Being his fourth album in the span of 18 months, the Northern Irish singer-songwriter shared his motivation behind the new album in a statement:

It was important for me to get back to recording new music as well as doing some of the blues material that has inspired me from the beginning, Morrison said. Writing songs and making music is what I do and working with great musicians makes it all the more enjoyable.