Van Morrison goes country? We shouldn't be surprised. He has tried just about everything else in his career, from R&B to rock, jazz, skiffle, and Celtic music. And now he does the Ray Charles thing by crossing over to country with a mature style that fits a master rather than a disciple.
''Pay the Devil" (Lost Highway), in stores today, is Morrison's best vocal performance in years, as he blends 12 country covers and three originals. They all sound straight out of Nashville, though Morrison used his own band rather than Music City hotshots. But he's got an authentic, pedal-steel-and-fiddle feel underscoring his twangy, heartfelt vocals and his passionate commitment to the material. Morrison, who performs tomorrow at the Opera House, excels on three songs recorded by Webb Pierce -- the honky-tonking ''There Stands the Glass," the sensuous ''Back Street Affair," and the achingly soulful, lost-love lament ''More and More."
