I hope the concerts lift his spirits too. If he wants to continue touring, more power to him but I hope he doesn't push himself too hard. On the other hand, the discussion of his various ailments and the funerals he's attended don't make him much different from a lot of 70 year-olds.
It was Joe Walsh whom Richard Bowden was reassuring, telling him to just let Don be tense (in the Eliot book).
I thought Don wanted make an R&B album but the reporter refers to a soul album. The genres overlap anyway, I suppose. It would be great to read his autobiography.