[Review] Van Morrison: It’s Too Late to Stop Now (1974)
One of the greatest live records ever made.
Kronomyth 8.0: Caledonia ever stop.
With an eleven-piece band including a string quartet (!) in tow, you have to wonder if Van Morrison made a dime off these concerts. Whether or not he turned a profit, the recordings from those shows are priceless. It’s Too Late to Stop Now is often cited as one of the best live records of its era and it’s hard to argue that it isn’t. Morrison is magnificent from beginning to end, thumbing through his catalog to date for a handful of hits and deep album cuts, digging back as far as his early days with Them and adding a half-dozen R&B classics, all lovingly handled with a sense of rediscovery and wonder that makes every single note of it new and exciting. At first, I thought Morrison might be rejecting his body of work by passing over the obvious choices and revising the arrangements on many of them, much like Bob Dylan. But it becomes clear with time that Morrison cherishes these songs and is finding beauty anew in them with each performance. Despite the big band behind him, billed here as the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, the listener’s focus never leaves Morrison’s lips. No backing vocalists are needed as Van’s voice commands attention from the opening lines of Ain’t Nothin’ You Can Do to the last, sweet note of Cyprus Avenue. Along the way, horns and drums, guitars and strings dance and sway to the music, adding an exclamation point here, a thoughtful comma there, while the man pours out his heart and soul. The recordings are surprisingly clean for a live show, especially toward the end. You can’t fault the crowd for their enthusiastic interjections, even though I’m sure there’s a special room in Hell for people that do this during concerts who have to endure an eternity of torture while someone in the room shouts “Yeah, use the hot poker! Woohoo, heat it up even more! Play Freebird!” or whatever. As a testament to the album’s enduring appeal, the complete shows from Los Angeles, Santa Monica and London (the source of this double-album set) were later repackaged in a three-CD set, lest a single drop of this magic elixir be lost to time.
Original 2LP version
A1. Ain’t Nothin’ You Can Do (Deadric Malone/Joseph Scott) (3:36)
A2. Warm Love (Van Morrison) (3:03)
A3. Into the Mystic (Van Morrison) (4:28)
A4. These Dreams of You (Van Morrison) (3:31)
A5. I Believe to My Soul (Ray Charles) (4:00)
B1. I’ve Been Working (Van Morrison) (3:50)
B2. Help Me (Sonny Boy Williamson) (3:00)
B3. Wild Children (Van Morrison) (4:54)
B4. Domino (Van Morrison) (4:28)
B5. I Just Wanna Make Love to You (Marie Dixon/Willie Dixon) (4:45)
C1. Bring It on Home (Sam Cooke) (4:26)
C2. Saint Dominic’s Preview (Van Morrison) (6:13)
C3. Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket (Sonny Boy Williamson) (3:58)
C4. Listen to the Lion (Van Morrison) (8:25)
D1. Here Comes the Night (Bert Berns) (3:12)
D2. Gloria (Van Morrison) (3:53)
D3. Caravan (Van Morrison) (8:45)
C4. Cypress Avenue (Van Morrison) (9:25)*
Correctly titled “Cyprus Avenue” on the 2CD reissue.
Expanded 2CD reissue bonus track
19. Brown-Eyed Girl
The Players
Van Morrison (vocals), Terry Adams (cello), Bill Atwood (trumpet), Nancy Ellis (viola), Tom Halpin (violin), David Hayes (bass), Tim Kovatch (violin), Jef Labes (piano & organ, string arrangements), John Platania (guitar), Nathan Rubin (1st violin), Jack Schroer (saxes), Dave Shaw (drums). Produced by Van Morrison & Ted Templeman; engineered by Donn Landee.
The Plastic
Released on 2LP and 8-track in February 1974 in the US (Warner Bros., 2BS/K8 2760) and Germany (Warner Bros., WB 86 007) with trifold cover. Reached #53 on the US charts.
- Re-released on cassette in the US (Warner Bros., K5 2760).
- Re-issued on 2CS in the UK (Polydor, 839 166-4).
- Re-issued on remastered 2CD in 1997 the US (Polydor, 7453/4-2).
- Re-issued on expanded, remastered 2CD in 2008 in the US (Exile, B0010643-02) with one bonus track.
- Re-issued on expanded super-high material 2CD on March 26, 2008 in Japan (Exile, UICY-93434/5) with on bonus track.
- Re-issued on remastered 2CD in 2016 in the US (Exile, 88985328282).
