It's Too Late to Stop Now

Infobox Album | Name = It's Too Late to Stop Now
Type = Live album
Artist = Van Morrison


Released = February, 1974
Recorded = Summer 1973 in Los Angeles and London
Genre = Folk rock, R&B, Rock
Length = 92:33
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = Van Morrison, Ted Templeman
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4z3tk6gx9krk link]
*Rolling Stone Rating|5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/67/albums/album/110000/rid/5946412/ link]
*Robert Christgau (A) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Van+Morrison link]
*bbc.co.uk (not rated) [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/j9hj/ link] | Last album = "Hard Nose the Highway"
(1973)
This album = "It's Too Late to Stop Now"
(1974)
Next album = "Veedon Fleece"
(1974)
Misc = Singles
Name =It's Too Late to Stop Now
Type =live
Single 1 =Ain't Nothin' You Can Do" b/w "Wild Children
Single 1 date =
Single 2 =
Single 2 date =
Single 3 =
Single 3 date =
Single 4 =
Single 4 date =

"It's Too Late to Stop Now" is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1974. Frequently named as one of the best live albums ever recorded, "It's Too Late to Stop Now" was recorded during what has often been said to be Morrison's greatest phase as a live performer. [Rogan, No Surrender, p. 282] [web cite |url=http://www.muzieklijstjes.nl/MojoBestLiveAlbums.htm| title= MOJO Best live albums of all time| publisher=Muziek | accessdate= 2007-09-04] [web cite| url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/stylus-magazines-top-50-live-albums-of-all-time.htm| title=Top 50 Live Albums|publisher=Stylus |accessdate= 2007-03-31] [web cite |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/voxlive.htm| title= VOX The Greatest live albums ever| publisher=rocklistmusic.co.uk | accessdate= 2007-11-04] [web cite |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/j9hj/| title= BBC Review of the remastered CD reissue| publisher=BBC | accessdate= 2008-06-08]

John Collis calls this album, "one of the most impressive of all attempts to squeeze the stage excitement of a rock performer on to vinyl." [Collis, "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart", p.136]

The performances on the live album were from tapes made at the beginning of the tour in Los Angeles and also in London and Santa Monica. The London Rainbow concert was the first BBC simulcast in 1974 being broadcast simultaneously on BBC 2 television and Radio 2 stereo so that viewers with strategically sited loudspeakers could enjoy "stereo TV".

Morrison said about touring during this time period: [Collis, "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart", p.137]

I am getting more into performing. It's incredible. When I played Carnegie Hall in the fall something just happened. All of a sudden I felt like 'you're back into performing' and it just happened like that...A lot of times in the past I've done gigs and it was rough to get through them. But now the combination seems to be right and it's been clicking a lot.

During the ending of the over ten minute long dynamic performance of "Cyprus Avenue" an audience member shouts out, "Turn it on!" and Morrison good-naturedly replies, "It's turned on already." At the very end he finished the concert with a final heartfelt, "It's too late to stop now!" giving the album its title.

The January 29, 2008 re-issued and re-mastered version of the album contains a live take of "Brown Eyed Girl" not included on the original release. [ [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=9e7f77a8944fa52fb858a13add2752e0 Van Morrison Official Website] ]

Music

A mixture of songs that inspired his own musical development, together with some of his own compositions, allied to a backing band and orchestra (The Caledonia Soul Orchestra) and several performances (as noted in the album's liner notes} — recorded in concerts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and at The Rainbow in London — results in what Myles Palmer of the "Times" reviewed as demolishing "all barriers between the soul, blues, jazz and rock genres". [Hinton, "Celtic Crossroads", p.160]

Unlike most live rock albums, there was no studio overdubbing allowed by Morrison, which resulted in the exclusion of "Moondance" from the album due to one wrong guitar note. Morrison strictly adhered to his concept of authenticity in presenting the live performance but his musical perfectionism prevented him from including "Moondance". [Yorke, "Into the Music", p.115] "It's common practice to go back and fix things, but not with Van," bass player David Hayes said, "I think that's what makes it one of the best ever." [Rogan, "No Surrender", p.292]

Guitarist John Platania says "He had a funeral for a lot of his old songs on stage. With Caledonia, he really got off on performing. There was definitely joy getting onstage at that point. That was a wonderful time for everybody. It was really like a family. Ordinarily, with rock 'n' rollers, jazzers and classical musicians in the band, you'd think it was a three-headed serpent but everybody got along famously." [Rogan, "No Surrender", p.283]

A version of Morrison's recently written song, "I Paid the Price" was performed at the televised London Rainbow concert but was not included on the album. Clinton Heylin remarked on this song: [Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence? p. 265]

Absent from "It's Too Late to Stop Now" are any songs indicating the death of a great romance. Indeed there is no evidence that he "even" cut a version of "I Paid the Price" — his most direct and personal song about the break-up with Janet. Though it contains its share of hard feelings couched in a wild accusatory tone — "your forced superiority, your azure delusions of grandeur/are [not] gonna cut you free...you're as cold as ice, you're not Miss Nice/and I paid the price" — such feelings fell on stony ground.

Track listing

All songs written by Van Morrison unless noted.

ide one

#"Ain't Nothin' You Can Do" (Malone, Scott) – 3:44
#"Warm Love" – 3:04
#"Into the Mystic" – 4:33
#"These Dreams of You" – 3:37
#"I Believe to My Soul" (Ray Charles) – 4:09

ide two

#"I've Been Working" – 3:56
#"Help Me" (Sonny Boy Williamson, Ralph Bass, Willie Dixon) – 3:25
#"Wild Children" – 5:04
#"Domino" – 4:48
#"I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Dixon) – 5:16

ide three

#"Bring It On Home to Me" (Sam Cooke) – 4:42
#"Saint Dominic's Preview" – 6:18
#"Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket" (Williamson) – 4:04
#"Listen to the Lion" – 8:43

ide four

#"Here Comes the Night" (Bert Berns) – 3:14
#"Gloria" – 4:16
#"Caravan" – 9:20
#"Cyprus Avenue" – 10:20

Bonus track (2008 CD reissue)

#"Brown Eyed Girl" – 3:24

The Caledonia Soul Orchestra

*Van Morrison: vocals
*Theresa "Terry" Adams: cello
*Bill Atwood: trumpet, backing vocals
*Nancy Ellis: viola
*Tom Halpin: violin
*David Hayes: bass guitar, backing vocals
*Tim Kovatch: violin
*Jeff Labes: piano, organ
*John Platania: guitar, backing vocals
*Nathan Rubin: violin
*Jack Schroer: alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, tambourine, backing vocals
*Dahaud Shaar: drums, backing vocals

Production

*Producers: Van Morrison, Ted Templeman
*Arrangers: Van Morrison, Jeff Labes (strings), Jack Schroer (horns)
*Engineers: Donn Landee, Myles Wiener, Biff Dawes, Jack Crymes, Gabby Garcia, Chris Chigaridas, Bill Broms, Bob Harper
*Mixing: Donn Landee

Recording

*Troubadour, Los Angeles, California
*Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica, California
*Rainbow Theatre, London, England

Charts

Album - Billboard

Notes

References

*Collis, John (1996). Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, Little Brown and Company, ISBN 0-306-80811-0
*Hinton, Brian (2000). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074169X
*Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison:No Surrender, London:Vintage Books ISBN 9780099431831
*Yorke, Ritchie (1975). Into The Music, London:Charisma Books , ISBN 0-85947-013-X
*Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press ISBN 1-55652-542-7

External links

* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=b2950180e54389f3cf9d93ad908ac00e# Lyrics and Audio Samples] 1970s, It's Too Late to Stop Now
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/j9hj/ bbc.co.uk remastered album review and audio clips] 28-01-2008