The Caledonia Soul Orchestra was the band created by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison in 1973. The band was named after an eighteen-minute instrumental outtake on the '' His Band and the Street Choir'' album.

Tour in 1973

In 1973 Van Morrison and the Caledonia Soul Orchestra went on a three-month tour of the United States and Europe, the result of which was the live double album ''

It's Too Late to Stop Now ''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' is a 1974 live double album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It features performances that were recorded in concerts at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, ...

''. The title is taken from the last line in the lyrics of one of Morrison's songs, " Into the Mystic" from the 1970 ''

Moondance ''Moondance'' is the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 27 January 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album ''Astral Weeks'' (1968), Morris ...

'' album. In live performances with the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, he would close the concert with a lengthened version of the '' Astral Weeks'' song "

Cyprus Avenue "Cyprus Avenue" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1968 album ''Astral Weeks''. It refers to Cyprus Avenue, a residential street in Morrison's hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland. In perfor ...

" and then shout out "It's too late to stop now!" as he exited the stage. The tour began with warm up shows at the Lions Share in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, California, and an appearance on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert in April 1973 culminating with two nights at London's Rainbow Theatre in July 1973 (voted by '' Q Magazine'' readers as one of the top 100 live performances of all time). The tour was originated to promote the 1973 album, ''

Hard Nose the Highway ''Hard Nose the Highway'' is the seventh studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1973. It is his first solo album since his 1967 debut ''Blowin' Your Mind!'' to contain songs not written by Morrison. A cover ver ...

''. By tour's end it featured forty songs with twelve of them covers such as

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

's " Bring it on Home to Me" and Sonny Boy Williamson's " Help Me". Morrison was going through a divorce at the time and the selection of material and the impassioned performances were evidence of his inner turmoil, combined with a newfound joy of performing. "I would say that that tour represented the height of his confidence as a performer," band member

John Platania John Platania is a session musician, guitar player, and record producer. He was born in 1948 in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, in Ulster County, near Woodstock. Career Van Morrison Platania is best known for his work with Van Morrison, beginni ...

remarked. Morrison disbanded the group, saving only a few musicians for his follow up album, '' Veedon Fleece'' in 1974. A few of the original Caledonia Soul Orchestra musicians would remain in Morrison's band over the years.

Critical response

John Collis in his book, ''Inarticulate Speech on the Heart'', comments that "with the magnificent Caledonia Soul Orchestra on song he

orrison Orrison is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bob Orrison (1928–2011), American film and television stunt performer * Carrol Orrison (born 1929), American politician * Katherine Orrison (born 1948), American set decorator, prod ...

came of age as a magnetic stage performer, culminating in the release of the double set ''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' one of the most impressive of all attempts to squeeze the stage excitement of a rock performer on to vinyl."

The Caledonia Soul Orchestra lineup

* Van Morrison: vocals, acoustic guitar,

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

: guitar, backing vocals * Jeff Labes: organ, piano (8 May 1973 onwards) * James Trumbo: piano (15 February 1973 to 19 April 1973) * David Hayes: bass, backing vocals * Jack Schroer: alto, tenor,

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

s, tambourine, backing vocals * Dahaud Shaar: drums, backing vocals *

Bill Atwood William Franklin Atwood (September 25, 1911 - September 14, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1936 to 1940. Atwood was born in Rome, Georg ...

: trumpet,

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

, backing vocals * Nathan Rubin:

first violin The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

* Terry Adams: celloTerry Adams website
/ref> * Nancy Ellis: viola * Tom Halpin: violin (replaced by Tim Kovatch, uncertain date) * Tim Kovatch: violin

Notes

References

*Collis, John (1996). ''Inarticulate Speech of the Heart'', Little Brown and Company, *Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press *Turner, Steve (1993). Too Late to Stop Now, Viking Penguin, {{DEFAULTSORT:Caledonia Soul Orchestra Van Morrison Musical groups established in 1973 Musical groups from Northern Ireland