''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' is a 1974 live double album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

. It features performances that were recorded in concerts at the Troubadour in

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, the

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket and as a concert venue, it has a seating ca ...

, and the Rainbow in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, during Morrison's three-month tour with his eleven-piece band, the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, from May to July 1973. Frequently named as one of the best

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

s ever, ''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' was recorded during what has often been said to be the singer's greatest phase as a live performer. Volumes II, III and IV of the album were released as a box-set in 2016, also including a DVD.

Tour and performances

Noted for being a mercurial and temperamental live performer, during this short period of time in 1973, Morrison went on one of his most diligent tours in years. With his eleven-piece band, The Caledonia Soul Orchestra, which included a horn and string section, he has often been said to have been at his live performing peak.Hage, ''The Words and Music of Van Morrison'', p. 71 The tour was a dynamic musical journey for both Van Morrison and the band. "He wasn't looking to repeat himself. He wanted to create a new show every night." said Jef Labes. Van was changing his phrasing with each performance and would be directing the band with hand gestures onstage. "We could take the songs anywhere Van wanted to take them" said guitarist Platania "Every performance of each song was different". The alternate recordings of songs on the various volumes from the 2016 box-set prove his point. Morrison said about touring during this period:

"I am getting more into performing. It's incredible. When I played
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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."

Evidence of his newly invigorated joy in performing was on display during the ending of the over-ten-minute-long dynamic performance of " Cyprus Avenue". When an audience member shouts out, "Turn it on!", 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 (this line first appeared on the song " Into the Mystic"). The concert performances were described by Erik Hage as "sequences of a young soul lion whipping the crowd into a frenzy and then stopping on a dime—teasing out anticipation, rushing, receding, and coaxing every drop out of his band." 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." The performances on the live album were from tapes made at the beginning of the tour in

and also in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

and

. Marco Bario, who attended the opening night concert at The Troubadour, said in ''

Playgirl ''Playgirl'' is an American magazine that has historically featured pictorials of nude and semi-nude men alongside general interest, lifestyle, celebrity journalism, and original fiction. For most of its history, the magazine printed monthly a ...

'': "he was exceptional. The mood was right, the audience was receptive, and the music left no comparisons to be made. It was the finest opening night performance by a consummate musician that I have ever witnessed." Rainbow theatre london

The London concerts were the first time he had appeared in that city since performing with Them, six years earlier.Yorke, ''Into the Music'', p. 116 The two concerts at the Rainbow Theatre in London were referred to as "the rock event of the year" by critics according to Ritchie Yorke in his biography. The 24 July 1973 London Rainbow concert was the first

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simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

broadcast simultaneously on BBC 2 television and Radio 2 stereo so that viewers with strategically sited loudspeakers could enjoy "stereo TV". The broadcast took place on 27 May 1974.

Music

The album mixes songs that inspired Morrison's own musical development, together with some of his own compositions, and allied to a backing band and orchestra ( The Caledonia Soul Orchestra), The album performances were reviewed by Myles Palmer of the ''Times'' as demolishing "all barriers between the soul, blues, jazz and rock genres". The songs chosen went back to his days with Them with versions of " Gloria" and " Here Comes the Night". His first solo hit " Brown Eyed Girl" was performed but not included on the album until the reissue in 2008. M. Mark called the album "an intelligent selection of songs that draws on six of Morrison's records and five of the musicians he learned from." These musicians were Bobby Bland ("Ain't Nothing You Can Do"),

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

("I Believe to My Soul"),

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

(" Bring It On Home to Me"), two songs by

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp s ...

(" Help Me" and "Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket") and a cover of a

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

song, " I Just Want to Make Love to You", which was popularized by

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

. Additional musical influences are revealed in the 2016 box set release;

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

(" Hey, Good Lookin'") and Buddy Johnson (" Since I Fell for You"). The box also includes two new songs at the time of the tour and not released on any other album: "No Way", written by pianist Jef Labes; and "I Paid the Price", which was about his marriage with Janet Planet that was breaking up.

Production

''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' is thought to be one of the first live rock albums to have

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

players. The album was recorded (as noted in the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

) at two

performances at The Troubadour in

(23–27 May 1973) and the

(29 June 1973), and a

show at The Rainbow in (23–24 July 1973). Unlike most live rock albums, there was no studio overdubbing allowed by Morrison. "People cut live albums and they take it to the studio and play with it for about a year, but this one's just as it happened", said Morrison. Morrison strictly adhered to his concept of authenticity in presenting the live performance. "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." Morrison's musical perfectionism prevented him from including the popular song "Moondance" in the original album due to one wrong guitar note. In 2016, a live recording of the song was released as part of Volume II.

Release and reception

According to '' Elmore Magazine''s Mike Jurkovic, when ''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' was first released in 1974, "everyone—and I do mean everyone—tripped over themselves to hail the two-LP set as one of the greatest live renderings of the rock era." Reviewing the album in ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American rock music magazine and entertainment company, founded in Detroit, whose initial print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

hailed it as Morrison's best since '' Moondance'' (1970) while writing, "Songs that wore poorly or were just lame in the first place have more force and tightness here than in their studio versions". Ken Emerson was somewhat less impressed in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'': "On ''It's Too Late'' Morrison's voice is in fine form, but much else is not...The other musicians, most of whom have played with Morrison many times before, never detract, but Morrison could be better served....But the power of Morrison's vocals overcomes these drawbacks." At the end of 1974, ''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' was voted the 20th best album of the year in the

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

, an annual poll of American critics, published by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

''. Ellen Willis,

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (né Gerstley; born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biogra ...

, and Christgau ranked it 2nd, 6th, and 18th, respectively, in their ballots for the poll. Three months after the concerts for the ''Too Late to Stop Now'' tour, Morrison had disbanded The Caledonia Soul Orchestra and went on a vacation tour of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

for three weeks that resulted in the album '' Veedon Fleece''. In a retrospective review, Jason Ankenny from

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regarded the album as "an engaging, warm portrait of the man at the peak of his powers", while Morrison biographer John Collis called it "one of the most impressive of all attempts to squeeze the stage excitement of a rock performer on to vinyl." Fellow biographer

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

said that "Morrison was in the midst of what was arguably his greatest phase as a performer." Chris Jones of the

wrote: "In a live setting all the hyperbole about Morrison's blend of genres into one Celtic, mystic vision makes perfect sense. This is soul music in a very real sense." Hal Horowitz with ''American Songwriter'', on reviewing the 2008 remasters of some of Morrison's albums, said, "The classic is 1974’s double live ''It’s Too Late''…, rightfully on anyone’s shortlist of finest concert albums. Van typically blows hot and cold on stage, but when he ignites on the oldies and choice blues covers here, few can touch him for pure blue-eyed soul passion." ''It's Too Late to Stop Now'' has been on lists of greatest live albums of all time. A remastered version of the album was released on 29 January 2008 containing a live take of " Brown Eyed Girl" not included on the original release. This version was then not included on the 2016 reissue and is not currently available; a recording of the song from a different night was included on Volume II of the 2016 issues. On 10 June 2016, a box set containing the three complete Los Angeles (23 May 1973), Santa Monica (29 May 1973), and London (23/24 July 1973) shows, along with a DVD of the BBC footage from the 24 July show, was released as '' ..It's Too Late to Stop Now Vol. II, III, IV & DVD''.

Track listing

Original 1974 double LP

All tracks written by

, except where noted. The compact disc version places sides one and two on disc one, with sides three and four, and the bonus track at the end of disc two.

Personnel

–

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

* Nathan Rubin – first violin * Tom Halpin or Tim Kovatch – violin * Nancy Ellis –

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

* Teresa Adams –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

* Bill Atwood –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Jack Schroer –

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

saxophones The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

, backing vocals * Jef Labes –

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

* John Platania –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, backing vocals * David Hayes –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, backing vocals * Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw) –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, backing vocals

Production personnel

* Van Morrison,

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. Among the acts with whom he has had a long relationship are the rock bands Van Halen and Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced ...

– producers * Van Morrison, Jef Labes (strings), Jack Schroer (horns) –

arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing Composition (music), composition. Differences from the original composition may include Harmony (music), reharmonization, Musical phrasing, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or M ...

Donn Landee Donn Landee is an American record producer and recording engineer. Much of his work as an engineer has been done with producer Ted Templeman at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. The pair worked with a wide variety of artists f ...

, Myles Wiener, Biff Dawes, Jack Crymes, Gabby Garcia, Chris Chigaridas, Bill Broms, Bob Harper –

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

Recording locations

* The Troubadour,

, California * Rainbow Theatre,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notes

References

* Collis, John (1996). ''Inarticulate Speech of the Heart'', Little Brown and Company, * Hage, Erik (2009). ''The Words and Music of Van Morrison'', Praeger Publishers, * Heylin, Clinton (2003). ''Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography'', Chicago Review Press * Hinton, Brian (2000). ''Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison'', Sanctuary, * Rogan, Johnny (2006). '' Van Morrison: No Surrender'', London:Vintage Books * Yorke, Ritchie (1975). ''Into The Music'', London:Charisma Books,

External links

* {{Authority control Albums produced by Ted Templeman Van Morrison live albums 1974 live albums Warner Records live albums Simulcasts Albums recorded at the Troubadour Albums produced by Van Morrison