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1974's "It's
Too Late To Stop Now" was an 18 track, double album concert
set (one of the first in what was to become a seemingly endless stream of
live two album sets). Recorded at 1973 performances in London and Los Angeles
with backing from the
eleven piece Caledonia Soul Orchestra, Morrison came off as relaxed and
almost playful (which was not always the case - I once saw him play a date where he
never turned around to look at the audience). Recorded when Morrison
still had some interest in performing a set list that would please his audience, the
collection offered up a mix of his hits and more obscure but no less
interesting album tracks ('I've Been
Working' and 'These Dreams of You' were two of the standout performances).
The collection was of further interest given Morrison included a series of
blues covers. Harkening back to his days with Them, R&B performances such
as 'Help Me',
'I Just Wanna Make Love
To You' and 'Take
Your Hands Out of My Pocket' were simply killer. Chronologically the album also served as a nice career
retrospective covering a spectrum that ranged from the Them years (a great
extended workout on 'Gloria' - check out the audience handling the chorus) up
through 1973's "Hard Nose To the Highway" ('Wild Children').
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One of Morrison's early-1970s secret weapons was the Caledonia Soul
Orchestra - they injected high test fuel into virtually all of these songs -
just check out the killer horns on the opener 'Ain't
Nothing You Can Do'. They also had
a big hand in making Morrison's own performances seem so effortless. rating:
**** stars -
I have no idea how much post-production work went into this set, but 'Warm Love'
was an amazing display of the man's live charisma. At this point in
his life he could have made the telephone book intriguing,
rating: **** stars -
Long one of my favorite Morrison ballads, this version of 'Into the
Mystic' was pretty good, except for the intrusive strings. The studio
version had strings, but for some reason they really irritated me on this
one. Morrison's easy-going vamping vocal more than made up for
the strings. rating:
*** stars -
While there wasn't anything wrong with the upbeat and bouncy performance, I
just never liked 'These Dreams of You' very much.
rating: ** stars -
Nothing to say other than side one ended with a killer cover of Ray Charles'
'I Believe To My Soul'. rating:
**** stars -
Anyone claiming Morrison couldn't really rock out only needed to check out
side two's blazing 'I've Been Working '. Kudos to lead guitarist John Platania.
rating: **** stars -
And anyone doubting his blues roots should listen to his cover of Willie
Dixon's 'Help Me'. Who said white guys couldn't sing the blues
... Added icing, anothed blazing performance from
guitarist John Platania. -
I've always liked Morrison when he's working with a well defined melody, or
groove. Not the case with 'Wild Children'. Yeah, it was
freewheeling and easy-going, but didn't do a great deal for me. rating:
** stars -
Judging by the audience reaction, I wasn't the only one who appreciated the
tune-oriented Morrison. My only complaint with this version of 'Domino'
was that Morrison seemed intent on getting it over quickly, hence what
sounded like a speeded up take on the classic tune. I'm sure it gets
old having to do the same songs night after night, but c'mon this one's such
a classic ... rating:
*** stars -
Funny that after rushing through 'Domino' Morrison would turned in a slowed
down, extended cover of Willie Dixon's 'I Just Wanna Make Love To You'.
Morrison's performance was dynamite, but guitarist Platania almost stole the
show with his tasteful slide work. rating:
*** stars -
It's suicidal for most artists to try a Sam Cooke cover. Morrison was
one of the few who had the chops to pull it off. His cover of 'Bring
It On Home To Me' would have done Cooke proud. rating:
*** stars -
While the studio version of 'Saint Dominic's Preview' is a classic
recording, this live version injects a sense of energy total missing from
the original. Morrison at his best and maybe the best song on the
album. rating:
***** stars -
Yeah, blues fans will rave, but other than a killer sax solo from Jack
Schroer, 'Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket' struck me as being a pedestrian
effort. rating: *
star -
The wandering, mystic Morrison can be an acquired taste, but on this
extended version of 'Listen To the Lion' those characteristics were
showcased at their best - the end result was beautiful, calming, and
thoroughly enjoying. rating:
***** stars -
Side four was dedicated to Morrison's more conventional catalog, though this
version of 'Here Comes the Night' missed the mark for me. rating:
** stars -
Yeah, it's a classic song, but how do you make a chestnut like 'Gloria'
exciting? Well, have the crowd basically take control of the tune and
sing the hell out of it for you is one way to do it. Simply one of the
best versions of the song I've ever heard and the crowd kills on the
song. rating: *****
stars -
Whereas 'Gloria' sounded like it had been recorded in a large arena,
'Caravan' has a small, intimate feel to it. Another fantastic
performance and along with 'Gloria' made the album worth owning. Love
the way Morrison skatted the chorus and pronounced it raaaaadio
... rating:
***** stars -
The album ended with another shot of mystic Morrison and an extended Avenue
Cypres'. It took awhile for the song to come into focus, but when it
finally did, it was well worth the wait. For some reason the track
listing mis-spelled the song as 'Avenue Cypres', rather than 'Cyprus
Avenue'. rating:
**** stars
Simply a great, if
often overlooked, concert set and one of Morrison's most revealing
releases. For a
double album set the collection didn't do bad commercially peaking at # 53.
"It's Too
Late To Stop Now ..." track listing
(side
1)
1.) Ain't
Nothing You Can Do (Malone - Scott) - 3:44 2.)
Warm Love (Van Morrison) - 3:04 3.)
Into the Mystic (Van Morrison) - 4:33 4.)
These Dreams of You (Van Morrison) - 3:37 5.)
I Believe To My Soul (Ray Charles) - 4:09
(side
2)
1.)
I've Been Working (Van Morrison) - 3:56 2.)
Help Me (Willie Dixon - Williamson) - 3:25 3.)
Wild Children (Van Morrison) - 5:04 4.)
Domino (Van Morrison) - 4:48 5.)
I Just Wanna Make Love To You (Willie Dixon) - 5:16
(side
3)
1.) Bring
It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke) - 4:42 2.)
Saint Dominic's Preview (Van Morrison) - 6:18 3.)
Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket (Williamson) - 4:04 4.)
Listen To the Lion (Van Morrison) - 8:43
(side
4)
1.)
Here Comes the Night (Bert Berns) - 3:14
2.)
Gloria (Van Morrison) - 4:16 3.)
Caravan (Van Morrison) - 9:20 4.)
Cypres Avenue (Van Morrison) - 10:20
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