It's Too Late to Stop Now

This album sucks!!!!! Van morrrisin more like van BORRISON,,!!!!! bitch

It seems truly impossible that this could be one of the 1001 most important albums of all time.

I have precisely no interest in this, whatsoever. Even if it wasn't a double album (boo!) of live tracks (double boo!) I would have zero interest in it. Van Morrison is of utterly no consequence to me, and I genuinely find it hard to believe that he is to anyone else, either.

I am very glad to know this exists. Always a fan of Van's performance of "Caravan" at the Last Waltz alongside the Band, I am surprised I never sought out a full live album of his. And too because I really needed this evidence of Van's continued brilliance even after Astral Weeks and through his more pop-inclined, single-focused 1970s. This is an opus. I didn't get to give a deep listen last night. But I had on in the background while hosting a few friends and was truly saddened when the end was reached. A good time was had by all and I look forward to revisiting many, many times. This is immediately my 2nd favorite Van album and up there for best live albums.

For a live album from the 70s, this was recorded remarkably well. The band is tight and the arrangements are solid. I appreciated the fact that while there was a certain looseness to the songs, they were still clearly meant to be largely played as written. There wasn't excessive noodling or extended improvisational sections which does plague live albums of this era. The music itself was nice and bluesy with some soul/jazz elements. Because of its live format, Van Morrison was unable to lean into some of his more experimental stuff and the songs come off as very straightforward. While enjoyable, this album was too long as well. However, due to the tightness of the music I feel like this is one of the best live albums of the 70s.

There is no version of "my life" that *MUST* include this double live album.

Ooh, double live album? Seems like a recipe for disaster to me, especially with how disappointed I’ve been with previous Van Morrison albums on here. But wait, Jazzy, Funky, Soulful. Well recorded, tightly performed and with extra spirit and life. A little shorter (trim the covers) and that’s a 5.

This is too long. The band are tight, but I find VMs voice a bit monotonous after a while: not enough variety in his delivery. Well- rehearsed, but a little too obvious for me. The clapping along though Gloria just made me think of those terrible tv 'talent' shows. You know from one song to the next where this is going. One of those albums that is technically great but I found it a bit lacking in actual soul.

On one listen this felt like a clear 4. It's regarded as one of the greatest live albums of all time and I agree it's very good. But is it worth a 5? Well, I had it on all weekend and it definitely gets better with multiple listens. Van Morrison is clearly enjoying himself on stage and at times you can hear how much the audience is too. Side one take a bit to build because the performer-audience connection is less audible. Morrison and his band (until the songs end) still bring it on Warm Love and Into the Mystic and you can hear the audience energy more on These Dreams of You (piano really starts to shine) and you can hear the band and Morrison improvise too. But the covers really shine and keep taking the performance to another level. Morrison and the band really lean in on the Ray Charles cover I Believe to My Soul as side one ends and then they are electric on Help Me (song two of side two). But it’s as the album pivots from side two to three that the album absolutely takes off, as they transition from the incredible Muddy Waters and Sam Cooke covers (I Just Want to Make Love to You and Bring in on Home To Me) and Domino right before. The energy grabs you and you can feel like you're there. And Morrison turns into the greatest showman with a band that matches. The sax and faux siren on Take Your Hand out of My Pocket, the tender piano and strings and passionate singing on St. Dominic’s Preview and Listen to the Lion (minus those silly accents). And then side four blows the roof off. It sounds like all of it was encore, but man oh man. The crowd goes wild for the two Them hits (Here Comes the Night and G-L-O-R-I-A) and rightly so – Morrison owns the stage at this point, yowling, prowling, and improvising. But his vocal play and his and the band’s connection with the audience on Caravan and Cyprus Avenue, wow. They’re just eating out of the palm of his/their hand as he does call and answer, instrument solos, or stops and starts. The repeated “so you know it’s got soul” in Caravan, the fan call out of “turn it on” and sultry Morrison reply of “it’s turned on already” on Cyprus Avenue before he launches into “it’s too late to stop now”. It makes you wish you were there. So all that to say, yeah, it’s worth a 5.

Wow, totally in agreement with Charlie on this one! A great find. Van Morrison is in top form for this album which is RARE, as so much of his discography seems like a mixed bag, never quite reaching the heights of what you know he’s capable of. Here it’s him in top form, and his band is INSANELY tight! It just works! He’s got that one note he loves to wail on over and over, but when he does, I’m like yeah, that’s why I like Van Morrison. Should have known that he would be terrific live, as Astral Weeks sounds like it was essentially a lot of pseudo-live compositions. I’m a big fan of this sound. I will definitely keep it around. 5/5

I like live albums, especially if they're done well and the songs are as good or better than the original studio versions. I hadn't heard this album before and though I'm familiar with a lot of Van's work, this was a pleasant way to listen to songs from throughout his career up until then. He brings new life and energy to most of the songs and generally it's a solid collection. He does a respectable job with the covers, but it runs a bit longer than it needs to be. I listened to this while doing other things, so I wasn't super focused on the music and it was a great soundtrack to my day. I'm not sure this would be the ideal "sit down and listen intensely" record, I may get a little drowsy after a while, but overall it was fine.

Van Morrisonandonandonandon

Lmao, ain't no way I'm listening to 2 hours of live van Morrison. A puzzling inclusion

Van Morrison is blessed with the kind of voice whereby he could sing the phone book and give it the beauty and authenticity of a hymn. This, however, is not the phone book. And it is a long way from being it. Close your eyes and you are there. The classics are here and , as said, he can make the not so classic sound classic. A journalist once said there are two types of people. Those that like Van Morrison and those that have met Van Morrison. Quite. Hence why you have to close your eyes to let his music take you to a different plane because, by all accounts, it is so superior to the man himself.

thought it was a 70s cop show, then baby making music. Van doesn't know what he's doing. Little bitch.

First off, this is the third of three Van Morrison albums on the list and none of them are named Veedon Fleece. I just feel that should be noted. Next, this is the second appearance of his song Caravan on the list and I must once again implore you to check out the live version of that song from The Band’s Last Waltz film, so you can see Van Morrison in his coked-out, grandma pantsuit glory. In fact, I’ll make it easy for you, here’s a link: https://youtu.be/44wDwMQVqCc?si=npfDHusbnqzM7Wn3 Third, let’s talk about the phrase “electric light”, because it comes up in “Caravan” and also in the first track, “Ain’t Nothin’ You Can Do”. It’s kind of an odd thing to say, specifying that something is an *electric* light (eg: “Switch on your electric light” from Caravan). It made me realize that Van Morrison, now almost 80, might have grown up without electricity, or at least in an environment where electricity was uncommon enough that he feels the need to differentiate “electric light” from other types of light. Nothing to be ashamed about - it’s possible since parts of Northern Ireland did not have electricity until the 1960’s - just interesting to think that we are not far off from a world where having electricity wasn’t a certainty. Fourth, I think Van Morrison is fucking hilarious. Not that I think he is being intentionally funny, but his vocal mannerisms, the way he chooses to emphasize certain words and the way he ramps the volume of his voice up and down are all very funny to me. When he says “Switch on your electric light-ah”, it will never not make me laugh or when he starts scatting, then abruptly stops and moves on to a different vocal delivery style all together - it’s hilarious. My favorite Van Morrison-ism is when he’s soulfully talk-singing at a normal volume and then just yells something out - like “TURN IT UP!” in the version of Caravan here. The man is a maniac with his vocal delivery and I can’t get enough of it. My fifth and final point will serve as my official review of the record. The band is exceptionally tight here and the inclusion of horns and string section breathes new life into some of these songs, which makes it a really interesting live document. In fact, the string section solo in the middle of Caravan is legitimately beautiful instrumental break. At times, though, this record feels a bit like an old time Vegas revue and I found myself losing interest during most of the traditional blues based songs. It’s when Van Morrison and the band get soulful and funky that this record, whose overly long title escapes me, really shines.

A good example of an artist who improves 100% in his live performances. Great Album!

I'm normally against double albums, and there is certainly a question raised about a live album (especially if you can cherry pick your own tracks and your favorite covers). Still, this is a pretty amazing backstory and the fact that it is reported that Moondance was thrown off this release list because there was one wrong note played. It is very cool to think that every night of the tour was a different riff on these tracks. Van Morrison is definitely in hit soulful passionate prime and it shows here. There are lots of home runs here. Great album. Its a really powerful set.

Van Morrison - It’s Too Late to Stop Now Album Review There’s a fine line between capturing an artist in their raw, untamed glory and just throwing an entire concert at the listener with zero restraint. It’s Too Late to Stop Now stomps right over that line and keeps on going for what feels like an eternity. There’s no doubt Van Morrison’s band is on fire here—the brass section, in particular, is the real star of the show, blasting through the arrangements with energy and precision that keeps things lively even when Morrison himself starts to wear thin. But let’s be honest: this album is way too long. It’s the musical equivalent of being cornered by a guy in a pub who won’t stop telling you about the time he really got into transcendental meditation. A tight, single-disc live album could have been a triumph; instead, we get a bloated, self-indulgent sprawl that feels like a test of endurance. And then there’s Van. His voice, as always, is unique, but in this setting, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet of his most extra tendencies. He sounds like he’s permanently halfway through eating a sandwich but still trying to belt out a soulful tune, gulping down syllables in between swigs of whatever keeps him going. Sure, it works for a few songs—his wild, impassioned delivery has always been his trademark—but over nearly two hours of growling, wailing, and borderline incomprehensible muttering, it becomes a lot. Tracks like Caravan and Domino bring undeniable energy, but so many others just meander, stretching out well beyond their welcome like an encore that nobody actually asked for. As a document of Van Morrison’s stage presence, it’s thorough—painfully so. There’s a great one-album live record hiding in here, but instead, we get a bloated, self-indulgent marathon that feels more like a challenge than an experience. By the end, you’re less in awe of Morrison’s talent and more just relieved it’s finally over.

If you love Van Morrison you'll like this because it's a load of Van Morrison. You'll have heard it before because you love Van Morrison.

When I first listened to Moondance as a kid I thought I would be a fan of Van Morrison. I am not.

I wish he had stopped.

Shockingly well-recorded for a live album from the 1970s, but I just really did not care for the music or his voice. On the Wikipedia page for this album, it said that this captured one of his best vocal performances... really?! THAT was a good vocal performance?! And people claim that singers nowadays can't sing....

Live albums work for me if they fall into one of two categories: Either its by an artist I very much like and whose work I am familiar with, or it presents a special live performance that's historically significant or approaches the material in an unique way. This seems to be neither of these, it comes across as just a regular Van Morrison show of the time. I would probably enjoy it more if was more familiar with the songs, but the only Van Morrison I've heard were the other two albums on this list, which I did like but not enough to make me a fan.

I don’t expressly dislike this album or van Morrison on musical talent. He’s clearly a very talented musician and a great performer. His whole schtick really strikes me as profiting off of a music genre and culture that he is very much not a part of. The way he emulates the singing voice of someone that he very clearly isn’t rubs me the wrong way. Further than that, I just didn’t enjoy listening to this record and it genuinely felt like a chore to slog through it. Not a fan. 1*

In my humble opinion, the best way to judge the greatness of a musician is how they perform live. No studio editing, no best take. Just one shot to leave it all out there. And this album is the best way to show someone that Van Morrison is an incredible musician and performer. Leave alone the songs, I love his interaction with the audience, and credits to is performing musicians. One of the best live pieces of music I think I've ever heard

This 1001 album journey is the first time I’ve really listened to Van Morrison and I have to say, his stuff from this era is some of my favorite music of all time.

I fully expected to find this double live album a chore, having been so so on Morrison's other albums on the list but was thrilled at how energetic and enjoyable this record turned out to be. Morrison is charismatic and lively and in fine voice and the soul band, notably horns and string, are amazing. Clearly, Van decided that if he was to take a soul band on tour he'd take advantage and sing some soul covers and who can blame him when it sounds this good? His own compositions are excellent, too, and I may need to dig further into his back catalogue. Perhaps that was the missing piece of the puzzle? Move him out of the studio and onto the stage and Morrison comes to life with this vivid, powerhouse of a performance.

Say what you want about the man, he's said some stupid things in the past few years and there are too many stories about what a dick he is to have any serious doubts as to whether or not they're true (some of the are actually so hilarious that I'd be disappointed if they weren't) but that being said this is Van at the height of his powers with an amazing backing band. Just incredible, I wish I could have been there but since I wasn't I'm glad someone recorded these shows, this is about as it gets.

I have said before that I had never been a huge fan of Van Morrison, but this sort of thing might change my mind. If you can keep me engaged in a 90-minute live album, you've got me. These were stellar performances with a band that absolutely rocked. The songs were jazzy and rockin' and bluesy all the way through. Gotta give it up for this one.

Before today I was only familiar with Van Morrison's popular songs (Brown Eyed Girl, Moondance), so I looked forward to getting to listen to more of his catalog. I don't know why I never delved any further into his stuff, because I really like the songs I know. This is the definition of a perfect live record. The band (Caledonia Soul Orchestra) is super tight, and you would swear that they had been playing with Van for years. The chemistry between them all was amazing. This album has no overdubs at all on it. Moondance was supposed to be on this record, but there was 1 bad guitar note on the recording, so Van threw it out. He wanted perfection for his live album, and that is what he got! Van dips his toes in folk, blues, soul, and jazz on this record, and is masterful at each! Overall, an epic live album. This is how a live album should be! Everything is perfect. The only critique I could make is that it kind of overstays its welcome with the last two songs (which account for almost 20 mins of run time between them). Both songs consist mostly of increasing volume and tempo, then lulls again while the band canoodles around. It just made the end of the album fall flat for me. I will, however, absolutely listen again!! Favourite songs: Domino, Gloria, Help Me, Ain't Nothin' You Can Do, I've Been Working, These Dreams of You, I Believe to My Soul, Saint Dominic's Preview, Bring It On Home To Me, Here Comes The Night Least favourite songs: Cyprus Avenue, Caravan 5/5

OK, let's get one thing straight from the start: for a live album recorded in the mid-seventies, the sound of this double-LP is just INCREDIBLE, actually twice better than most of the studio versions of those songs. You can hear the tiniest details and flourishes here, from each guitar lick, each piano embellishments, each brass blast, and each layering of that wonderful string section. And minus one specific moment (more on that later), the performance is absolutely pitch-perfect. If only for this, I can see why Van Morrison die-hard fans would want to include *It's Too Late To Stop Now (vol 1)* in this list. The tracklist is a huge selling point as well. It mostly draws from key studio albums *Moondance*, *Saint Dominic's Preview* and *His Band And The Street Choirs*, plus two pivotal Them staple songs (including a version of the legendary "Gloria" exploring some surprising *funky* territories), not to mention a handful of rhythm'n blues covers dear to VM's heart. To be honest, I think I would have enjoyed the album more if the covers had been left on the cutting room's floor. Van Morrison can be a wonderful performer, but his music is already a little too derivative and "by the book" on a harmonic level sometimes--especially through the man's very similar vocal lines from one track to the next--and those covers only enhance that minor flaw... Worse, more often than not, they are not the punchier cuts here anyway, and they take away some much needed energy before you reach the stellar last leg of this record (more on that later as well). The length of vinyl records and VM's personal tastes required to add those tracks that I consider as "filler", I imagine. And since it was impossible to sum up the project in one single LP, this is the choice that was made here. Makes sense on a subjective level, I guess. It's just that my own subjectivity would have favored a different choice. 'Vol 1' is added to the title, by the way... Under that light, I'm pretty sure other selections of terrific live performances of omitted songs in VM's repertoire could have been added instead. But that boat has sailed a long time ago now... Another point of contention: a couple of songs for the much maligned *Hardnose The Highway* could have been left aside as well, especially the very hackneyed "Warm Love", where, inexplicably, Van Morrison's vocal performance is even *worse* than on the studio version. It's like he's chopping wood instead of singing. Very 'forced' and awkward. Normally, one single bad moment for an album this length shouldn't really influence my overall appreciation of it... But since it's the second track we're talking about here (and the first Van Morrison original song to appear), that dud *does* take its toll, I would lie if I didn't say so. The rest is wonderful, fortunately. I could take so many examples of the many memorable moments in this record, but I'm just gonna mention a couple of them found at the end of the fourth side, like the meditative conclusion of "Listen To The Lion", which keeps you on your toes until the very last second, or the fantastic rendition of *Moondance*'s "Caravan", which builds up to a terrific finish. And when the record ends its long run with a very adventurous version of *Astral Weeks*'s "Cyprus Avenue", it really feels like you've made an incredible journey into Van Morrison's universe. A little like Thin Lizzy's *Live And Dangerous*, this album could serve as a kind of "best of", even if essential tracks are missing from it ("Brown-Eyed Girl", "Jackie Wilson Said"...). And yet it's still one cohesive thing. The best of both worlds, really. So I will surely add this record to my own list, right? Well... It might come off as a surprise after what I've just said, but I'm not so sure I will. First there are the little flaws I have spotted up there, adding to the album's perceived length. And then, there's that nagging doubt in my mind that using a slot for this live album sort of wastes an opportunity to praise other artists. As stellar as the sound and most of the performances are on *It's Too Late To Stop Now*, it feels like welcoming it in my list already including *Astral Weeks*, *Moondance*, and also probably *Saint Dominic's Preview*, is overkill to an extent. Yes, the renditions of the important songs from these albums are probably all better than their studio counterparts. Yet do we need to use an extra slot for the *same songs*? Besides, one specific moment in this album perfectly encapsulates another sort of hesitation I have here. It's towards the end of "Caravan"... At that point, just as the rest of the band jams hard, the string section surges and performs one of the most beautiful orchestral arrangements in a record already filled to the brim with the latter. Van Morrison harmonizes with the strings for a few seconds. This truly feels like music heaven at this point. The whole is gorgeous, cinematic, evocative, what have you... But then, out of the blue, and *as the orchestral arrangements are not over yet*, the Irish singer introduces the names of each string player, before then naming everyone else in the band. And I have to say, my heart broke a little when I suddenly heard that. I was truly entranced before, I didn't care I was listening to a live version and I just wanted to immerse in the music. But Van Morrison ruined that a little for me. Of course, if you were there in the audience that night, it makes total sense that every player's name should be mentioned just as the show nearly reaches its end. But it's just not how I envision the experience of listening to albums at home. I don't need to be reminded that someone is playing. I need the playing to take me to another world. And under that light, I'm not so sure I need this record in my list. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I had the opportunity to listen to it, and I will probably listen to it again in the future. But even if it were the greatest live record of all time (some say it is), it feels like it's not the most convenient and natural entry point into Van Morrison's body of work. It's "too much" in a way. And I'm not only talking about the album's length here. Because in some other sense, it's also "not enough". Without the context given by the studio albums, it's sort of hard to understand why those live performances are so important for Van Morrison's fans. So, let's say that as of now, I'd rather err on the side of caution, and wait to see if really I feel the urge to return to this live album one day. After all, it's never too late to open your heart to a pivotal artist such as Van Morrison. You just need a little time sometimes, that's all. 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5/10 for more general purposes (5 + 8.5) Number of albums left to review: 12 (plus the 80-ish extra LPs listed on this app, included because different past versions of the book have mentioned albums that have since been dropped in subsequent editions) Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 425 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 254 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 313

Un dels grans discos en directe dels '70. Van Morrison en el seu millor moment creatiu (que no personal), després d'una sèrie d'àlbums imprescindibles, recluta una banda de primeríssim nivell amb músics clàssics, de jazz i de rock i s'embarca en una sèrie de concerts que el contemplen en la cúspide de la seva carrera. Versions de clàssics del soul i r&b, i poderoses lectures d'alguns dels seus millors moments en solitari i Them (tot i que no recull l'execució de 'Brown-Eyed Girl')

It’s Too Late to Stop Now This doesn’t quite have the same had-to-be-there factor that other live albums on the list do, probably due to being familiar with the majority of the songs, the intimate atmosphere, his excellent vocals and just how great the live band are. But there is still an air of inessentialness to it if you aren’t an uber-Van fan or you didn’t see him live at his peak in this period. It’s not enjoyable and there are some great highlights - Warm Love, Into the Mystic, I’ve Been Working, Domino, Saint Dominic’s Preview, Gloria, Caravan, Cyprus Avenue - all tracks where the band really shine, particularly the strings, but I would generally prefer to listen to the studio albums from his Astral Weeks to Veedon Fleece pomp and 90 minutes is a lot of time to invest in it. The length and my general ambivalence about live albums leads this to a 3 - the band, his vocals, the songs are all great, but ultimately it’s not as engaging for me as his studio recordings. ⏰⏰⏰ Playlist submission: Domino

I like a bit of Van Morrison. Emphasis on the BIT! 90 minutes is too much! And a live album too! The very best a live album can do is be slightly worse than a mediocre studio album

Like Dylan's live album, the inclusion of this record is a headscratcher. VM is notoriously awful live and the arrangements (especially vocally) are borderline parody they are so gaudy and overdone. Dictation on the lyrics is obnoxious. The strings are shrill. The piano is banging loudly on every song, even the ballads? I like a lot of these songs, too, but VM has to inject scatting or wailing on literally every track and it gets so old so quickly. Awful record

The Good: We must be on a roll!!! The Bad: What if we really want to stop? The Ugly: The state we are in, after slamming into another car, cause we really wanted to stop… There are things to be said that one person’s favorite album can be another person's least or another person’t so-so selection… at the end of the day, music is subjective as hell. However, when it comes to live albums, there is little subjectiveness involved… it is fact; you either hate it or love it. In the case of this trainwreck of an album… I have to just bow my head and say thanks that I won’t have to listen to it again… I am certain that there are Van M fans out there who view this album as the best of the best… in my case, it’s too late to stop now…. 2* thanks to Into The Mystic

Sometimes I wonder if something is amiss with my genetic Elder Millenial coding because I feel nothing when listening to Van. Like, I recognize that the music is well played with lots of heart or whatever but I feel zero compulsion to dive in.

Well - this was a real chore to get through. Van the man is pretty full of himself. Voice is grating and the songs boring. AT least the band was OK but just wish he'd shut up.

I liked some of the parts where Morrison wasn't singing.

First of all way too long at over 90 mins. Secondly, this is a live album which I usually don't really care about. 2/5.

So like it's just a super long Live Van Morrison album? Lame 3/10

Really captured the live experience of enjoying the music and really looking forward for it being over

Live albums are rarely good, and this is not an exception though for different reasons than usual! this actually sounds really good for a live album from a production and recording standpoint, and then it’s just a terrible performance. Why is he like that live? Why were the horns so bad? Why was he yelling instead of singing? If I’d gone to that concert it would be to hear him singing! Reluctant extra star because it really is an impressive live recording

Great voice, too many mediocre songs, and his Covid craziness has turned me off from him, even when his songs from half a century ago where good.

Tedious music from a tedious man.

a live album and a double album of it at that … it’s a no from me

I hate live albums, double albums and this genre. I ain’t got a good feeling about this one. Yeah halfway in and I'm not enjoying myself at all. It's just not my style and it's SO DAMN long. I'm not sure I can make it through the second part honestly. Not bad so to say, but it's just so boring to me. Let's say it deserves its place on here though with all that "one of the best live albums" stuff and whatnot.

I LOVE Astral Weeks and really enjoy Moondance. This album simply made me mad. Is one star too harsh? Yes. The performances were fine. Had I gone to this show I would have had a fun time of it and been excited to watch him play my favorites. But for years, this album has been in various best albums lists, and I truly don't get it. This album is pointless. The studio versions are way better. And on this list, it's taking up a slot that could easily go to 50 different albums.

Why is there a double live album by Van Morrison??!! I mean he had produced some good songs here and there and an odd good record but live? Really? Did I really have to go through that snooze fest of mediocre performance with songs from a b-list artist? Unoriginal flat and unnecessary

I believe it was Shakespeare who once said "van BORRISON,,!!!!! bitch"

Perfect

Okay, let’s get this out of the way. Van Morrison has a long and well-earned reputation for being a cantankerous old bastard, and at times a singularly unpleasant one. I know this. As a character reference, _It’s Too Late to Stop Now_ proves absolutely nothing. As a live album, however, it captures something close to miraculous. My heart sank when I saw that today’s album was a double live set. Live albums are one of those things I approach with suspicion. Too often they give you inferior versions of songs you already know, padded with applause, extended endings and the peculiar assumption that because something lasted eleven minutes in a room full of people, it therefore needs to last eleven minutes in my kitchen. There is also that particular species of live album where everyone involved seems terribly pleased simply to have turned up. _It’s Too Late to Stop Now_ is the opposite. By the end I was convinced that this is an album whose entire meaning depends upon being live. The first thing that struck me was how loose the Caledonia Soul Orchestra sounded. Not sloppy: loose. There is an elasticity to the playing that immediately gives Morrison room to move. He can stretch a line, clip another one, sit behind the beat, push ahead of it, almost talk through a phrase, and the band responds as though this is not disruption but information. They tighten around him, relax with him and leave space when he leaves space. On “Warm Love” this becomes obvious very early. Morrison delivers the verse in clipped, staccato phrases and the band seems to contract around that delivery; then the chorus arrives, he relaxes, and they loosen with him. The vocal is not simply sitting on top of an arrangement. His phrasing is actively changing the arrangement’s feel. That relationship becomes one of the governing pleasures of the whole album. The band is astonishing because the looseness is clearly the result of enormous discipline. Everybody seems to know the structure well enough to forget about demonstrating that they know it. The arrangements breathe because the musicians understand where the centre is. Morrison can wander because they know how to hold the ground beneath him. It reminded me of something I say a lot, originally learned from software and interface design: it is very hard to make things sound easy, and very easy to make things sound hard. Good interface design moves the complexity upstream. Somebody else does the difficult work so the user does not have to admire the machinery; they can simply use the thing. The Caledonia Soul Orchestra do that musically. The rehearsal, listening, arrangement discipline, cue-reading, dynamic control and mutual awareness are all hidden backstage. What reaches the listener is ease. Brass and piano can trade licks. Strings can appear for one perfectly placed pizzicato note and vanish again. Morrison can vocalise in unison with the horn section simply because the line is there and apparently the most natural thing in the world is to walk around accompanied by your own brass section. Nobody appears interested in pointing out how difficult any of this is. “Into the Mystic” is the first arrangement that made me sit up and think that this was operating on another level. The way the brass enters around the foghorn image is beautiful, but what really makes it work is the interplay between brass and strings. They are not simply decorating Morrison. They carry their own counter-melodies, answering one another and moving independently around the vocal. There is quite a lot happening, but it never feels cluttered. Freedom here is not the absence of arrangement; it is what an extremely good arrangement makes possible. That distinction keeps returning. These are often sophisticated musical decisions, but they have been worked into the band so deeply that they feel instinctive. The piano drives “These Dreams of You” with little rhythmic pushes and fills that give the song its jaunty stride. Morrison at one point simply joins the brass line vocally, as though humming along to a record, except the record is happening around him. “Domino” has a proper soul stomp underneath while Morrison meanders over the top of it, the band planting its feet so firmly that he is free not to. There are moments where the brass and piano seem to be having their own conversation while the rhythm section keeps walking. The band has different gaits. It can sway, stride, stomp, swing, recline and drive. “These Dreams of You” has a jaunty kick. The bridge in “I Believe to My Soul” is almost Santana-laid-back, the groove reclining without losing pulse. “I’ve Been Working” suddenly has a funk engine underneath it, giving the musicians a chassis solid enough to stretch around without losing shape. “Bring It On Home to Me” has this magnificent wide-legged, slightly baggy feel, helped enormously by a bass sound that blooms rather than snaps. The best phrase I found for it while listening was a beautiful bar-room stumble. That Sam Cooke cover also contains one of Morrison’s finest vocal moments on the record. Towards the end he stretches “ever” in the line about changing one’s mind into something ragged and pleading. It is not technically immaculate and that is precisely why it works. For a moment the vulnerability cuts through all the muscularity of the band. Muscularity became another important word for the album, although not in the crude sense of sheer volume. This music has body. The bass has weight, the brass can punch, the strings can create tension, and Morrison’s voice itself has physical presence. Yet the most impressive display of strength comes when they stop playing loudly. “Help Me” was the moment where I thought, yes, now show me whether you can really do it. The band drops almost to pianissimo and everything remains alive. Pianissimo is hard. At volume, momentum covers a multitude of sins. Drop an ensemble right down and every early entrance, every wobble and every uncertain player becomes visible. Quiet playing can very easily become tentative playing. This band contracts without losing commitment. The groove remains under tension, and when the full ensemble returns the release is extraordinary. It is not simply louder; it feels like pressure being allowed out of a sealed system. That may be one of the central lessons of the whole record: control enables abandon. The slide guitar solo in “Help Me” sounds gloriously uncontrolled precisely because the rest of the band is controlled enough to let it be. It snarls and smears and almost skids off the road while the rhythm underneath remains secure. The apparent danger is real enough to be exciting, but the centre holds. The same principle applies to Morrison himself. He is not merely the singer in front of this band; he is inside it. Sometimes he seems almost to conduct it through vocal phrasing. That is there in embryonic form on “Warm Love”, but by the time we reach “Cyprus Avenue” it has become the entire performance method. Repetitions, hesitations, emphases and little vocal feints seem to determine what the ensemble does next. He pushes and they swell, retreats and they thin out, hangs on a phrase and the whole orchestra seems willing to wait with him. The piano often seems to have special licence: even when the larger band responds dramatically to Morrison, it continues an almost independent train of thought, a discursive commentary underneath the performance. This becomes especially beautiful on “Cyprus Avenue”. Morrison’s songwriting has always had a discursive quality, but here it reaches another level. At one point he becomes tongue-tied, apparently unable to complete what he is trying to say, and the band comes down with him to the intimacy of that inarticulacy. The piano keeps quietly noodling beneath him like an inner monologue that has not stopped simply because spoken language has failed. Then the full band arrives with enormous force, but the piano carries on having its own conversation. Later the instruments begin operating almost cinematically. A line changes the emotional temperature and the strings enter as though somebody has cut to a different scene. Piano becomes interior monologue, strings become a change of light, and the full band becomes physical release. Eventually even language begins to fail. Morrison reaches that extended sequence of “babe” after “babe” where the repeated word ceases to communicate literal information and becomes pulse, plea, obsession and percussion. We are beyond words now. The voice has become another instrument and the whole thing moves into full-blown soul-revue mechanics: surges, retreats, call-and-response, audience interaction, the emotional temperature being pushed higher and higher until the huge coda finally has to bring the thing down. It may be too late to stop now, but somebody eventually has to. That final performance feels like the culmination of everything the album has been teaching us, with subtle ensemble responsiveness turning gradually into ecstatic performance mechanics. Yet the covers are just as important to understanding what Morrison is doing here. At first I simply thought they were gutsy choices. Ray Charles. Sam Cooke. Willie Dixon. Sonny Boy Williamson. These are not exactly singers and writers you approach casually, especially live. “I Believe to My Soul” could very easily have sounded like somebody attempting a Ray Charles song. It doesn’t. “Bring It On Home to Me” has the added danger of Sam Cooke having been such a phenomenal live performer himself. Yet Morrison never sounds as though he is engaged in an impression or an act of deference. The band is up to the songs and so is he. The more I listened, the less these pieces felt like covers at all. They began to feel like Morrison demonstrating what he had learned from. Here is the blues, here is soul, here is gospel and R&B. Here are the rhythmic habits, the call-and-response structures, the phrasing, the elasticity, the authority to stretch a line until it becomes speech. The covers become an audible genealogy: this is the language Morrison learned, while the originals show what happened once he became fluent enough to stop obeying its rules. That is where the question of genre became interesting. At one point I thought, yes, this album has a genre, and then realised what I meant was almost the opposite of conventional genre classification. It has a genre because it collapses genres. Soul, blues, jazz swing, R&B, gospel, folkish storytelling and Celtic fiddle colours are all present, but they stop behaving like separate categories because they have been absorbed into the same performing language. The genre is Van Morrison. His particular transformation of soul and blues is to make them more discursive. He keeps their muscle and cadence but loosens their syntax. Songs can wander, narrate, circle back, stretch towards speech, pause to think and repeat themselves until repetition becomes meaning. He is less interested in getting to the point than in discovering what happens while circling it. “Listen to the Lion” feels almost airy after some of the album’s harder driving sections. The song stretches, time opens up and the band stops behaving as though every available space needs filling. It unfolds rather than arrives. “Saint Dominic’s Preview” sprawls magnificently in a different way. Its arrangement is complex and insistent, but there is still room for Morrison to sound conversational over the top. The song keeps opening new rooms rather than merely getting longer, and that is the crucial distinction: the length feels earned by movement. “Wild Children” gives the set another change of function altogether. After the physical force of “Help Me”, the performance metaphorically wipes the sweat from its brow and becomes a storyteller. There is something elegiac about it, almost an elegy for Morrison’s generation, and the band adopts a jazzier swing around him. A small harmonic shift in the bridge increases the feeling of memory without announcing itself as cleverness. Again, hard made easy. The older Them material is fascinating because Morrison is no longer interpreting somebody else’s past but his own. “Here Comes the Night” already had a brisk verse and a more expansive chorus in the Them version, but here the band exaggerates that internal contrast. The verses positively move, which makes the chorus feel as though the whole song suddenly inhales. I initially thought of it as a deconstruction, but that is not quite right. They are not dismantling the original design so much as magnifying it. “Gloria” feels even more transformed. In Morrison’s hands now it sounds like an old soul shouter rather than a young garage-R&B song. The youthful original has been absorbed into the mature musical language he constructed from everything that surrounded it. The chronology collapses just as thoroughly as the genres. This is also where Kevin Rowland kept entering my head. I have had the pleasure of seeing Dexys live a couple of times, so I already knew what Rowland does with songs in a room: stretches them, reopens them, changes pacing and dynamics, treats the singer as part conductor, and lets horns and strings participate in conversation rather than merely decorate a familiar arrangement. Even Dexys lyric sheets often feel like approximations of something that remains fluid in performance. Hearing _It’s Too Late to Stop Now_ before the random 1001 draw eventually lands on Dexys is a happy accident. I now have a much clearer historical reference point for that philosophy of performance. This is not simply “Dexys sound like Van Morrison”; that would be too easy. It is more that Rowland’s idea of what a live ensemble can be suddenly has a recognisable ancestor. Songs are not fixed objects to be reproduced but material that can be reopened every night. Even Morrison’s printed lyrics are not necessarily the final authority. On “Into the Mystic” the lyric sheet offers “jolly old soul” while he is plainly singing “jelly roll soul”. The performed text has its own life. Words can be substituted, stretched or repurposed just as tempo and arrangement can. The performance is the object. All of which brings me back to the most remarkable thing about the album: it captures Morrison enjoying this. Not simply singing brilliantly or commanding an excellent band, but sounding comfortable with the whole business of being there. The expanded recordings from the tour reveal how much the performances and set were breathing from night to night, and Morrison was evidently enjoying touring during this period. That matters because it means this is not simply an editor constructing one miraculous Van Morrison from a pile of otherwise unpromising tapes. It appears to have been a genuine, if temporary, equilibrium. Morrison is comfortable with himself and with the Caledonia Soul Orchestra; the orchestra is good enough to follow him anywhere; the audiences are receptive enough that he feeds from their attention rather than withdrawing from it; the arrangements are loose enough to allow risk; and the repertoire is broad enough to show both where he came from and what he had become. The ridiculous confluence is all of those things happening at once. That is what I mean by lightning in a bottle. The lightning is not Van Morrison’s talent, because that was always there. The rare thing is Morrison, this band, these audiences and this particular moment all being compatible with one another. There is a review on the 1001 Albums site which reduces the experience to “Van Morrisonandonandonandon”. It is a very good joke, and not entirely unfair. Morrison absolutely does go on. But on this record, the going-on is the point. He circles, stretches and worries at phrases. He lets language become sound. He gives the band room to breathe and trusts them to give it back. He allows a song to become something that exists only in the room and only for as long as everyone involved remains willing to keep it alive. I began this album hungry, literally, waiting for a fasting blood test and thinking that ninety-odd minutes of live Van Morrison was perhaps not the gift I needed that morning. Instead it forced me to sit still and listen properly. The longer it went on, the more that initial resistance became part of the pleasure. This was not an inferior substitute for studio recordings. It was a record about things studio recording cannot manufacture: responsiveness, risk, collective timing, trust and the peculiar electricity that appears when several people realise simultaneously that whatever is happening is working. As a character reference, it is dreadful. As a live document, it is extraordinary. _It’s Too Late to Stop Now_ catches a rare period in which band, audience and performer seem completely at ease with one another: a rare record of the world enjoying Van Morrison enjoying being Van Morrison in public. Somebody had the presence of mind to put microphones in front of this ridiculous confluence, and the distinction matters. They did not merely record him; they caught him.

a lupe le gusto

A 90 minute double live album full of songs I have never heard before is usually a recipe for a low score, but Wow! I could listen to this over and over every single track was good.

Van Morrison – ...It's Too Late to Stop Now... (1974) On Day 250, marking the quarter-mark milestone of the challenge, this live album was an absolute treat. It was beautiful, remarkably serene, and honestly quite unexpected. Hearing him deliver vocal performances and live soul arrangements that smooth was genuinely impressive and more than enough to justify the top rating. A pristine showcase of live musicianship and effortless groove. An easy 5/5.

Top blues

​It’s Too Late to Stop Now is more than just a souvenir of a successful tour; it is a masterclass in vocal delivery and band leadership. Van Morrison can occasionally be an unpredictable and prickly live performer, but here he is completely locked into the music, losing himself entirely in the "mystic".

I finally got to see Van Morrison in concert a few years ago and he’s amazing live. The music is phenomenal with a talented band behind him who are much more than just a backup, but his voice is really the main event. It’s soulful, expressive, and smooth as silk, even as an older gent. He loves to improvise when he’s live and takes you places his studio songs don’t go. A real jazzy/bluesy jam session. All this to say, I bought this album a year or so ago because it was a live one. And it did not disappoint. A true representation of his talent and musicianship.

Regarded as one of the best all time. A truely remarkable album by one of my favorite musicians.

Great live album, supercharged energy, sweet piano licks, bluesy. Just amazing

It was joyous

Really like this. Not a bad song and has a great sound for a live album. Not sure live albums should be included on this list but it’s here and it’s a great one.

Incredible. The energy, the jams, the arrangements, the vocals. Its fantastic. Van Morrison is a treasure. Once in a century kind of talent. I loved every part of this.

What a fantastic album that I hadn’t listened to before. Just wonderful and will definitely listen to it again!

What a fantastic album that I never listened to before! I love it!!

"Live double album" is like a death sentence. This is fine...but he isn't so dynamic that this is a totally different listening experience than his studio albums. I generally love Blue-Eyed Soul. Animal from the Muppets also says "Woman, Woman, Woman". Wild Children is not a good song. All the songs get longer and longer as the album goes on. They also get better. His diction includes some interesting choices, but this is good. Cyprus Avenue is not a strong close. And then it suddenly improves! I guess a ten minute song gives you the chance to have it be a quarter bad and then three-quarters good.

Van is quickly becoming one of my great discoveries of this venture. For someone who ostensibly revels in being ultra-cranky, this is a deliciously open and warm performance. With a voice like that, you feel like he could sing anything and make it sound great. The boogie woogie / brass-supported soul numbers like 'These Dreams of You', 'Domino' and 'Ain't Nothing You Can Do' are irresistible. They're up there with the likes of Sam Cook (whom he covers here) and his live album at the Harlem Square Club. A cranky little man, face like a slapped arse, but cracking live album. One of the best.

I had no idea this double live album existed and it sounds just as good as anything Van Morrison has done. The musicians are solid here. And Van is on fire here. So much playful energy with the audience and the band. The only downside is the last half of the album leans a little sleepy and doesn't hold up to the energy of the first half. But I'll take sleepy Van over a lot of other artists any day.

last time i got van morrison on this project i had to allude to the fact that his descent into right wing conspiracy nutcase inevitably makes his blue eyed rnb singer songwriter style even harder to swallow these days than it otherwise might be. on this very live album he covers two songs most associated with muddy waters and sam cooke respectively, and if we're being real there's rly no justification for him to think he could do that...other than the inconvenient fact that somehow, he pulls it off. ive never had a strong negative or positive response to his studio work that ive heard, but this 90 minute live record is so hard not to be constantly stunned at that it honestly kind of pisses me off lmao. yes van morrision is a white irishman imitating a half dozen of the greatest black singers to ever live but man in pure stylistic terms he really just Lives here, his renditions dont embarrass themselves at all, he sinks his teeth into every track with such a sincere power, yet so vulnerable in its raw expression and "ugly" timbres, that it makes me think i would love the rolling stones as much as the consensus had mick jagger choked to death on a chicken bone and van been the one to step in. but morrison's backing band here isnt the rolling stones, its one of the greatest live bands i've probably ever heard, sticking mostly to the more Traditional structural and melodic pleasures of morrison's hard hitting songs and covers but having so many distinctive moments and energy that they feel like they could keep up with the best live lineups of frank zappa. i instinctively want to resist this album for so many obvious reasons but it just constantly found new ways to leave my jaw on the floor. when i hit the first moment of morrison vocally imitating the sax line like robbie plant used to do with jimmy page, i had to throw my hands up. while this Could be my way into appreciating van morrison at large, and im not opposed to that, i could also understand if this recording captured a unique height for him that isnt helpfully representative. and even if it is, what a height. i genuinely would have been fine listening to this for an additional 30 minutes.

I typically love a live album, and I do really like Van Morrison. This is far too long for me, but it's very very good and it reminds me of my fiancé :) Great album to have on vinyl.

Loved this album!

Another one I can't believe I hadn't discovered sooner. Great all the way through. Great production and sound. Will def be in my rotation.

Felt like being in the crowd, incredible album that just doesn't end (it's a double)

Jackie Wilson and I were in heaven listening to this. I added “Domino” to my playlist. There’s not a weak track on here.

Caledonian Soul, swinging and righteous, uplifting and wonderful

Great Irish singer. Songs that will last throughout history. Can change genres easily. Just a great artist.

He's an awful person, but this was a great live recording.

A fitting end to my list. Great soul and feeling.

Such a great album, what a voice on this guy! It's rare nowadays to have a full horn section and what a difference it makes for conveying energy; the trumpet player is sensational in the upper registry without losing control, and the saxophone reminds me of Maceo Parker. They are electric and Morrison's voice is equal to the task. Wonderful discovery for me.

Legend!

++*: Into the Mystic ++: Ain't Nothin' You Can Do, These Dreams of You, I Believe to My Soul, I've Been Working, Help Me, Wild Children, Domino, I Just Want to Make Love to You, Saint Dominic's Preview, Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket, Listen to the Lion, Here Comes the Night, Gloria, Caravan, Cyprus Avenue +: Warm Love, Bring It On Home to Me 9,9/10

Ok

Fantastic! Deserved more than 1 listen and more than 5 stars!

Dang! When this one popped up I was less than excited. I know Moondance and I've heard some other Morrison but wasn't a huge fan. And then a live album to boot. Meh. But I was so wrong! So much life and funk and an incredible live performance and recording. Love it! I would probably skip some of the covers on relistens and focus on the originals but doesn’t take away from how I feel about it

Nobody makes love to a hot mic like Van.

I haven't listened to this album in ages, but it was one I loved to play. A little history-my ex brother in law gave me a Van Morrison CD for Christmas back in the late 80's. I was confused by it, as it wasn't one of his more famous albums (it was Poetic Champions Compose actually). He knew I was a music fan and he just encouraged me to give it a try. And I loved it. After playing it a few times I decided to do a deep dive, getting all of his back catalog (as well as every release till the early 2000's). I found Van's singing and music to be so soulful and so spiritual, and I'm not a religious person at all. This album was so well recorded and produced that I truly felt like I was in the venue, which is what made it so great to listen to. And he wasn't one of those who just regurgitated what was on the record, so you knew he was going to make it a more interesting experience. Even if you didn't love all the places he'd go, it was still exciting and fresh. I truly don't know how one cannot love these versions of Caravan and Cypress Avenue. Not that it will be on the list, but I also loved his live album from 1994 titled A Night in San Francisco.

There was a time, in the '70s, when no one could touch Van Morrison. His reputation as a dickhead is well deserved (he borrowed a mote of mine’s Telecaster once and Robin almost had to sue to get it back), but he was a genius. Whether it is reinterpreting classics like, opener, Bobby Bland's 'Ain't Nothing You Can Do" or his own classics like "Saint Dominic's Preview" Van and his Caledonian Soul Orchestra are on the top of their game. Quite simply one of the great live albums, really well recorded and played. The sound is clear, the strings and the horns are superb, the guitar playing is really impressive and the drums and bass hold it down, with Van conducting and driving them to greater heights. There are no weak moments here only highlights, but Side Three, “Bring It On Home”, “Saint Dominic’s Preview”, “Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket” and “Listen to the Lion” is perfection, an incredible celtic-soul review.

Van is simply the man

god this is good 😭 if even one of these songs are his i'll be really impressed that white boy got a little kick to him 😩 great

It's too Late to Stop Now is a live, double-album from Irish singer Van Morrison. Morrison developed stage fright in 1972, and avoided performing for a few years. In 1974, Morrison regained his comfort with performing, and "It's Too Late..." was recorded during a series of shows in London. The album is regarded as one of the greatest live albums of the era. This is Van Morrison at the height of his performing abilities. After the astronomical success of his third album, Moondance, he was performing at large venues whenever he played, By 1974, he had released seven albums, and was a seasoned performer with a talented touring band.

Die 5 gehen an dich, Benjamin! c

I love Van Morrison, and this is a great Live album.

I mostly like Van Morrison’s hits, so I didn’t know how I’d feel about this album, plus I generally don’t care for live albums. Well this was a very pleasant surprise. One of the best live albums I’ve ever listened to. I know Van Morrison is a crappy person, but this album is outstanding and deserves to be on the list.

70's blues rock. Easy to listen. Loved it!

This album took me a few days to work my way through, but every time I came back to it, I really enjoyed it! Even though it is live, the quality is outstanding. I recognized Gloria and Caravan.

What a great album, really enjoyed.

A classic I never knew about! Excellent recording of live Van Morrison from the early 70s. I’m definitely going to add this one to my vinyl collection!

Simply superb

No puedo ser objetivo. Van Morrison es pieza clave en mi educación musical. Hasta el año 1992 no había escuchado nada de este hombre. Por razones que no vienen al caso cayó en mis manos una copia de “Hymns To The Silence” y mi vida cambió. No tardé en llegar a este concierto y, verdaderamente, lo que se respira en él es pasión, fuerza, emoción y verdad. Un descomunal Van llevando su voz y su música a la excelencia interpretativa. También es verdad que cuando se rodea de una banda de calidad contrastada, en este caso la Caledonia Band, todo brilla más, pero no cabe duda de quien continúa siendo el centro de todo. Aquí se escucha a Van The Man, la leyenda del rock menos rockera, su estilo, inimitable y genuino. Sería Dios si no tuviera el carácter tan agrio, pero hasta los dioses se enfadan con los mortales.