"..It's Too Late to Stop Now..." Volume I (Remastered) Van Morrison

• 1Ain't Nothin' You Can Do (Live)03:47
• 2Warm Love (Live)03:04
• 3Into the Mystic (Live)04:31
• 4These Dreams of You (Live)03:36
• 5I Believe to My Soul (Live)04:08
• 6I've Been Working (Live)03:55
• 7Help Me (Live)03:25
• 8Wild Children (Live)05:04
• 9Domino (Live)04:47
• 10I Just Want to Make Love to You (Live)05:13
• 11Bring It on Home to Me (Live)04:42
• 12Saint Dominic's Preview (Live)06:17
• 13Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket (Live)04:04
• 14Listen to the Lion (Live)08:43
• 15Here Comes the Night (Live)03:13
• 16Gloria (Live)04:14
• 17Caravan (Live)09:20
• 18Cyprus Avenue (Live)10:19
• Total Runtime01:32:22

Info for "..It's Too Late to Stop Now..." Volume I (Remastered)

Given his early roots in Irish show bands steeped in American R&B, Van Morrison's power as a live performer is as riveting in his "on" nights as it can be frustrating when he's not in the mood. But his sheer power as a singer, and his long tradition of crack bands, has translated to an awful lot of good nights--enough to spawn three compelling live albums, of which this is the first and best. Recorded during his San Franciscan residency of the early '70s, with his ambitious Caledonia Soul Orchestra, this double album documents Morrison at an early vocal peak and benefits from a set list culled from his early solo masterpieces, including Moondance and Astral Weeks. As such, It's Too Late to Stop Now clicks as both anthology and coherent concert document--a classic live album.

Best performances from eight 1973 concerts at the Troubadour, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Civic Center & Rainbow Theatre, London.

"While Van Morrison is, to be kind, an erratic and temperamental live performer, he's in stellar form throughout the double album It's Too Late to Stop Now, a superb concert set that neatly summarizes his career from his days with Them (represented by scorching renditions of "Gloria" and "Here Comes the Night") through 1973's Hard Nose the Highway ("Warm Love," "Wild Children"). In addition to the hits, including "Caravan," "Domino," and "Into the Mystic" (the final line of which gives the album its title), Morrison even pulls out a handful of R&B chestnuts ("Bring It on Home to Me," "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do") before capping off the collection with a show-stopping rendition of Astral Weeks' "Cyprus Avenue." An engaging, warm portrait of the man at the peak of his powers." (Jason Ankeny, AMG)

Van Morrison, vocals
Nathan Rubin, first violin
Tom Halpin or Tim Kovatch, violin
Nancy Ellis, viola
Teressa Adams, cello
Bill Atwood, trumpet, backing vocals
Jack Schroer, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, tambourine, backing vocals
Jef Labes, piano, organ
John Platania, guitar, backing vocals
David Hayes, bass, backing vocals
Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw), drums, backing vocals

Produced by Van Morrison, Ted Templeman

Digitally remastered

Van Morrison
One of music’s true originals Van Morrison’s unique and inspirational musical legacy is rooted in postwar Belfast.

Born in 1945 Van heard his Shipyard worker father’s collection of blues, country and gospel early in life.

Feeding off musical greats such as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson and Leadbelly he was a travelling musician at 13 and singing, playing guitar and sax, in several bands, before forming Them in 1964.

Making their name at Belfast’s Maritime Club Them soon established Van as a major force in the British R&B scene. Morrison’s matchless vocal and songwriting talents produced instant classics such as the much covered ‘Gloria’ and ‘Here Comes The Night’.

Those talents found full astonishing range in Van’s solo career.

After working with Them’s New York producer Bert Berns on beautiful Top 40 pop hit ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (1967), Morrison moved to another realm.

Recorded over 3 days with legendary jazz musicians Astral Weeks (1968) is a still singular album combining street poetry, jazz improvisation, Celtic invocation and Afro Celtic Blues wailing.

Morrison would weave these and myriad other influences into the albums that followed in quick succession.

Reflecting on new life in America on the joyous Sinatra soul of Moondance (1970) and the country inflected Tupelo Honey (1971) he summoned old spiritual and ancestral life in the epic St Dominic’s Preview (1972) closer track Listen To The Lion.

Double live album Too Late To Stop Now (1973) highlighted Morrison’s superlative performing and bandleader skills. Mapping out a richly varied musical course throughout the 70s he shone among an all-star cast including Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters on The Band’s Last Waltz.

Indeed, borne of his Irish Showband instincts, the magic of the live performance has been a consistent feature of Morrison’s career.

Settling back into life in the UK in 1980 he released Common One an album centring on Summertime In England an extraordinary invocation of literary, sensual and spiritual pleasure the song would often become a thrilling improvised centrepiece to his live shows.

Steering his own course throughout the 80s on albums such as No Guru, No Method, No Teacher he claimed Celtic roots with The Chieftains on Irish Heartbeat. Teaming with Georgie Fame brought new impetus to his live show while Avalon Sunset saw him back in the album and single charts by the decades end.

Van Morrison continued to advance on his status as a game- changing artist through the 90s and into the 21st century.

Awards and accolades - a Brit, an OBE, an Ivor Novello, 6 Grammys, honourary doctorates from Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster, entry into The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the French Ordres Des Artes Et Des Lettres - attested to the international reach of Van’s musical art.

Yet there was never any suggestion that Morrison, one of the most prolific recording artists and hardest working live performers of his era, would ever rest on his laurels.

Collaborations with, among others, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Lonnie Donegan, Mose Allison and Tom Jones confirmed the breadth of his musical reach.

Morrison’s visionary songwriting and mastery of many genres continued to shine on albums celebrating and re-exploring his blues, jazz, skiffle and country roots.

The influence of the musical journey that began back in Post War Belfast stretches across the generations, and Morrison’s questing hunger insures that the journey itself continues.

Constantly reshaping his musical history in live performance, Morrison reclaimed Astral Weeks on 2009’s album Live At The Hollywood Bowl.

The subtitle of Van Morrison's latest album, Born to Sing: No Plan B, indicates the power that music still holds for this living legend. "No Plan B means this is not a rehearsal," says Morrison. "That’s the main thing—it’s not a hobby, it’s real, happening now, in real time."

With one of the most revered catalogues in music history and his unparalleled talents as composer, singer and performer Morrison’s past achievements loom large. But, as throughout his extraordinary career, how that past informs his future achievements and still stirs excitement and keen anticipation.

This album contains no booklet.