"…Let Me Tell You About My Baby... Makes Me Feel Alright…"
Taking its title
from a lyric at the end of "Into The Mystic" on “Moondance"
(1970) - Van Morrison's live set "It's Too Late To Stop Now" was
released in February 1974 as a double-album on Warner Brothers K 86007 in he UK
and WS 2760 in the USA. It's always been a fan favourite and was equally
championed by critics the world over at the time - muted by some as even being
one of the best live albums ever made.
Well - on hearing
it again after all these years on this superb-sounding January 2008 2CD remaster
on Polydor/Exile 530 545-5 (Barcode 600753054550) - it's easy to see why
everyone went nuts for it. “It’s Too Late To Stop Now” is a magical body of
work and with this latest sonic upgrade (including a Previously Unreleased
bonus track) - it’s never sounded better. Here are the jelly-rolls and mystical
caravans:
Disc 1:
1. Ain’t Nothin’
You Can Do
2. Warm Love
3. Into The
Mystic
4. These Dreams
Of You
5. I Believe To
My Soul
6. I’ve Been
Working
7. Help Me
8. Wild Children
9. Domino
10. I Just Wanna Make
Love To You
Disc 2:
1. Bring It On
Home To Me
2. Saint
Dominic’s Preview
3. Take Your Hand
Out Of Your Pocket
4. Listen To The
Lion
5. Here Comes The
Night
6. Gloria
7. Caravan
8. Cypress Avenue
9. Brown Eyed
Girl [BONUS TRACK]
Produced by Van
and Warner Brothers resident production genius Ted Templeman – “It’s Too Late
To Stop Now” was recorded in the Troubadour in Los Angeles, the Civic in Santa
Monica (both in California) and the beloved and much missed Rainbow Theatre in
London. His super tight house band "The Caledonia Soul Orchestra"
consisted of JEF LABES on Piano & Organ, JOHN PLATANIA on Guitar, DAVID
HAYES on Bass, JACK SCHROER and BILL ATWOOD on Sax and Trumpet with DAHAUD
SHAAR pounding away on Drums. The String section featured NATHAN RUBIN, TIM
KOVATCH TOM HALPIN, NANCY ELLIS and TERRY ADAMS.
Disc One opens
the proceedings with a cracking version of Bobby Bland's "Ain't Nothin'
You Can Do". There are quite a few covers on the album and they sit
perfectly alongside his compositions making it a far more varied listen.
There's a slick version of "Help Me" by Sonny Boy Williamson (Willie
Dixon writer), "I Just Want To Make Love To You" by Muddy Waters
(again Willie Dixon writer), "Bring It On Home To Me" by Sam Cooke
and "Take Your Hands Out Of My Pocket" by Sonny Boy Williamson. THEM
classics "Here Comes The Night" and "Gloria" are
superlative too - especially the barnstorming "Gloria with "it's
gonna be alright..." and the crowd bashing their hands together as hard as
they can. The album is full of great moments like that - the James Brown funky
tightness of "I've Been Working" with the brass, piano and guitar all
playing up an absolute storm - the beautiful otherworldly Tim Buckley
meandering feel to the soulful nine minutes of "Listen To The Lion"
and the infectious joy of the crowd to the opening guitar flicks of
"Domino".
The supposedly
upgraded booklet is very disappointing. The few colour shots of Van and the
band that adorned the original triple gatefold sleeve are here but nothing else
- no lyrics, no history of where the album fits in, no new liner notes, no new
photographs of the tour, the band, the audiences etc. And speaking of short
change - while all the other 6 releases in this reissue batch have had two bonus
tracks each - here we get only one bonus cut - a previously unreleased version
of "Brown Eyed Girl" (admittedly its excellent though). Could have
done better lads...
Some reviewers
have said they found the sound ‘thinny' - I don't. To me it's warmer and more
revealing than it's ever been and I'm digging this fab set so much more for it.
The original master tapes have been 96K/24 Bit digitally remastered by TIM
YOUNG at Metropolis Mastering in London and the sound is gorgeous - really
amazing. Tracks like “I Believe To My Soul” (a Ray Charles cover) with its
delicate piano and strings and stop-start vocals sounds awesome.
To sum up - a
bona fide 5-star masterpiece then - given a superb remaster - and I for one am
loving every second of it…
PS: Remasters Released and CANCELLED
Including
"It's Too Late To Stop Now" - 29 Van Morrison albums were to be
re-issued in remastered form throughout 2008 and into early 2009. However the
last two batches of the four listed below (September 2008 and January 2009) never appeared. These lists are by way of info…
January 2008 (7
titles)
Tupelo Honey
(1971), It's Too Late To Stop Now (2 CD Live Set) (1974),
Wavelenght
(1978), Into The Music (1979), A Sense Of Wonder (1985),
Avalon Sunset
(1989) and Back On Top (1999)
June 2008 (8
titles)
Veedon Fleece
(1974), Common One (1980), Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart (1983), Live At The
Grand Opera House, Belfast (1984), No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986),
Enlightenment (1990), A Night In San Francisco (2CD Live Set) (1994) and The
Healing Game (1997)
September 2008 (7
titles) - CANCELLED
Saint Dominic's
Preview (1972), A Period Of Transition (1977), Beautiful Vision (1982), Poetic
Champions Compose (1987), Hymns To The Silence (2CD Studio Set) (1991), How
Long Has This Been Going On (Live At Ronnie Scott's) (1995), Tell Me Something:
The Songs Of Mose Allison (1996)
January 2009 (8
titles) - CANCELLED
Hard Nose The
Highway (1973), Irish Heartbeat (with The Chieftains) (1988),
Too Long In Exile
(1993), Days Like This (1995), The Story Of Them (2CD Set) (1999), The Skiffle
Sessions - Live In Belfast (with Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber) (2000),
Down The Road (2002) and What's Wrong With This Picture? (2003)
