It's Too Late to Stop Now

Every once in a blue moon a flash of brilliance occurs, and the collective consciousness is all the better for it. The bar is suddenly higher and, though it is hard to put a finger on it , it appears as if all the elements needed to reach your higher self are lined up in front of you. The people, the time, the place... your own talent, and the talent of others supporting your effort. And yet, just as an athlete at the tops of his game, when you watch... it looks effortless.

This is how I describe It's Too Late to Stop Now. My personal favorite Van CD, it is considered by some as the best live CD of all time.

And it happened in the summer of 1973.

The two CD set of Van Morrison and the Caledonia Soul Orchestra recorded in Los Angeles and London is a staple of my humble collection that I go back to again and again. The music has energy... the band is unbelieveable.... the horn section, piano, --- and Van... right there in the moment..... making it all sound easy. So full of soul. This is no stale, rehearsed performance.... you can sense the musicians playing off each other.... doing their own thing, but never straying too far, right with him. It all came together.

Pictured above is the cover of a bootleg of that concert that includes outtakes and what not. I don't have that, but I love the photo. The commercial CD contains 18 songs, and to my suprize, when I looked it up on Amazon, today it is selling for $120 dollars. $71 dollars--- used, and there are only 7 left!

When I bought it several years ago I believe I got it for around $19.99. I guess it is out of print now or something. Sheesh. I'm going to go COPY mine, and for heaven's sake, get it out of the back seat of the car.