Van Morrison - 1973-04-18 - Los Angeles, CA (SBD)

Van Morrison

1973-04-18

Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert

Shrine Auditorium

Los Angeles, CA

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. I’ve Been Working

02. Caravan

03. Gloria

04. Flamingos Fly

05. Cypress Avenue

Van Morrison - 1973-04-18 - Los Angeles, CA (SBD)

In May 1973, Van Morrison launched a 3 month tour of the US and Europe, accompanied by with his legendary backing band, the Caledonia Soul Orchestra. Music historians often label these shows as among the finest of his long storied career. Even the fickle Morrison seems to agree, having said at the time that “I am getting more into performing. It's incredible. When I played Carnegie Hall in the fall something just happened. All of a sudden I felt like 'you're back into performing' and it just happened like that...A lot of times in the past I've done gigs and it was rough to get through them. But now the combination seems to be right and it's been clicking a lot.” The concert performances were described by writer Erik Hage as "sequences of a young soul lion whipping the crowd into a frenzy and then stopping on a dime—teasing out anticipation, rushing, receding, and coaxing every drop out of his band." The tour produced the album Its Too Late To Stop Now, which critics have hailed as one of the finest live discs ever recorded. Right before the tour launched, Van made an appearance on Don Kirschner's Rock Concert on April 18, 1973, 47 years ago today, as captured in this soundboard recording.  Of course, the show wasn't broadcast until November, long after the tour had ended and Van had disbanded the Caledonia Soul Orchestra!