Editing Van Morrison (section)

===1970s===
[[File:VanMorrison smiling.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Morrison performing at the Marin Civic Center, 2007.]]
By 1972, after being a performer for nearly ten years, Morrison began experiencing [[stage fright]] when performing for audiences of thousands, as opposed to the hundreds he had experienced in his early career. He became anxious on stage and had difficulty establishing eye contact with the audience. He once said in an interview about performing on stage, "I dig singing the songs but there are times when it's pretty agonising for me to be out there." After a brief break from music, he started appearing in clubs, regaining his ability to perform live, albeit with smaller audiences.<ref name="Rolling Stone Interview" />

The 1974 live double album ''[[It's Too Late to Stop Now]]'' has been called one of the greatest recordings of a live concert<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/f4588d98-4299-11e1-97b1-00144feab49a.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/f4588d98-4299-11e1-97b1-00144feab49a.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title=It's too late to stop now|last=Aspden|first=Peter|newspaper=[[Financial Times]]|date=20 January 2012|access-date=20 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2008/05/van-morrison-its-too-late-to-stop-now-tupelo-honey-wavelength-back-on-top-a-sense-of-wonder-avalon-sunset/|title=VAN MORRISON > It's Too Late to Stop Now, Tupelo Honey, Wavelength, Back on Top, A Sense of Wonder, Avalon Sunset|magazine=[[American Songwriter]]|last=Horowitz|first=Hal|date=1 May 2008|access-date=20 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222063513/http://www.americansongwriter.com/2008/05/van-morrison-its-too-late-to-stop-now-tupelo-honey-wavelength-back-on-top-a-sense-of-wonder-avalon-sunset/|archive-date=22 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/van-morrison/bio/|title=Van Morrison Biography|publisher=[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]|access-date=20 August 2012}}</ref> and has appeared on lists of greatest live albums of all time.<ref name="MOJO Top 50 LIve Albums">{{cite web|url=http://www.muzieklijstjes.nl/MojoBestLiveAlbums.htm|title=MOJO Top 50 Live Albums|publisher=Muziek|access-date=31 March 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/vox.html#live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060407004019/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/vox.html#live|url-status=usurped|archive-date=7 April 2006|title=VOX The Greatest live albums ever|website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/stylus-magazines-top-50-live-albums-of-all-time.htm|title=Top 50 Live Albums|publisher=Stylus|access-date=31 March 2007|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183929/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/stylus-magazines-top-50-live-albums-of-all-time.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/j9hj/|title=BBC Review of the remastered CD reissue|publisher=BBC|author=Jones, Chris|date=24 January 2008|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref> Biographer [[Johnny Rogan]] wrote, "Morrison was in the midst of what was arguably his greatest phase as a performer."<ref>Rogan (2006), p. 282</ref> Performances on the album were from tapes made during a three-month tour of the US and Europe in 1973 with the backing group [[the Caledonia Soul Orchestra]]. Soon after recording the album, Morrison restructured the Caledonia Soul Orchestra into a smaller unit, the Caledonia Soul Express.<ref name="HeylinPage284">Heylin (2003), page 284.</ref>

[[File:The Last Waltz.jpg|left|thumbnail|Morrison performs in 1976 at [[the Band]]'s final concert filmed for ''[[The Last Waltz]]''.]]
On [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving Day]] 1976, Morrison performed at the farewell concert for [[the Band]]. It was his first live performance in several years, and he considered skipping his appearance until the last minute, even refusing to go on stage when they announced his name. His manager, [[Harvey Goldsmith]], said he "literally kicked him out there."<ref name="HeylinPage313">Heylin (2003), page 313.</ref><ref name="vice">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/summertime-in-england-a-monologue-on-van-morrison/|title=Summertime in England: A Monologue on Van Morrison|last=Burnett|first=Adam R.|website=Vice.com|date=31 August 2012|access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref> Morrison was on good terms with the members of the Band as near-neighbours in [[Woodstock, New York|Woodstock]], and they had the shared experience of stage fright. At the concert, he performed two songs. His first was a rendition of the classic Irish song "[[Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1RxTEOn_Y0| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723215701/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1RxTEOn_Y0| archive-date=23 July 2013|title=YouTube|via=YouTube}}</ref> His second song was "[[Caravan (Van Morrison song)|Caravan]]", from his 1970 album ''Moondance''. [[Greil Marcus]], in attendance at the concert, wrote: "Van Morrison turned the show around ... singing to the rafters and ... burning holes in the floor. It was a triumph, and as the song ended Van began to kick his leg into the air out of sheer exuberance and he kicked his way right offstage like a [[The Rockettes|Rockette]]. The crowd had given him a fine welcome and they cheered wildly when he left."<ref name="marcus">''Rolling Stone'': "That Train Don't Stop Here Anymore." Greil Marcus. 30 December 1976</ref> The filmed concert served as the basis for [[Martin Scorsese]]'s 1978 film, ''[[The Last Waltz]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.totalfilm.com/dvd_reviews/the_last_waltz|title=The Last Waltz|website=Totalfilm.com|access-date=17 September 2007}}</ref>

During his association with the Band, Morrison acquired the nicknames "Belfast Cowboy" and "Van the Man".<ref name="the republican">{{cite news|url=http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/republican/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/125688694981090.xml&coll=1|title=Singer Van Morrison continues to fascinate|newspaper=The Republican|date=30 October 2009|access-date=18 May 2010|last=O'Hare|first=Kevin|archive-date=21 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121060134/http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/republican/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/125688694981090.xml&coll=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> On the Band's album ''[[Cahoots (album)|Cahoots]]'', as part of the duet "4% Pantomime" that Morrison sings with [[Richard Manuel]] (and that he co-wrote with [[Robbie Robertson]]), Manuel addresses him, "Oh, Belfast Cowboy". When he leaves the stage after performing "Caravan" on ''The Last Waltz'', Robertson calls out "Van the Man!"<ref name="Timepieces ITM" />