Van Morrison / TX, USA 01.12.1974 Soundboard Edition

This recording captures the January 12th, 1974 concert in Austin, Texas, from their US tour, using a soundboard recording leaked by someone involved at the time. The 1 hour and 27 minute recording is almost complete. This is a direct-to-mix soundboard recording recently released by staff from that era. While it lacks some of the live atmosphere, and the recording level drops during “Cyprus Avenue” towards the end of the show, it’s completely unprocessed and unedited, resulting in a raw and direct sound that brings out Morrison’s vocals. Although he released the acclaimed live album “The Journey of the Soul” the previous year, this performance features a different lineup, lacking the strings, resulting in a completely different sound and repertoire. The opening track, “4 O’Clock In The Morning (Try For Sleep),” which remained unreleased, is typical of Morrison. And of course, there were plenty of their signature songs from up to this period, but the classic “Into The Mystic” was given a rather R&B-flavored arrangement, and the show ended with an unexpected encore of their killer hit “Gloria”—everything was a highlight. Live at Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX, USA 12th January 1974: soundboard recording Disc 1 : 1. 4 O’Clock In The Morning (Try For Sleep) 2. Come Running 3. Moondance 4. Don’t Look Back 5. Ain’t Nothin’ You Can Do 6. Into The Mystic 7. I Just Want To Make Love To You 8. Warm Love 9. Listen To The Lion 10. I’ve Been Working 11. Domino Disc 2 : 1. Caravan 2. Cyprus Avenue 3. Gloria 4. The Wild Side Of Life Van Morrison – vocal / Dahaud Shaar – drums / James Trumbo – keyboards / Ralph Wash – guitar / David Hayes – bass