Notes

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Van Morrison is a legendary live performer, capable of invigorating, incendiary performances that can be utterly hypnotic, as the near-classic 1974 set It's Too Late to Stop Now illustrates. Released ten years later, Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast may not be as gripping, but Van wasn't as gripping a decade later, either. That's not to say he was past his prime, since he was still turning out fearless idiosyncratic records (and this, to be sure, fits right into that category). Still, he had become settled into a signature sound that may have been warm and filled with life, but it was so subtly shaded that it was primarily of interest only for the devoted. And that's what this record is — an album for devoted fans, finding Van turning out passionate versions of latter-day tunes from "Full Force Gale" to "Cleaning Windows." Nothing particularly revelatory, yet it's a nice listen for those dedicated fans.