Van Morrison - The Philosopher's Stone
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Van MorrisonEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1998-06-16
Music Label: Polydor / Umgd
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Really Don't Know
- Ordinary People
- Wonderful Remark
- Not Supposed To Break Down
- Laughing In The Wind
- Madame Joy
- Contemplation Rose
- Don't Worry About Tomorrow
- Try For Sleep
- Lover's Prayer
- Drumshanbo Hustle
- Twilight Zone
- Foggy Mountain Top
- Naked In The Jungle
- There There Child
- The Street Only Knew Your Name
- John Henry
- Western Plain
- Joyous Sound
- I Have Finally Come To Realise
- Flamingoes Fly
- Stepping Out Queen Part 2
- Bright Side Of The Road
- Street Theory
- Real Real Gone
- Showbusiness
- For Mr. Thomas
- Crazy Jane On God
- Song Of Being A Child
- High Spirits
Free Music Notes for The Philosopher's Stone
Free Music Review: Oh What a Joyous Sound!
Hit: 5 Stars
THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE is proof positive that Van Morrison is almost as bad at choosing which songs to release and which to leave in the vaults as Paul McCartney is. (Paul should really release a collection like this too, but that's another story altogether.) Comprised of unreleased songs spanning the years from 1971-1988, this is a two-disc, two-and-a-half-hour windfall that belongs in the collection of any serious Van Fan.
The first CD plays better than the second as a whole, mostly because the recordings collected here cover a shorter span - specifically the period between 1971 and 1976 - lending it, if not a sense of cohesion, then at least a more uniform sound. Highlights? "Madame Joy" is a buoyantly nostalgic look back at that girl every boy wanted. The emotionally shattered "Not Supposed to Break Down" viciously indicts society's demands that we keep our emotions locked inside. The eight-minute original version of "Wonderful Remark" far outstrips its latter-day counterpart in its airy grace. "Drumshanbo Hustle" is the product of Van's by-now familiar disdain for the record industry, but is much sharper and generally better than his bitter screeds of the 90s. The searing funk of "Naked in the Jungle" forms the backdrop to one of Van's most intense vocal performances. The title of the slight-yet-touching "Lover's Prayer" says it all; same goes for the breezy "Laughing in the Wind". And that's not even half of Disc 1.
After the release of 1974's VEEDON FLEECE, Van Morrison went on hiatus until 1977. Over the course of these years, reports surfaced that Van was in the process of recording a new album, but nothing came of these rumours. Many of these sessions are present here, spread out over the end of Disc 1 and the beginning of Disc 2. And if Van Morrison had indeed made an album with these songs, it would have easily been his best album since ST. DOMINIC'S PREVIEW, and would have retained that title until 1979's masterpiece INTO THE MUSIC.
Disc 2 is, as mentioned above, somewhat more uneven, but a treasure trove of great songs nevertheless. It kicks off with this set's lost masterpiece, "The Street Only Knew Your Name". This flawless gem of a song would seem to foreshadow Van's nostalgia obsession of the 80s and 90s, but its sound and peerless vocal performance are pure 70s Van. The disc then progresses through a pair of blues covers and alternate takes of songs from A PERIOD OF TRANSITION and INTO THE MUSIC, with a great new cut (the pensive "I Have Finally Come to Realize") thrown in for good measure. This brings us up to the 80s, where the highlights are fewer but the quality is still high: the straight-up R&B of "Street Theory", Van's cover of Robin Williamson's poetic "For Mr. Thomas", and "High Spirits", a suitably rousing leftover from the Chieftains collaboration IRISH HEARTBEAT, especially stand out from this period.
Van Morrison is one of the most prolific writers, recorders, and performers in all rock music. He's released almost an album a year since 1970, and it's clear from THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE that he had, and probably still has, even more just waiting in the vaults. And not just odds and ends either; the vast majority of the selections are fully-formed, well-performed songs that, for whatever reason or another, Van simply chose not to release. Just another testament to the staggering talent that is George Ivan "Van the Man" Morrison.
The Philosopher's Stone Poster
Van Morrison is the second-best improvisatory singer in rock history (after Aretha Franklin), never singing a song the same way twice. What's more, he's continually fooling around with songs--both originals and covers--that never make it onto his "official" albums. The two-CD Philosopher's Stone serves up 30 unreleased studio tracks from 1971 to 1988. There are some glaring omissions (the 1971 Pacifica High sessions, his collaborations with Bob Dylan and Chet Baker), but what's here (including collaborations with Mark Isham, Jackie DeShannon and the Chieftains) is fun, and two tracks ("Flamingoes Fly" and "Stepping Out Queen") are incandescent. --Geoffrey HimesBlues Music CDs
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