Van Morrison - The Philosopher's Stone
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Free Music Notes for The Philosopher's Stone
Free Music Review: Undergraduates, Keep Studying - This Gem Is For True Fans
Hit: 5 Stars
In this world of over-dubbed, over-marketed and generally puff ball artists with a talent span of 1.5 albums and little ability beyond their 25-year old flavor-of-the-month publicists, it is utterly refreshing when we are provided a window into a great artist. Philosopher's Stone is just that album. It includes songs from 1971 to 1988 and as such we have bookends; we hear young Van on top post-Moondance to a Van that was 12 months from Poetic Champions Compose, two of Van's strongest albums. What a period and what music to document unreleased material! The Philosopher's Stone is not a perfect album by any measure (with 30 songs there are several B efforts). Then why should someone invest $+ on these two CD's. If you are new to Van, go through the primer first - Moondance, Astral Weeks, Tupelo Honey, Into the Music and Veedon Fleece. However, if you are a graduate student, you will appreciate and savor this fine, fine album. As you do, consider this::1. Sound Quality: Whether you are listening to this CD on a Levinson/Thiel setup or a Sony Boombox, it will be clear that the effort was A+ on the remixing of these hidden gems. The cymbals on Wonderful Remark are waist high, the flute 6ft in the upper left hand corner of the soundstage - close your eyes and Van and the Band are in your living room taking requests.
2. A+ Tunes: Any Van fan has his/her gems. You will discover no less than 10, yes 10, new gems. I can't tell you which ones as Van affects everybody differently but here go a few of mine and why. Not Supposed to Break Down is a winding road here with Van taking the lead and a piano following along, the song starts slow with Van heating it up at the end (this song alone is worth the $). Wonderful Remark is also stripped of the overproduced, formulistic original with flute and Van's voice intertwining throughout - the last 60 seconds are a ride (in my opinion, far superior to the original). Madame Joy IS a joyous ride with Van ramblin' in syncopated rhythm while drums keep pace. Drumshanbo Hustle is one of those unexpected spectacular gems. Documenting his disgust with the music industry circa 1972-73, the lyrics are a novel sung with real emotion. Naked in the Jungle rocks from the beginning with Van's signature "ya na na na" throughout. Hear a raw unpolished The Street Only Knew Your Name with a classic Van backed by a sax and Judy Clay singing back up. Follow that up with a graveled voiced Van barking out John Henry, grooving and grunting with the piano and his own harmonica belting it out. Showbusiness has Van recounting the life of churn and burn, drugs and unscrupulous agents.
3. B Tunes: Contemplation Rose, while a little slow, has its moments with a great piano by Jeff Labes. Try For Sleep has Van pulling off two octaves above his normal range with a great horn circling in the background. This version of Real Real Gone confirms the original choice on Enlightenment and that alone is worth a listen. While not a big fan of his straight poetry, Song of Being a Child is interesting several times through and it works. High Spirits documents his involvement with the Chieftains and shows further insight into Van's evolution from the US folk/blues movement full circle back to his roots.
In summary, any Van fan will find the things that he/she loves about the man in these two CDs. There are some less than stellar songs but even those are worthy as additional understanding of this accomplished artist. The real test of an effort: after 5 listens, you will find this glued to your CD player for months. Enough said.
Free Music Review: For serious & marginal fans alike...
Hit: 4 Stars
Van Morrison is one of those rare artists that just about everyone seems to enjoy and this collection of outtakes is no less accessible than any of his vintage work.There's truly alot more to this collection than historical value. Similar releases tend to get clogged with multiple takes of one song, studio chatter and sound flaws (The Beatles Anthologies, for instance). This one sounds just as polished and fully realized as anything else Morrison has released and has some remarkably catchy tracks.
I prefer many of these songs to the ones that actually ended up on the records. You'll be amazed at how good this album is even if your knowledge of Morrison's music is minimal.
Free Music Review: Should Have Stayed in the Vaults
Hit: 1 Stars
There is a reason The Unreleased Tapes are unreleased and that reason is -- drum roll of anticipation -- they're not good, far inferior to Van's other recorded work. It's hard to imagine any artist recording in, let's say, 1974 and holding back his strongest material for a quarter century later. These are not unreleased gems; these are songs that for good reason did not make the first cut years ago. And let's forget also the artist-in-development rationalization. If it's an artist in development, let's sell it at artist in development prices, not somewhere on the high side of double CD costs. OK, I agree the bluesy instrumentation is very nice, but nothing that Van didn't do at least as well on already released stuff -- check out his duets with John Lee Hooker, for example, on Too Long in Exile. And the lyrics ... way too much of Van in his all too frequent the-record-industry-is-out-to-get-me mode and some others banal beyond belief (the endless Song of Being a Child and Flamingoes Fly). If you have to have every single thing Van ever recorded (and I've got lots and I like lots, let's be clear about that), then buy this CD. Otherwise, hard-earned money should not be spent here.
Free Music Review: A must have for true Van Morrison fans
Hit: 4 Stars
"Philosopher's Stone" is a collection of unreleased songs by Van Morrison spanning approximately 1971-1987. The two-disc album runs over two hours long.I wouldn't advise newcomers to Van Morrison to necessarily pick up this album first. This is the sort of album that you throw on your shelf next to "Moondance", "Astral Weeks", "Greatest Hits Vol. I", and perhaps a newer album like "Enlightenment" first. The majority of the songs on this album are from the 70's and sound very much in line with what Van put out on "Greatest Hits Vol. I" or the songs "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" and "Don't Look Back" from "Greatest Hits Vol. II". Don't let the fact that these songs are unreleased deter you from this album; these songs are still very good and classic Van Morrison stuff.
There are at least 5 bluesy tracks on the album. There are a couple of funky ones, my favorites like "Street Theory" and "Naked in the Jungle". I'm a horn lover, Van does combine horns on a number of tracks. There is a good mixture of fast and slow songs. There are not any traditional Irish tracks. Booklet includes all lyrics and musicians. The best part of all is the subtitle of this album is: "The Unreleased Tapes: Volume One". After listening to this album, I will definitely get Volume Two if and when it comes out.
Free Music Review: The Mother Load, the Holy Grail
Hit: 5 Stars
Two very long cds and every moment is fascinating at least and brilliant at best. This is a must have for any Morrison fan and probably a better introduction for neophytes than the two poorly assembled best of compilations. All of this material is fully capable of standing on its own without disclaimer.For me the most interesting thing about this set is how much solid material seems to have come from around the time "Hard Nose The Highway" was being recorded. It tends to confirm my suspicion that the weakness of "Hard Nose" was the result of some deliberate and wrong-headed decisions about how best to appeal to American audiences. The best tracks from "Hard Nose" combined with the contemporaneous outtakes in this set would have made a tremendous record.
Also noteworthy are the alternate takes. The material from "A Period of Transition" here is far superior to the stiff and mannered performances on that album. The rough and ready version of "The Street Only Knew Your Name" is also much better than than the soft synth-drenched version that appeared on "Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart". There is so much to discover here. If you've ever had any interest in Van the Man, buy it today.
Can't wait for volume 2.