Van Morrison - The Philosopher's Stone
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Free Music Notes for The Philosopher's Stone
Free Music Review: Like all Van the Man albums, this one never lets you down.
Hit: 5 Stars
For 30 years I have marveled at the creativity of Van's writing, voice, and arrangements, not to mention his ability to bring the best out of his musicians. For a true Van fan there is no need to critically review. If you have been there before this album takes you there again, all his musical styles are here, just sit back and enjoy! Could be the equivalent of a retroactive 'greatest hits'.Free Music Review: VAN'S THE GREATEST!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Probably the best "Van" in years. Great alternate versions of "Bright Side of the Road" and "Real Real Gone", plus many unrecorded gems, such as "Mr. Thomas" (referring to Dylan Thomas). This album immediately jumps to the "Only ten CDs on a desert island" list!Free Music Review: 1 disc worth of music on 2 disc set
Hit: 3 Stars
A few pretty good songs of recycled, unreleased Van Morrison. I particularly liked "That Was a Wonderful Remark". Not enough good music here to fill 2 discs.Free Music Review: Van Morrison's Genius Confirmed
Hit: 5 Stars
Van the Man proves that he is an artist whose stature clearly ranks him with the all time greats. The Philosopher's Stone is a welcome break from Van's latest material, which is solid, but seems thrown off. In The Philosopher's Stone, we see the true creative genius of Van Morrison coming from an especially fruitful period of the mid 70s. God knows how some of these tracks didn't make the cut. Thank god Van did the right thing and released these magnificent songs. These "throwaway" tracks are more significant than anything most modern artists put out today.Free Music Review: Textbook...
Hit: 4 Stars
The Philosopher's Stone will be welcomed and devoured by serious students of Van Morrison. This CD provides wonderful insight to the working mind of a master. The selections are not highly polished with the perfection of Moondance or Tupelo Honey, an era from which many of the cuts originate; the slightly crude edge is compelling nonetheless. For those who are not completely familiar with Morrison, start out with the beautifully produced live anthology A Night In San Francisco. Similar out takes and sketching form an earlier era can also be found on Bang Masters. One of the things that makes this collection special is Van Morrison's voice as an instrument. He is in top form here as aptly demonstrated by the brilliant "Madame Joy". Although Madame George is lyrically alluded to in this song, it is not similar to the TB Sheets piece - the cut is closer to a lost treasure like "Redwood Tree" from Saint Dominic's Preview album - it may be the cut t! hat's worth the price of the CD. Compare any of Morrison's vocal phrasing to his sax solos in cuts like "The Street..." or "Joyous Sound" or "I Have Finally Come to Realise." There are some masterful vocal performances here. We are also treated to the musicianship of journeymen like guitarist Ronnie Montrose "Ordinary People", several cuts including guitarist John Platania from the Moondance/Street Choir era, and lush cuts enhanced by pianist Pete Wingfield - "Twilight Zone" and "Foggy Mountain Top," the former rendered in a somewhat distracting falsetto by Morrison (curiously, Wingfield's sole chart hit in the seventies, "18 with a Bullet" was also performed falsetto). I wonder why the slow tempo of "Flamingoes Fly" wasn't chosen over the version on the album Period of Transition. On the other hand, the reprised reggae-like version of "Real Real Gone", "Joyous Sound", "Th! e Street Only Knew Your Name" and a few others, are in! teresting but were advantageously restructured for their final release. Van Morrison will be compared to Bob Dylan with whom he recently toured. Dylan's roots are closer to folk and Morrison's closer to blues, but they share some similarities. Dylan's spirituality emanates from his lyrics without speaking directly to it; Morrison addresses the issue directly. They are different but have both succeeded in cutting out dead wood to get to the source. They will both be studied and enjoyed for a long time. For Van Morrison, The Philosopher's Stone is rich in material treasure.