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.

Van Morrison, one of rock's finest songwriters and arguably it's finest singer, crafted a number of strong albums, and that's where most should start. However, once you get through ASTRAL WEEKS, MOONDANCE, and the rest, if you still want more, PHILOSOPHER'S STONE is an excellent set to get. The packaging is a bit lacking (incorrect dates and lyric transcriptions, and even though Van wrote track-by-track notes, he decided not to include them), but as far as content goes, this is an excellent selection of unreleased studio material. Unfortunately, it doesn't include any content like demos or outtakes before the 1970's (hopefully there will be a Volume Two that includes them), but what's here is surprisingly consistent. Even the weaker material like "Twilight Zone" is enjoyable for Van's singing.

Few artists merit collections like these, because in order for them to work, one has to be prolific and, more importantly, shelve 'rejects' that hold up to their best work; this set fulfills both requirements. A strong, early version of "Wonderful Remark" arguably trumps the released version. "Madame Joy" and "Contemplation Rose" are beautiful tracks that could've salvaged HARD NOSE THE HIGHWAY (one of his weakest albums); so could've "Drumshanbo Hustle," an angry, vitriolic song against the music industry that miraculously transcends its bitterness. Then there's "Naked Jungle," possibly his greatest stab at funk, and excellent compositions like "The Street Only Knew Your Name" and "I Have Finally Come To Realize" that disprove the notion that he had trouble coming up with new material in the mid-70's (trouble releasing it, but not writing and recording it). Even better is "Crazy Jane On God," which was meant for release but had to be temporarily shelved for legal reasons (based on a Yeats poem, he didn't get permission to use it); in less capable hands, it could've been a pretentious disaster, but it's surprisingly accessible and works very well here.

It's an expensive set at $30, and for that reason, I'd recommend this only if you've already explored his best work: the early classics with Them, ASTRAL WEEKS, MOONDANCE, ST. DOMINIC'S PREVIEW, VEEDON FLEECE, IT'S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW, and INTO THE MUSIC, for starters. If your appetite is still strong by that point, than PHILOSOPHER'S STONE will definitely come in handy.

Somehow I had either forgotten and/or misplaced my Phil Stone CD
and played it this past week. The years have gone by so quickly and Van's catalog has always been impressive.....so the headphones came out and I was again transformed... to another place and time and then back again to today.

I have read all 35+ reviews and agree with most all in some way or another but I do feel that PS is a masterpiece in so very many ways. Van shouts, growls...has the eternal "Fire in his belly" and brings us a sense of the blues and funk and gospel. As has come to be expected, VM had the presence of mind to use musicians of such stellar quality....especially the brilliant piano work of Jef Labes to forge this expensive gem.

As was noted by another reviewer, it is worth it alone for the superb, as yet unmatched, soulful version of "The Street...."

Damn!!!, what a sound, what charts, what a sax, a "Joyous Sound"
that no one save for Ray Charles has ever exhibited on vinyl.

I just love this mans' music.

"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.

For a so called B side/un-released song collection this is ridiclously good. Van is a seminal arist for the more mature music ears. Only a place like Ireland with its love for music and the arts could produce a mystic, poetic genius like this.

He is a rare artist that puts the corporate music biz to shame. His concerts sell out in minutes without any promotion and i think he has even surpassed his hero Bob Dylan. We will be telling our kids about the genius of Van morrison. He is the best white soul/blues singer on earth today. On his last tour the tickets for his concert in nashville sold in 12 minutes. Long live Van. We need him to keep going to shame the no talented teenyboppers and MTV sellouts.