Van Morrison has always been a prolific artist, releasing nearly an album a year for 30 years.
All the while, he had a stockpile of unreleased material in the vaults, much of which became legendary among collectors.
A selection of this material was planned for inclusion in a box set, but when he realized the sheer amount of worthy material, he decided to separate the unreleased cuts and release them as the double-disc set The Philosopher's Stone.
Certainly, the collection is for fans, but not just hardcore fans -- there are a number of great songs here, from "Madame Joy" and "Naked in the Jungle" to "Crazy Jane on God" and "The Street Only Knew Your Name." A full 25 of the 30 tracks on the album have never been released in any form, while the remaining five -- "Wonderful Remark," "Real Real Gone," "Flamingoes Fly," "The Street Only Knew Your Name," and "Bright Side of the Road" -- are present in alternate takes.
In all, The Philosopher's Stone is a welcome addition to Van Morrison's official catalog -- some of these songs are so good, it would have been a shame if they had stayed locked in the vaults.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Really Don't KnowVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Ordinary PeopleVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Not Supposed to Break DownVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 05:23 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Laughing in the WindVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Madame JoyVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Contemplation RoseVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Don't Worry About TomorrowVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 05:20 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Try for SleepVan Morrison, John Platania | Van Morrison | Play | 06:05 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Lover's PrayerVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Drumshanbo HustleVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Twilight ZoneVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 08:23 | 19 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Foggy Mountain TopVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 05:27 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Naked in the JungleVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | There There ChildVan Morrison, John Platania | Van Morrison | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | John HenryTraditional | Van Morrison | Play | 05:48 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 16 | Western PlainLead Belly, Huddie Ledbetter, John A. Lomax | Van Morrison | Play | 05:42 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 17 | I Have Finally Come to RealiseVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 05:10 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 18 | Stepping Out Queen, Pt. 2Van Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 19 | Bright Side of the RoadVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 20 | Street TheoryVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 21 | Real Real GoneVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 22 | ShowbusinessVan Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 09:21 | 21 MB | 0 MB |
| 23 | For Mr. ThomasRobin Williamson | Van Morrison | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 24 | Crazy Jane on GodWilliam Matthieu, William Butler Yeats | Van Morrison | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 25 | Song of Being a ChildPeter Handke, Van Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 26 | High SpiritsPaddy Moloney, Van Morrison | Van Morrison | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 27 | Wonderful Remark (Philosopher's Stone Version) | Van Morrison | Play | 08:01 | 18 MB | 0 MB |
| 28 | The Street Only Knew Your Name (Extended Version) | Van Morrison | Play | 06:25 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 29 | Joyous Sound (Alternative Version) | Van Morrison | Play | 02:30 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 30 | Flamingoes Fly | Van Morrison | Play | 06:28 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 152 mins | 350 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Allair | Organ (Hammond), Piano |
| 2 | Herbie Armstrong | Guitar |
| 3 | Brooks Arthur | Engineer |
| 4 | Bill Atwood | Trumpet |
| 5 | June Boyce | Vocals |
| 6 | Jules Broussard | Flute, Horn |
| 7 | Lee Charlton | Drums |
| 8 | The Chieftains | Guest Artist |
| 9 | Bill Church | Guitar (Bass) |
| 10 | David Conroy | Digital Editing |
| 11 | Mick Cox | Guitar |
| 12 | Clive Culbertson | Guitar (Bass) |
| 13 | Jackie DeShannon | Guest Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Smith Dobson | Piano |
| 15 | Neil Drinkwater | Drums |
| 16 | Pee Wee Ellis | Guest Artist, Saxophone |
| 17 | Mick Glossop | Mixing |
| 18 | Peter Handke | Composer |
| 19 | David Hayes | Guitar (Bass) |
| 20 | Mark Isham | Flugelhorn, Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 21 | Roy Jones | Drums |
| 22 | Mark T. Jordan | Piano |
| 23 | Connie Kay | Guest Artist |
| 24 | John Klingberg | Guitar (Bass) |
| 25 | Bernie Krause | Moog Synthesizer |
| 26 | Jeff Labes | Piano |
| 27 | Gary Ladinsky | Engineer |
| 28 | Matthew Lawrence | Assistant Engineer, Digital Editing |
| 29 | Chris Lawson | Mixing |
| 30 | Pauline Lazano | Vocals (Background) |
| 31 | Lead Belly | Composer |
| 32 | Huddie Ledbetter | Composer |
| 33 | Henry Lewy | Engineer |
| 34 | John A. Lomax | Composer |
| 35 | Gary Mallaber | Drums |
| 36 | Toni Marcus | Violin |
| 37 | William Matthieu | Composer |
| 38 | Chris Michie | Guitar |
| 39 | Paddy Moloney | Composer |
| 40 | Ronnie Montrose | Guest Artist, Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 41 | Van Morrison | Compilation Producer, Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 42 | John Platania | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Electric) |
| 43 | Jerome Rimson | Guitar (Bass) |
| 44 | Walter Samuel | Mixing |
| 45 | Jack Schroer | Horn, Saxophone |
| 46 | Dahaud Elias Shaar | Drums |
| 47 | Ray Staff | Mastering |
| 48 | Jim Stern | Engineer |
| 49 | Annie Stocking | Vocals (Background) |
| 50 | Ted Templeman | Producer |
| 51 | Bianca Thornton | Vocals (Background) |
| 52 | Traditional | Composer |
| 53 | Peter Van Hooke | Drums |
| 54 | Robin Williamson | Composer |
| 55 | Pete Wingfield | Guest Artist, Piano |
| 56 | William Butler Yeats | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |