Van Morrison
The Philosopher’s Stone (Polydor)
This two-CD collection is a treasure trove of previously unreleased Van, covering the stone-soul picnic that was the early ’70s, the late-’70s period of transition, and the spiritual journeys of the ’80s. It’s an essential purchase for Morrison fans, as rich and revelatory as the Bob Dylan “Bootleg Series” of rarities released in 1991. Though not all of the performances are technically polished–Morrison’s singing is energetic but ragged on “I Have Come to Realise” –the set contains plenty of material that ranks with the singer’s best, notably the lapsed believer’s lament “Wonderful Remark,” the ebullient gospel-soul of “The Street Only Knew Your Name” and the stream-of-consciousness tone poem “Song of Being a Child.” Morrison’s singing is alternately tender and fierce, his legendary crankiness hitting humorous extremes as he contemplates the record business (“Drumshanbo Hustle”), his Belfast Cowboy eccentricity riding into the sunset on a cover of Leadbelly’s “Western Plain.”
