Incialment previst per al 16 de juliol de 1996, sembla que haurem d'esperar fins a la tardor de 1997.
Disc 1:
- Really Don't Know (Enregistrat el 1971. "Una asombrosa peça de m&usica, estil Van.)
- Ordinary People (també del 1971. "un bon blues")
- Wonderful Remark (Enregistrat a San Anselmo, Califòrnia el 1973. És el tema
original de la canço que més endavant es faria servir com a banda sònora de
"King of Comedy". "Molt maca i etèria, amb Ronnie Montrose a la guitarra i les veus
d'acompanyament. 8 minuts).
- Not Supposed to Break Down (la primera de les vuit cançons enregistrades el 1973 als
estudis Caledonia de Califòrnia)
- Laughing in the Wind (amb Jackie DeShannon com a veu de fons)
- Madame Joy ("Molt espectacular.")
- Contemplation Rose ("Una cançó molt maca amb referències a Harlem.")
- Don't Worry About Tomorrow
- Try For Sleep (escrita amb John Platonia.)
- Lover's Prayer ("Una cançó molt maca, en la tradició de les cançons romàntiques
de Van.")
- Drumshambo Hustle (un tema fascinant sobre com veu Van el negoci de les empreses discogràfiques,
que ell, senzillament, detesta)
- Twilight Zone (enregistrada a Holanda el 1974. 8 minutes de durada.)
- Foggy Mountain Top
- Naked in the Jungle
- There There Child (escrita amb John Platania i enregistrada el 1976 als estudis Caledonia)
Disc 2:
- When I Deliver
- John Henry (Cançó tradicional, gravada el 1977)
- John Brown's Body (tradicional; gravada 1979)
- I Have Finally Come to Realize (de 1975)
- Flamingoes Fly (Una versió diferent de l'apareguda a Period of Transition.
Gravada el 1974 a Holanda amb Pete Wingfield al piano).
- Stepping Out Queen Part II (segona part del tema publicat
a Into the Music el 1979.)
- Bright Side of the Road (Versió diferent, 1979)
- I'm Ready (1979)
- Street Theory (Enregistrada a França el 1980.)
- Real Real Gone (Versió original gravada i mesclada el 1980. La versió que tots
coneixem, la de Enlightenment es diferent d'aquesta... hi han 10 anys
de diferència!)
- Showbusiness (Gravada a Londres el 1982.)
- For Mr. Thomas (Gravada el 1983 i escrita per Robin Williamson)
- Crazy Jane on God (Escrita per William Matthieu i gravada el 1984)
- Song of Being a Child
- High Spirits (Escrita amb Paddy Moloney i gravada l'any 1988 a Irlanda del Nord amb
els The Chieftains)
Els detalls són del número de juny de 1996 de la revista
ICE),
on hi ha un article de dues pàgines sobre els continguts d'aquest disc.
El text de l'article és:
Double Disc Van Morrison Rarities Package Slated for July
The bad news is, we're not getting a Van Morrison box set yet. The good news
is, Morrison has chosen to first give the public two full CDs' worth of
unreleased material from the prime of his career, covering the years 1971 to
1988. Presently scheduled for release on Polydor on July 16, The
Philosopher's Stone contains 26 songs never before released by Morrison -
most of them original compositions - plus four alternate versions of other
songs, for a total of 30 previously unreleased performances. Many of them are
collector's favorites that will finally see official release, such as
"Twilight Zone," "Crazy Jane On God," "Naked In the Jungle" and "Madame Joy".
"I wouldn't call them outtakes, because that suggests that these tracks are
somehow...secondary," one involved source tells ICE. "They're not, these are
just really good songs that weren't released at the time." Unlike the Beatles
ongoing Anthology series, which ties most of its unreleased tracks to
certain albums, the Morrison set contains material that was often recorded
between his popular albums, such as Moondance,
Wavelength, and
A Sense of Wonder. Not unlike Neil Young, Morrison
was very prolific
in the 70s, sometimes abandoning album projects midway through when he wanted
a change of direction.
Further good news for Van Morrison fans is found on the back of The
Philosopher's Stone, where a subtitle states: The Unreleased Tapes
Volume One. This would indicate that Morrison is following the lead of
Bob Dylan, who began releasing vault material to his fans via his Bootleg
Series box set, with signs of more to come. VM collectors are certainly aware
that more good material exists, in the form of bootlegged tunes such as "I
Shall Sing" "Feedback on Hwy 101" "And the Streets only Knew her name" "Don't
Change On Me" and "Grits Ain't Groceries".
Marketing unreleased material this way contrasts with conventional wisdom,
which usually has artists mixing up rarities and big hits in one box. But Van
Morrison has been at odds with record execs for years over what form his box
set should take, and this package would seem to be the start of a solution.
"Basically, they went in to do the box and found out he had so much
unreleased material, that instead of trying to figure out how to work all of
the unreleased material into the box, they're going to lead with this
package," a well-informed source tells ICE. "Then, perhaps later, there'll be
a box set."
The double CD The Philosopher's Stone will have a 24-28 page booklet
with track by track annotation, but probably no essay among the liner notes.
The ever prolific Van Morrison, having just completed a series of small club
dates promoting his jazz album How Long Has This Been Going On, is
said to be working on a straight ahead pop/rock album as his next
conventional release, possibly later this year. Label sources tell ICE that
VM then intends to return to the jazz arena in 97 with a tribute album to one
of his favourite composers, Mose Allison.
