abcdefz
04-05-2005, 08:34 AM
...okay, so: the two-disc set has been out for years, but it's expensive and I was a little wary about the archival stuff; I figured that, if it was all that good, some of it would have been issued legitimately before this -- especially the live version of A Love Supreme.
Anyway, I ordered it finally, and it's more interesting than I'd thought it would be.
The live version (recorded in France) was recorded about 8 months after the album as we know it; it sounds much further along in Coltrane's development -- probably about halfway to stuff like Meditations -- which is fine, but it turns the piece into a whole other animal. Less meditative, actually; more reactive. It's interesting to have this other version, and it's certainly listenable enough that I'll throw it on now and again.
The other key bonus stuff are the sextet versions of "Acknowledgement." It's pretty clear why they were shelved -- they really don't work. Too many cooks without strong enough direction; kind of the same thing with the live version, except in the live version, they're bouncing off each other more and the music doesn't breathe as much as the album (as we know it) versions; but on the sextet versions, the music practically chokes.
Is it worth buying the two-disc set? I think if you really, really like Coltrane, you should try to find a used copy. If you've survived most of your listening days with only a few of his records, I wouldn't bother.
Anyway, I ordered it finally, and it's more interesting than I'd thought it would be.
The live version (recorded in France) was recorded about 8 months after the album as we know it; it sounds much further along in Coltrane's development -- probably about halfway to stuff like Meditations -- which is fine, but it turns the piece into a whole other animal. Less meditative, actually; more reactive. It's interesting to have this other version, and it's certainly listenable enough that I'll throw it on now and again.
The other key bonus stuff are the sextet versions of "Acknowledgement." It's pretty clear why they were shelved -- they really don't work. Too many cooks without strong enough direction; kind of the same thing with the live version, except in the live version, they're bouncing off each other more and the music doesn't breathe as much as the album (as we know it) versions; but on the sextet versions, the music practically chokes.
Is it worth buying the two-disc set? I think if you really, really like Coltrane, you should try to find a used copy. If you've survived most of your listening days with only a few of his records, I wouldn't bother.