Customer Reviews

Blue Train

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Since anyone considering buying this probably knows what a great album it is, I am writing this simply to address the Hybrid SACD version of "Blue Train." This is one of those albums that I, personally, have spent the money to upgrade 3 times (it's THAT good).

While I can't speak for the recent RVG Series re-issue, I can say that this version sounds considerably better than the 1996 re-issue, "The Ultimate Blue Train" - bass is richer, drums crisper and over-all live feel of the recording is unprecendented. If are considering buying the RVG remaster, why not spend a few dollars more and get this Hybrid SACD since it plays in both Super Audio and regulars CD players. It is worth the investment.

Classic Jazz from a master of the tenor sax. Four of his own compositions with a Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer penned tune thrown in. A nice addition to anyones Jazz collection. I am not new to Jazz but have been fairly picky over the years in what I purchase. I will be adding more Coltrane to mine.

What can I say? Please listen to this album and if you are not in jazz heaven then we can agree to disagree. I'm engaged by his flow, pace, and overall feel of this recording. I won't even differenciate between the songs, they all flow beautifully into one another. His playing is angelic. Please understand that I am biased towards Coltrane, from Naima to Giant Steps, I am a big fan. And this recording does not disappoint.

The music on this cd has made it one of the top jazz records of all time and that, of course, hasn't changed. But a bad mastering job can change the listenabilty of an album and that has occured here. I have a few of the "Rudy Van Gelder" editions and the sound generally is not fairing well. The cds are often quite tinny and lacking in the bass frequency.

From the pre-Impulse years, this cd and "Giant Steps" are arguably Coltrane's best as a leader. The compositions on "Blue Train" are great and his solos fantastic. It's the begining of a new harmonic language Coltrane was exploring, culminating with "Giants Steps" and then disintegrating into the more modal Impulse years.

Buy "Blue Train" for the music and hope Blue Note gets the sound right next time around.

Ok, that is really bad.

But this cd is amazing. Right now I am in my Coltrane period. And I find Jazz to be the most personal of music. The players seem more human, more vulnerable, and there is a connection to the music that I get out of no other, classical is nice, but a little more removed. This is music of nightclubs, of angst and wonder.

I have written before about the small moments of Jazz being heartstopping. And there are great moments, a song called Moments Notice for one, but much has been written for good reason about the inspired playing of Coltrane. He is a man on fire, a true combination of flame, passion and melody.

It is also said that Coltrane played way above his sidemen, but I think the other work here is amazing.

Like most instrumental music, it is visceral, subjective and alive.

You should give it a try.

I was not formerly aware of Rudy Van Gelder remasters. I was at the record store and I couldn't decide between the Rudy Van Gelder remaster or the SACD Hybrid which was also available. I assume that they're both remastered from the same master tape at 24 bit resolution, but I opted for the Van Gelder. It sounds great! The clarity and musicality of this remaster is incredible. I had previously used an 180 gram remastered vinyl as my reference copy, but the Van Gelder is an entirely new experience. I would highly recommend Rudy Van Gelder remasters. www.truebluemusic.com has a great selection of Van Gelder remasters in both CD and LP.

For me, the recordings Coltrane made between 1957 and 1959 were his greatest of his entire two decade career. Milestones, Kind of Blue and Blue Train all showcase Coltrane at his best. Unlike the two recordings he made with the Miles Davis Sextet, this music is more easy listening and for that reason offers the perfect introduction to John Coltrane. Coltrane plays with fire on a wonderfully exciting blues journey, Blue Train; his solo being perfectly complemented by an equally exciting solo by trumpeter Lee Morgan. This piece is one of the most famous of all Coltrane recordings and rightly so. The recording captures the freedom and ambience of a true jam session sound. My personal favourite, however, is the only cover track on the album, I'm Old Fashioned. Here, Coltrane showcases, what for me, is the highlight on any John Coltrane solo - his sound. Coltrane had one of the most sublime saxophone sounds in the history of jazz, for me, second only to Charlie Parker. On this track, Coltrane bares his sound for all to hear, free of the intense technical displays which tend to obscure it. Like many other Coltrane ballad interpretations, he plays the pure melody, with slight augmentations, but always with simplicity and honesty. John Coltrane truly had one the most individual and beautiful sounds of all time and it is truly exemplified on, this, his most accessible of all recordings.

This is another Album in the vein of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, that belongs in everyone's music collection regardless of whether they like Jazz or not. Echoing the sentiments of others, it is not the revolutionary work characteristic of Coltrane's other works, but it remains just plain cool. From the opening measures of the title track, you know that you are in for a fun, very chill ride. The album is kinda like Errol Flynn, James Dean, or even Paul Newman... cool without trying to be.

This remastered edition of one of the ever-best Coltrane's albums, deserve a place of honor in your bookshelf. It has some alternate takes of his major hits. Besides 'A Love Supreme', this in one of the fundamental jazz albums from the 20th century, indeed! Press play, and enjoy Coltrane in his purest "cool but modern" mood.

The rating, of course, is relative. Practically any recording by Coltrane before 1966 deserves five stars, but "Blue Trane's" singular importance, it strikes me, has been exaggerated. National Public Radio lists it in its "Basic Jazz Library" but omits "Giant Steps," the recording that changed the harmonic language of jazz.

"Blue Trane" is one of many Van Gelder-engineered sessions featuring Coltrane's tenor in the 1950's. Besides the Miles Quintet dates on Prestige there's sterling work by Trane on sessions with Kenny Burrell, Ray Draper, and Hank Mobley, to name a few.. "Blue Trane" is certainly an exemplary session, one moreover than inspires both Morgan and Fuller to reach new heights (though Fuller falters a bit on "Old Fashioned." One wishes J.J. Johnson, especially after his superb Blue Note session with Rollins, had recorded with Coltrane).

The problem with the session, compared to the Miles Quintet recordings, is simply that Trane has to give up solo space to an additional horn (if a sixth horn is to be added to the ensemble, it may as well be Cannonball Adderly's). Also, opinions will vary, but an undeniable sameness attaches itself to the familiar, up-close, "Van Gelder sound." Unless you're a Coltrane collector, the better bets from this period are the Columbia recordings, especially "Round Midnight" and "Kind of Blue." They capture superlative and stunning solos by Coltrane within the context of cutting-edge ensembles and three-dimensional sound.