One of the 'supreme' musical visions of any genre
into all genres, record collector, always listening to music
FEB
21
2008
A Love Supreme (Deluxe Edition) by John Coltrane —
Some passionate record collectors are also passionate about making lists of music. Suffice to say, I am not one of those, but if I were John Coltrane's A Love Supreme (released 1965) would quite easily make my top three albums of any genre, of all time, period. In my mind, this jazz album puts forth one of the most passionate, cohesive, and expressive musical visions ever. These four tracks combine Coltrane's powerful musical direction with his spiritual beliefs to create a musical, nay, artistic vision which stands with other great works of art at the pinnacle of human creative endeavors.A Love Supreme was recorded at the end of 1964 with Coltrane's "classic" quartet: McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), and of course Coltrane on tenor sax. This group had been playing together since 1962 and by this point were completely in musical sync; each able to augment, contrast, and fill in and around the other three players.
The themeatic arc of this album is centered around John Coltrane's spiritual journey. The title refers to his love for God and the song titles (1. Acknowledgement -- 2. Resolution -- 3. Pursuance -- 4. Psalm) indicate the phases that he sees along this journey. Of course being jazz these themes are put forward musically, and not lyrically, with the emotion expressed abstractly.
The deluxe edition of A Love Supreme was released by the Impulse label as a two disc re-issue in 2002. The second disc includes a complete live performance of the work from a French jazz festival in the summer of 1965. While I don't listen to this live version as much as the original studio takes, it is quite interesting to hear a completely alternate version. Specifically, the live version runs about 48 minutes long -- about 15 minutes longer than the studio cuts. Additionally, the bonus disc includes four alternate studio versions: two of Resolution and 2 of Acknowledgement. The later two tracks add Archie Shepp on tenor sax and Art David on bass, thus growing the quartet to a sextet for a unique, different spin on the familar originals.
In conclusion, John Coltrane's classic A Love Supreme stands the test of time as one of the great realizations of creative genius and vision. If I could rate it higher than 5 stars I would!
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