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A Love Supreme |  | Artist: John Coltrane
Label: Impulse Records
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy New: $7.43
as of 9/7/2010 21:47 PDT details
You Save: $4.55 (38%)
New (32) Used (12) Collectible (2) from $5.24
Seller: -importcds
Rating:  100 reviews
Sales Rank: 1685
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 602498010921
EAN: 0602498010921
ASIN: B0000A118M
Release Date: August 19, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Acknowledgement | | • | Resolution | | • | Pursuance | | • | Psalm |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
A Love Supreme is a suite about redemption, a work of pure spirit and song, that encapsulates all the struggles and aspirations of the 1960s. Following hard on the heels of the lyrical, swinging Crescent, A Love Supreme heralded Coltrane's search for spiritual and musical freedom, as expressed through polyrhythms, modalities, and purely vertical forms that seemed strange to some jazz purists, but which captivated more adventurous listeners (and rock fellow travelers such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, and the Byrds), while initiating a series of volatile, unruly prayer offerings, including Kulu Su Mama, Ascension, Om, Meditations, Expression, Interstellar Space. From the urgent speech-like timbre of his tenor, to the serpentine textures and earthy groove of Elvin Jones's drumming, Coltrane's suite proceeds with escalating intensity, conveying a hard-fought wisdom and a beckoning serenity in the prayer-like drones of "Psalm," where Jones rolls and rumbles like thunder as Garrison and Tyner toll away suggestively--all the while Coltrane searches for that one climactic note worthy of the love he wants to share. --Chip Stern
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 100
A masterpiece. October 18, 2005
Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA)
70 out of 71 found this review helpful
Arguably the best album John Coltrane ever recorded and consistently mentioned as the greatest album in jazz, "A Love Supreme" lives up to everything that it is discussed as.
Coltrane was riding an artistic high-- enormously successful thanks to 1960's "My Favorite Things", he had quite a bit more latitude than many musicians, a producer who would support his every experiment in Bob Thiele, and a band willing to go wherever he needed (pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones) who he'd developed a rapport with over three years of constantly working together. He'd just recorded the stunning "Crescent" several months earlier and entered the studio in December to record this suite.
The piece, as indicated by the liner notes Coltrane penned, is spiritually informed, a prayer offered to God. The music itself is based on relatively traditional structures, but Coltrane manages to juggle a number of influences and sounds-- shades of Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler all run through it. The suite is broken in four movements-- "Acknowledgement" is patient and building, revolving around a four-note bass motif-- Trane is exploratory and yearning. After a brief bass solo, this moves into the frantic "Resolution", where Coltrane rails against his theme, turns things over to a oddly meditative yet equally frantic Tyner, and then solos himself in Monkish fashion-- extrapolating off his theme and exploring the sort of spiritual ecstacy that he heard in Ayler. A brief drum solo signals the transition to "Pursuance"-- Jones is full of energy and explosiveness and this sustains throughout the piece, Coltrane's extended solo is nothing short of stunning, full of fire and energy before suddenly taming down and surrendering to Jones briefly then an astonishing solo by Garrison. Finally, the long exhale after the tension-- "Psalm", finds Coltrane meditative, almost wistful, and informed with a sense of optimistic melancholy.
When it's all done, it's an experience. Many listeners find this the first truly unlistenable Coltrane album-- too much for its own good, but it certainly leaves its mark. My assessment is that the album is nothing short of stunning.
A Love Supreme: A Musical Revelation September 17, 2003
Manny Hernandez (Bay Area, CA)
117 out of 126 found this review helpful
In a time when jazz was becoming less popular, this four-part masterpiece recorded in 1964, is John Coltrane's attempt to give thanks to God. In doing so, and regardless of your religious beliefs, he delivers a performance in the company of McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums) that makes it clear what he meant when he said in 1966 he planned "to become a saint" in response to the question about his plans for the next decade. Sadly, he died of cancer not too long after that statement, but he left a legacy of work that -like this album- are testimony of what an inspired soul can let flow and give to others. Today, almost forty years after its original release, Coltrane's memory is alive and kicking and his timeless work continues to inspire musicians of all genres across the world. In my journey of discovery of this beautiful jazz music, this album has turned out to be a true musical revelation and I want to share it with you too.
?!*%&*!$%!&!*! February 19, 2005
Chester
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
How did a human being do this?! So otherworldy and yet so tightly constructed and economical. So furious and atonal and yet so gorgeous. Coltrane must be an alien or an angel or a chemical experiment gone out of control. You heard it here first. Oh yeah, his drummer is pretty out of this world too.
This album's reputation precedes it - listen and discover November 18, 2005
A C SHIELDS (melbourne , australia)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
One of the problems about music writing is that some albums get built up so much , that they become cheapened and burdened by all the praise heaped on them - and the praise is REALLY heaped on this album .
After all , a great record is an accident . It is so hard to have all the factors come together at the same time - the songs , the musicians , a good engineer and a producer who will let the recording experience unfold without trying to impose a personal 'sound' on the finished product .
Despite all these things being in place , things can still go wrong .
On this album , it all went right .
The main reason for that is the great empathy , understanding and respect between the musicians .
To my mind , this album is about a state of mind and its unfolding . If that sounds obscure , it's not meant to be .
I can't think of any other way to put it .
Listen to this once in your life , even if you don't like jazz .
You may find something missing from other music after you listen to this . Stick with it , as the mood changes throughout .
It is a classic , but it's also a record made by human beings . Do keep that in mind .
Coltrane in peak form. November 7, 2005
C. Volow
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
When he made this album, John Coltrane considered it to be his gift to God. It's certainly worthy of that status, having some really amazing instrumentals, including, of course, John Coltrane's masterful saxaphone playing. I'm a drummer, and I can testify that this album is also a prime example of really skillful jazz percussion. If you're looking to start a really fine jazz collection, this would be an important album to include.
If you liked this, I recommend Coltrane's "Giant Steps." It's a little bit less serious, slightly more bouncy, but of similar excellence.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 100
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