Shakespeare In The Alley Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Yea...I caved and ordered this thing. I'm in the midst of a heavy jazz discovery phase, and I'm pretty much taking whatever CDs or LPs I can find cheap. I haven't dug too deep into Coltrane (I've only heard Love Supreme and Interstellar Space) but $13 for five loaded discs of (presumably) good jazz is pretty damn hard to pass up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Yea...I caved and ordered this thing. I'm in the midst of a heavy jazz discovery phase, and I'm pretty much taking whatever CDs or LPs I can find cheap. I haven't dug too deep into Coltrane (I've only heard Love Supreme and Interstellar Space) but $13 for five loaded discs of (presumably) good jazz is pretty damn hard to pass up.I more or less agree, having gotten it too... But it is like, do I buy Summerteeth or the collected works of Titanic Love Affair?? Both have Jay Bennett on them. Needless to say, as these disks trickle in and we listen to them it gives us something to talk about other than are the Beatles overrated. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cgoodwin22 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 just received the box set today...beautiful packaging. $11.99 was a complete steal! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 just received the box set today...beautiful packaging. $11.99 was a complete steal!I got mine too...They must have produced way to many of these because I concur the packaging is really nice. It also has extensive notes (a small book) written by Ashley Kahn who wrote an excellent book on the Kind of Blue sessions (which I read and recommend) and a similar book on the Love Supreme sessions (which I didn't.) The notes give details on each album the material is taken from and the circumstances under which each was recorded, including the pros and cons of each. I have three of the LPs this material is taken from, but there is alot more that I don't have, so that is cool. I am going to guess that people will have mixed reactions to the actual music. There is alot from the works of Gene Ammons, who is a Chicago tenor player (Von Freeman gets a shout out in the notes)that may not be to some people's taste, but I think the Red Garland may be good. Some of the other sessions are with musicians who are no longer famous. The notes put alot of this in perspective. Anyway, it is a great deal. The promotional material with it gives alot of albums that have Coltrane on it on Prestige, and there are alot!! For such a short life, Trane sure played his ass off. Considering this is not even his major work, there are dozens of albums to choose from. In addition to these sides where he was the sideman there are also many albums where he was the leader and as someone else pointed out there is a box set for this too. The placement of the CDs in the box, only so so, but I have seen worse. For those wanting some of this material on LP, I would think most of it is still in print as reissues and it is not hard to find some of these titles used. I go on the road next week so I will take this with me so we speak of it further.... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Listened to part of disk 3 with Donald Byrd....good stuff. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
imsjry Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Good enough, but not exactly first rate. LouieB Even though this stuff isn't the big grand artisitc statments Coltrane would go on to produce, to dismiss the material here is crazy. I got mine and I'd say the material is all first rate. Somewhere in the book they quote Sonny Rollins as saying "Coltrane was always Coltrane to me. It's the critics who divide carrers up into stages". In fact, after recieving my copy I want to go on record as saying this is best thread in the history of Via Chicago!! I am so glad I own this I'm now going to get the "Fearless Leader" box. These guys sure know how to put together a box set. Great stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Even though this stuff isn't the big grand artisitc statments Coltrane would go on to produce, to dismiss the material here is crazy. I got mine and I'd say the material is all first rate. Somewhere in the book they quote Sonny Rollins as saying "Coltrane was always Coltrane to me. It's the critics who divide carrers up into stages". I don't think LouieB was dismissing the material. I just think he was informing Coltrane newbies that this might not be the place to start. I do like Rollins' quote, though. LouieB Posted 09 October 2009 - 05:25 PMI am not dissing the young John Coltrane and I am certainly not dissing the completists here (I have spent most of my adult life trying to collect every Coltrane LP I can get my hands on), but if you are looking for some enlightenment about what the fuss is about, this really isn't the place to start. Coltrane with Monk and Miles is the place to start and there are literally dozens of those. Don't forget Blue Train, on Blue Note, which you can play over and over and hear new stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cgoodwin22 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Even though this stuff isn't the big grand artisitc statments Coltrane would go on to produce, to dismiss the material here is crazy. I got mine and I'd say the material is all first rate. Somewhere in the book they quote Sonny Rollins as saying "Coltrane was always Coltrane to me. It's the critics who divide carrers up into stages". In fact, after recieving my copy I want to go on record as saying this is best thread in the history of Via Chicago!! I am so glad I own this I'm now going to get the "Fearless Leader" box. These guys sure know how to put together a box set. Great stuff. i was about to say the same thing, imsjry. this is the best thread in via chicago history! i usually just lurk the site and hardly post, but i've let my guard down a little on this thread! anyway, we should look out for each other for deals like this. that's why i was offering up the bootleg in my earlier post. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Alan Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Every now and then I sort of wish I still bought cd's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I have both the Fearless Leader and Interplay box sets, and they were reasonably priced and loaded with good material. Definitely worth the price. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 In fact, after recieving my copy I want to go on record as saying this is best thread in the history of Via Chicago!! I am so glad I own this I'm now going to get the "Fearless Leader" box. These guys sure know how to put together a box set. Great stuff. You can get that from an Amazon private seller for $14.49. The Interplay box sells for a similar price through Amazon sellers. I got my Side Steps box on Saturday. A bargain at twice the price. So far I've only listened to the first disk. Good stuff! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Nope never said this stuff wasn't worth having. These are blowing sessions, so there is bound to be some good stuff here. Just think some is better than others, that's all. I'll stand by my statement that if you want to hear what the fuss is about, it is better to hear Trane as a leader or some of the Miles. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cgoodwin22 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 This thread is breaking my bank! I just ordered the "Fearless Leader" box set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 This thread is breaking my bank! I just ordered the "Fearless Leader" box set.Did you find another ultra cheap set, or what? How much is this one going for. (Again if you are spending the dough, buy the Atlantic box....) LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
augurus Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Finally received my copy! Now to make five hours of time for Coltrane. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I highly recommend this: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cgoodwin22 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Did you find another ultra cheap set, or what? How much is this one going for. (Again if you are spending the dough, buy the Atlantic box....) LouieB Yeah, i got the 'Fearless Leader' box set new from amazon for $13.99. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Yeah, i got the 'Fearless Leader' box set new from amazon for $13.99.Looks like I am going back to the well.... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cgoodwin22 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Looks like I am going back to the well.... LouieB haha, i hear ya man! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 haha, i hear ya man!Once again, at this price the leader stuff is particularly worthwhile. I don't think have most of that material at all from the Prestige years. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shakespeare In The Alley Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Got this in the mail yesterday. Definitely should not have been so cheap. I've only listened to disc one, but the packaging alone is worth $12, easily. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cgoodwin22 Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 got the 'fearless leader' box set the other day...it is SICK!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Thank goodness the music industry is in trouble. Their troubles are our gain. I just ordered this too and at less than 20 bucks also a deal. I do have a few of these on LP, but what the heck. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cgoodwin22 Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Thank goodness the music industry is in trouble. Their troubles are our gain. I just ordered this too and at less than 20 bucks also a deal. I do have a few of these on LP, but what the heck. LouieB Yeah, i think i'm gonna go ahead and order "Interplay" from amazon...you can get that new for $12.99. http://www.amazon.com/Interplay-John-Coltrane/dp/B000ULQVCA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1255704239&sr=8-2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted October 16, 2009 Author Share Posted October 16, 2009 All About Jazz has a pretty thorough write up on the Side Steps box: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=34369&pg=1 I'll probably pull the trigger on the Fearless Leader and Interplay Boxes. These prices are just unreal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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