John Coltrane

Blue Train: The Complete Masters

(Blue Note Tone Poet Series) 180g 2LP (Stereo)

Musicians
Lee Morgan, trumpet
Curtis Fuller, trombone
John Coltrane, tenor sax
Kenny Drew, piano
Paul Chambers, bass
"Philly" Joe Jones, drums
Selections
Side 1:
Blue Train
Moment's Notice
Side 2:
Locomotion
I'm Old Fashioned
Lazy Bird
Side 3:
Blue Train - False Start
Blue Train - Alternate Take 7
Moment's Notice - Alternate Take 4
Lazy Bird - Alternate Take 1
Side 4:
Blue Train - Alternate Take 8
Moment's Notice - Alternate Take 5A (incomplete)
Lazy Bird - Alternate Take 2

Michael Fremer Rated 11/11 Music, 10/11 Sonics!

On September 15, 1957, John Coltrane went into Rudy Van Gelder's living room studio in Hackensack, New Jersey and recorded his first great masterpiece: Blue Train. It would be the legendary saxophonist's sole album as a leader for Blue Note, a locomotive five-track album fueled by the bluesy title track that featured a dynamic six-piece band with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. To mark the 65th anniversary of the album's recording, Blue Train will be released in two special editions as part of Blue Note's acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series: a 1-LP mono pressing of the original album and a 2-LP stereo pressing of Blue Train: The Complete Masters which includes a second disc of alternate and incomplete takes, four of which have never been released before, and none of which have been available previously on vinyl. The 2-LP set comes with a bound booklet featuring session photos by Francis Wolff and an essay by Coltrane expert Ashley Kahn.

Both Tone Poet Vinyl Editions were produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in deluxe gatefold tip-on jackets.

If you want to hear what's on the tape, the dynamic range, the bass, the stereo spread, the timbral richness and textural completeness (where the reediness of Coltrane's sax replaces the original's kazoo-sound), this new reissue gives it all to you... Honestly, this new edition, is in every way, the best sounding, most historically complete, visually stunning Blue Train ever and the price is righteous. Two miracles: one is that the Scotch 111 original tape is in such incredible condition 65 years on. The sound here is full-bodied and immediate - even Kenny Drew's piano avoids the Rudy piano hollowness found on many of his recordings. The second is that in 2022 we are getting the best vinyl reissues ever and they are being bought by young people! Buy! Listen! Enjoy! Look at it on the shelf next to your Tone Poets! Or if you insist, next to your original.