Customer Reviews

Ballads: John Coltrane (Deluxe Ed) (Bonus CD)

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

 

 

This is the John Coltrane album that I always knew was out there, but could never quite find. Beautiful, understated playing, that still maintains the rigors of his avant-garde style, without overwhelming the listener with a barrage of notes. Coltrane is in top form on these tunes, bringing his spiraling sensiblity down to an observable pace. This is the best of the trilogy of albums he did at this time, in which he spoke of trying to "meet the audience halfway, make something for the people." (The other two were the album he cut with Duke Ellington on piano, and the Johnny Hartman album.)
McCoy Tyner is excellent, and Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones keep the momentum strong. The Bonus Disc is an excellent addition, a real treasure for Coltrane fans, letting them see into the process of the construction of these classic tunes with many alternate takes. All in all a must have for Trane fans.

Thank you for publishing this cd. I know Coltrane as the wild "sheets of sound" player. On this cd I particularly enjoy McCoy Tyner, who plays beautiful lyrical lines. This is a lovely soft and beautiful series of performances.

A gentler side of John Coltrane for all those listeners seeking the melodic side of one of the true legends of jazz. The recording couldn't be better with Rudy Van Gelder's re-mastering. He should know how it should sound since he recorded it! This Deluxe Edition makes a great addition to my collection and Amazon provided great pricing and fast shipping. What more could you ask for? A terrific disc in all respects.

Stunningly beautiful. Coltrane plays his heart out, as does McCoy Tyner. Bonus tracks are fantastic.

I have not heard the extra tracks yet, but a few people out there are rather critical of this album by John Coltrane as a double CD. I am a huge fan of "Trane", but since I also enjoy other types of music such as rock, blues, folk, and classical I do not have tunnel vision. Is this my favorite Coltrane album, no. Is it my least favorite Coltrane album, of course not. This is an album of ballads, i.e., standards or standards-like pieces. Yes, it is one of Coltrane's prettiest albums. The playing is solid and that is saying a lot, as this is an album by Mr. John Coltrane. For those of you that are familiar with "trane's" catalog, you know he can get very far out and far from "pretty".

Most would agree that (among) his best albums are Giant Steps, My Favorite Things, A Love Supreme, and the 1961 Village Vanguard Sessions. Ballads does not challenge you, it is just nice music. I have three copies of the album, this CD, two LPs (one original and one reissue). I don't have the extended 2CD version (yet). It is actually hard to believe that the same person recorded Ballads as Om. Like day and night. If Ballads is Earth-bound, Om is from Neptune. Like comparing the Beatles to Metallica (I love both bands, by-the-way).

One reason I am defending this album is because my late mother actually liked it. That is where the second LP copy came from. Anything that brings her to Coltrane, must be good. Her tastes basically revolved around Frank Sinatra, Barbra Striesand, Judy Garland, and some Barry Manilow, and Linda Ronstadt, you get the idea. Again I don't dislike those singers. Yet she has made some remarkable musical observations at times. She liked the sax solo in Pink Floyd's song "Us and Them", it is good, and said she thought that Jimi Hendrix had a nice voice! Liked his singing, probably did not understand his guitar playing at all. On the other had she hated the Doors. She'd have been 85 this December, to put things in context.

As you can see most reviewers like this album. That should tell you something. Yes, it can be a bit sappy but I'll take that from Coltrane over some of his noisy material that gives me a headache! John Coltrane's finest performance is probably still his playing with Miles Davis on Kind of Blue. Anyway, this is a great album for the general music lover, it just is not experimental at all -- all safe tunes. Maybe the extra versions of the same tunes is a bit much, but I don't have this 2CD version, yet. Peace.

I never thought Trane knew the meaning of the word "sappy": all of his ballads not found on this album were done in excellent taste. However, some of these ballads are done in horrible taste, such as the schlocky, made-for-Vegas "Too Young to Go Steady"; a so-mellow-it-hurts "I Wish I Knew", a keyboard lounge piano solo to open "What's New", and the gratingly repetitive "Say It (Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Overandoverandoverandoverandover Again)". He does do Sinatra's "All or Nothing at All" justice, giving it a slightly danceable rhythm and upping the tempo beyond "crawl" for a change. This is unimaginative, monotonous background music (I could've sworn that "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" had the exact same melody as "It's Easy to Remember") to be avoided even by Coltrane junkies like me. And I know Coltrane deserves a high rating than a star and a half. If only this had never existed...

When you examine this album in the grand scheme of everything Coltrane has ever done, it's not too special. Don't get me wrong...it has its beautiful moments but this is more of the kind of cd you'd listen to with a girl in front of a fire.

On the first disc, if you're a Sinatra fan, you'll get a kick out of "All or Nothing At All" and "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)," the latter of which is absolutely brilliant. The other tracks are pretty sterile for the most part. If you're used to Trane's modal stuff or avant-garde playing, this is neither. The story behind this cd, as well as "Coltrane/Hartman" and "Coltrane/Ellington" is the Impulse label wanted Trane to put out some more 'commercial' sounding music, to prove that he had it in him.

The bonus disc isn't too special - it has 5 takes of "Greensleeves" and 7 takes of "It's Easy to Remember," as well as an alternate take of "All or Nothing At All." The only new song on here is "They Say It's Wonderful" which can also be found on "Coltrane/Johnny Hartman."

If you dig slow jazz with a good amount of feeling but not a lot of experimentation then this is for you. It's not an awful album, but with a catalog as large as Trane's, there's plenty of other material that you should purchase before this.

Nada que objetar a este album. Ballads es fantástico de principio a fin, pero, ya está bien de reediciones con el único fin de lucrarse un poquito más. Hace 3 años teníamos la versión en CD. Después sacan la versión remasterizada. Ahora la que contiene tomas alternativas. Mañana será una nueva mezcla, pasado la que contiene la versión hip hop y dentro de cinco años la que incluye el autógrafo de la madre de John Coltrane. Ya está bien. 7 tomas alternativas son demasiadas tomas alternativas. ¿Tan mal está el mercado para tener que hacer ésto?.