Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Blue Train

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

John Coltrane was a monster of the tenor sax as early as 1955, when he first joined Miles Davis' band. An overachiever, Coltrane had a relentless and unvarying passion for practice, for improving his skills as an artist. As he progressed through his quite legendary career, he never ceased to amaze.

BLUE TRAIN (1957) is a classic; an album often heralded as one of the greatest records of the 1950s by fans and jazz educators alike. It gives the listener a very clear view of what made these musicians so great. You will notice things like Coltrane's (and pianist Kenny Drew's) tasteful and masterful usage of the blues scale in the chant-like title cut. Many musicians have the tendency to drive that scale into the ground when playing the blues. Not so here: these guys were well beyond that sort of thing. On Jerome Kern's "I'm Old Fashioned," you will hear Coltrane's (or was it Kenny Drew's?) ascending-stepwise reharmonization. The Lee Morgan and Curtis Fuller solos on "Locomotion" are a delight, but that's true of the entire album.

It is well known that the Coltrane composition "Giant Steps" (released in 1959) is a bear to play, to improvise on the changes. But, even here, Coltrane was writing tunes that could shake a few people up. "Moment's Notice" is one such tune. It has an ABAC structure (8 bars, 8 bars, 8 bars, 14 bars: a total of 38 bars for one time through)--hard enough to follow--along with a barrage of formidable chord changes. Some say the song got its name when Curtis Fuller asked, "You expect me to play these changes at a moment's notice?"

BLUE TRAIN is certainly deserving of being hailed as a "classic," a term grossly overused these days. Imagination or creativity doesn't always come in the form of extreme busyness, and if you give this album your full attention, it will offer riches galore. There is good reason why BLUE TRAIN is listed on many a jazz educator's essential recordings list: It IS essential. (Seeing that this reissue gives you all the bonus extras for just a few bucks more, I can't see going for the earlier one.)

Cheers,
Murray

Is "Blue Train" my favorite John Coltrane album? No, it isn't. Is it still a classic? You bet. Here is a record that captures the essence of cool and exudes style and grace so effortlessly, the music almost seems to float on air. John and his band give nothing less than 100% throughout this album, and their superb playing helped shape up what is now known as probably the most familiar jazz record that isn't performed by Miles Davis. It's been a while since I've listened to this album, but having recently gotten the newly packaged edition, I've reintroduced myself to a "Blue Train" that actually improves over the original recording. For one, the remastered version presents the album the way it was meant to be heard: clean and crisp. The incredible title track and "Locomotion" benefit most from the remastering, and Coltrane's sax playing is even more commanding this time around. Also, we get alternative versions of 2 tracks: the better of the two is "Blue Train." On this version, Coltrane's playing differs quite significantly, but it works just as well. In addition, the disc has an enhanced portion for your PC where you can listen to retrospective interviews from engineer Rudy Van Gelder, as well as a brief black-and-white video where Coltrane is performing with Miles Davis onstage. So if you're new to Coltrane and are unsure which version of "Blue Train" to get, this baby is the one to pick up. The remastering provides a better sound, you get two bonus tracks, and there's a decent handful of extras to view/listen on your computer. "Blue Train" still holds up as a classic, and its remastering and repackaging are well deserved.

In San Francisco there is a church of St. John Coltrane, they have weekly services, and they have a weekly radio show. Let me try to explain why I'm comfortable with the "St. John". What makes a saint? A saint performs miracles. Coltrane was fortunate in that when he performed his miracles a tape was rolling. For example, I consider his solo on "Blue Train" miraculous. Let me elucidate: I'm a saxophonist myself, and I can play a mean blues solo (not great, but mean), and I can listen to a great blues solo and while I could not have played the solo, I can imagine how it was played, and I recognize the player as a fellow mortal. But with some Trane solos, e.g. on "Blue Train", it's too much. I can't imagine how anyone could have played it, it's too fast, the energy level is too high, the lines are too perfect, the creativity is too great, it's giving expression to an emotion that is too deep. It simple doesn't seem possible that anyone could have played that solo. It is beyond comprehension, awe inspiring. A miracle? Check it out.

So, you might think, it's inaccessible, for the aficionado only. Nope. They released "Blue Train" as a 45! I heard it on the student union jukebox when I came to U.C. Berkeley. It is as accessible as it gets.

Jazz is ephemeral, everything has to be right for the best performances, and everything was perfect on this date. The players were all at the absolute top of their games, the tunes were great, the mood was right, it's a great record in every respect.

Unquestionably one of the all-time best ever jazz recordings, and probably my favorite Coltrane album. Plenty has already been written here about the music ... this is jazz at it's best! If you just want some great tunes, and don't really care so much about some differences in recording quality, then don't hesitate to get this album today - you won't be disappointed!

The rest of this review is for those folks like me, who do notice subtle differences, and want the best possible sound quality:

Sadly, I have to proclaim my disappointment with this "remastered" release. I also own the 1997 CD release, which sounds significantly better. This new release is over-compressed, and has had a low-quality digital EQ boost in the treble, replacing the nuance and texture of Jones' excellent drumming with a homogenous sizzle - the cymbals have lost all semblance of realism. Blue Note should be ashamed for their mishandling of this historic recording, and especially for caving in to the over-compression fad which plagues the industry. I expect this sort of mindless mastering in bad pop recordings, not the greatest jazz of all time!

To some, this may come off as nitpicking, but I hope you'll excuse my negativity - to me it is disheartening to hear this sort of careless treatment of such treasured music, at the hands of professionals who surely know better.

Coltrane's beautiful music deserves a lot more care than this.

If you would like to own a better copy of this album, do yourself a favor and skip this edition - get the 1997 (20-bit "Super Bit-Map") CD instead. Your ears will thank you.

Wait a minute, I already own "The Ultimate Blue Train" so what is this CD supposed to be, Super-Ultimate?! Clearly with this reissue of John Coltrane's classic "Blue Train," the folks at Blue Note have returned to the mindset they had during the deletion-happy, series-slashing days of the late 1980s (when they reportedly deleted the majority of that year's jazz releases to make way for a then new Garth Brooks album). I am delighted that Rudy Van Gelder has been able to remaster one of the greatest sessions that he ever recorded, but that fact alone does not warrant another reissue. "The Ultimate Blue Train" was worth buying to replace the original CD -- it had remastered sound, two bonus tracks, and a multi-media component featuring rare photographs and more. It was what CDs were supposed to be! Yet another CD reissue of the same material that we all are supposed to buy again, that furthermore confuses potential new jazz buyers, is not! The only reason I give this CD four stars and not less is because this album contains some of the greatest jazz ever made. I love John Coltrane, but I hate manipulative marketing.

Blue Train is my favorite Coltrane release. If "A Love Supreme" sounds too zen-like and just too weird, then stick to the likes of this release and Coltrane's My Favorite Things and Giant Steps. Coltrane was the greatest tenor sax player after Parker's death, and this has been called perhaps his greatest album. It features also Lee Morgan on trumpet, who plays a Clifford Brown type horn with a bit more funk and Curtis Fuller on Trombone, along with Bass expert Paul Chambers, great piano work by Kenny Drew and drums by the legendery Philly Joe Jones. My favorite piece is: Moment's Notice. If you're looking for one Coltrane CD, pick this one up. It is simply beautiful jazz and the ultimate treatment (Enhanced CD) is the only way to go. I used to own the regular CD, but a classic this good deserves only the ultimate treatment. Wonderful! Wonderful!

This CD is amazing. I love to listen to it; it has some of my favorite solos of all time. Most people tend to applaud Coltrane's playing on this album, since he was the leader, but I personally am much more impressed with Lee Morgan's. The young trumpet player really shows his talent here. I especially love his break on Locomotion. If you buy this version and not the regular Blue Train, make sure you put it in your computer; there's a lot of great stuff, from clips of people talking about Coltrane to a video of Coltrane and Miles playing So What. I strongly reccommend this CD to any jazz fan; if you don't have it then your collection is really suffering.

This is truly Coltrane at his best. Maybe you thought you knew him from "My Favorite Things," or Giant Steps, but this one takes the cake. The title track takes it all (with a great recording of Lazy Bird). Whether you're a Jazz lover, musician, or novice, I promise this will be a great way to enter the world of Jazz, enjoy.

For me John Coltrane's best period was during his stint with Miles Davis, who was able to focus 'Trane's explosive impulses and make him not play so many notes, but instead the RIGHT notes. This album was recorded during that phase and it's Coltrane at his best. The songs are great and the solos memorable.

In the liner notes is a quote from a jazz musician-I forget who- who claimed that "'Trane made those other guys(the sidemen)look ridiculous. Like amateurs..." or something to that affect. The only thing ridiculous is that quote from my perspective. Lee Morgan plays with a fire and dexterity far beyond his 19 years. He doesn't allow himself to get caught up in a note-burning contest with Coltrane, but instead follows his own inner vision and plays beautifully. His understated opening salvo on the title cut is classic. 'Trane has just finished a fast, long and amazing solo and instead of trying to match it's intensity(an impossible task)Morgan goes for the less-is-more approach, softly hitting a few notes and stepping away from the mic for a pause. Then he repeats. If he didn't have the respect for JC that I know he had I would almost daresay that he was making fun of 'Trane's excess!

The rest of the players acquit themselves admirably as well. An essential album.

I didn't pick up BLUE TRAIN until I had already purchased around 25 Coltrane recordings. Because of this, I did not quite understand what all the hype was about. I always put recordings like GIANT STEPS and A LOVE SUPREME on a much higher pedastal. It took me a while, but now I see the sheer beauty of BLUE TRAIN.

Trane has an interesting band on this disc, consisting of veterans Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, as well as the additions of Kenny Drew (piano), Curtis Fuller (trombone), and Lee Morgan (trumpet). Except for Morgan, the rest of the group just backs Trane up. He's no Miles Davis, but I'll take him before somone like Freddie Hubbard any day of the week.

BLUE TRAIN was Coltrane's first breakthrough release. He had already played with Miles on some earlier Prestige recordings like 'Workin,' 'Cookin,' 'Relaxin,' and 'Steamin.' With Miles, he began an evolution that would end a decade later with his most avant-garde recordings. In 1957, Coltrane was battling his addiction to heroin, and it is also around this time that Trane was beginning to develop his lyricism that was formulated in his stints with Thelonius Monk at the Five Spot. While the music here is not 'challenging' by any means, the intensity of Trane's work here shows the listener an element of revolutionary playing. We can hear that Trane was searching for a way to combine all his ideas into some type of signature sound which he would not fully recognize until A LOVE SUPREME. What really strikes me the most is Trane's tone and intensity on this album, which I also hear on 1958's SOULTRANE. This is most evident on the track 'I'm Old Fashioned' as well as the title track. For a more upbeat side to the music, tracks like 'Locomotion' and 'Lazy Bird' feature highlights from Kenny Drew and Philly Joe Jones, respectively.

It doesn't really matter which 'version' of BLUE TRAIN you purchase...just make sure you own it.