 |  | arcitection of aggression |  |
at first listening to this cd,it was very confusing to me,all sorts of conformsions of callamity entered my mind,and i thought what in the world is this that i am listening to.but after several listenings,the genius of john coltrane was very prevelant,with his use of abstract rythums,and odd time signatures,especially on the song attaining,really captivated me,then i thought this is brilliant,and it's become a mainstay in my listening repituar ever since.
August 19, 2008This was actually the first record I heard by Coletrane, and one of the first jazz albums I owned. I love Sunship.
Aside from the first track-based on a very jerky rhthym the band improvises across-these tracks are simple blues lines. But the band jams intensely and take their solos way outside of the chords.
By now this band was so comfortable together that they drove each other harder and harder. (All of us Coltrane fans should start a bet: how many drum heads do you think Elvin Jones broke?) All the playing is very intense; white hot with urgancy. They move fast and hard and loud, but leave behind endless colors and textures.
This is not considered a major Coltrane work, but it is among the best this lineup had to offer.
June 4, 2008 | | (3.5 stars) Coltrane launches himself into the avant-garde, with mixed but overall strong results. | |
Okay, this is good stuff. It's certainly got the emotional ferocity of 'Trane's other free-jazz stuff. But it's not as good as my favorite of the out-and-out free jazz albums, Ascension (I'm not counting A Love Supreme, because I don't feel it's complete free jazz). It isn't even as good as Om. Is it likable? Certainly. That's why you see the 3.5 stars up there. But there's a good reason why it's not mentioned with the classics - there's too much mediocre material. Said mediocre material happens to come in the form of two songs that total twenty minutes ("Attaining", "Ascent", which clearly wants to be "Ascension"'s little cousin) and just sorta waste about half the record. So I give it a 3.5. But really, if you take those two out (and end up with a twenty-minute album, more like an EP... riiiiight....), this wouldn't break a four. I mean, I love all the intensity he put in "Dearly Beloved" (which will blow your head off if you're not accustomed to this kind of stuff), and the title track's a good song too. But I wouldn't add any to a collection of Unbeatable Coltrane Masterpieces (okay, maybe "Dearly Beloved"), whereas about half of Meditations would make the cut. So even though Trane's still honkin' away, playing like his life depended on it, etc., there are better examples out there of when he did stuff and exploded your brain (The Major Works of John Coltrane, which is God, is a good example), rather than simply making you think, "Yeah, Coltrane's a cool guy", as this does to me.
November 17, 2007| | | another must-have from coltrane & co. | |
lots of emotional fire on this impulse album from coltrane & company. his sax playing is raw and aggressive and full of feeling (as always), and the rhythm section is better than ever on this one. waves of rhythm undulate through this set. elvin jones is fantastic. at times his drums resemble the approach of a storm. i hadn't listened to this album in over ten years. horrible neglect. i will certainly get back to it sooner next time. great stuff.
March 31, 2007| | | Coltrane Just As He's Escaping Earth's Gravitational Pull | |
I picked this up because I had heard Attaining on an old "Best of John Coltrane Vol 2" Lp I had many years ago. I had no idea what to expect apart from Attaining.
First of all Attaining is a wonderful piece of music, Coltrane's tone almost has a "wooden" quality like a clarinet. It's very beautiful, restfull playing while Elvin's drumming is wild, almost chaotic. Wonderful contrast that somehow works. Kind of reminds me of the Psalm from A Love Supreme though the playing far more intense.
The rest of the CD is amazing, the standout track is "Amen" Coltrane plays very intensely. This piece is frantic, barbaric, and beautiful all at the same time.
There are no bad tracks on this CD, it's intense though. Not as wild as Meditations, not as tame as A Love Supreme.
Buy at once!
December 2, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
