John Coltrane - "A Love Supreme" (1964)

Last night, I asked you all to pick the album we review today.  Our ONLY response was a suggestion to review "A Love Supreme" by John Coltrane.  When I saw this, I was very excited because this happens to be my all time favorite jazz record.  The only problem I saw in reviewing it was that it was cut to just 4 tracks.  This may cause a bit of an issue when using our unique format of reviewing albums by individual songs.  But here at Taking Notes, the reader comes first, and we decided to give it a try.  It definitely won't be our longest review, but we hope you enjoy it anyway.

A Love Supreme is an album recorded by the John Coltrane quartet towards the end of 1964.  Most critics look at this as one of his greatest works.  This is said to be because of his use of both hard bop and free jazz styles.  The record was split up into four separate parts called "Acknowledgement", "Resolution", "Pursuance", and "Psalm".  The parts blend together so well, the average listener would say that there is hardly any difference at all between the four parts.  The original album released in 1964 actually only had three parts, combining "Pursuance" and "Psalm" to create one song lasting 17 minutes and 53 seconds!  This is simply a case of quality over quantity.  The 4 parts combine leave the album with a total length of just 33 minutes, which is short for a regular CD.  Even in such little time, Coltrane was able to produce one of the greatest jazz albums of all time.  A Love Supreme comes in at number 47 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.  This also happens to be Coltrane's first album since he gave up his addiction to heroin.  This adds to the experience that he describes as "a spiritual journey."

1.  Acknowledgement (9/10)

The first song opens the suite with the loud bang of a gong.  I think of this as the back-bone of the album.  John Coltrane is such an incredible musician, I find it hard not to enjoy his music.  His ferocious solos make for an unbelievable opening to an unbelievable album.  The opening to this song is its greatest characteristic.  The dramatic opening acts like the intense formation of  the album.  Towards the end of the first part, which comes in at 7 minutes and 43 seconds, there is a background group of vocalists that take part in chanting "A Love Supreme."  I find that the hypnotic nature of this song is reminiscent of Coltrane's older albums, when he was with Atlantic Recording Studios.

2.  Resolution (9/10)

Again with this song, the best part is the beginning.  The first twenty seconds consists of the bassist playing a very quiet series of notes.  At about the 23 second mark, the rest of the quartet bursts into action loudly.  This actually startles me almost every time I listen to this record because the entire album begins fairly gentle.  The pianist especially has some great moments in this track.  He provides a beautiful solo of chords about three minutes into the song.  The hard bop style of the second movement is a stunning way to show off the incredible talent that is the John Coltrane Quartet.  

3.  Pursuance (10/10)

I forgot to mention earlier that the version of A Love Supreme that I have does not separate Pursuance and Psalms.  I can't differentiate the two on my version, but I will do my best to identify them correctly. The third part, Pursuance, is highlighted by incredible solos from both John Coltrane and his drummer, Elvin Jones.  This is the longest track on the album and it comes in at an awesome 10 minutes and 43 seconds.  As the song progresses, each member takes his turn at soloing for a few minutes.  It is the drum solo that opens Pursuance.  As odd as this sounds, Jones' drum solo reminds me of a really mellow version of one of John Bonham's drum solos on Led Zeppelin's live album,  The Song Remains The Same.  I know, it's a really bizarre comparison.  Coltrane continues to amaze his audience, and the bassist, Jimmy Garrison, ends the third piece with a mesmerizing bass solo that perfectly merges the third and fourth portions.

4.  Psalms (10/10)

The final piece of this puzzle is the slowest and most dramatic song of the four.  The beauty of this piece is absolutely astonishing.  The performers surrounding Coltrane all play in a lower register that emphasizes the sadness and drama of this song.  This song reflects John Coltrane's free and lyrical style as opposed to the hard bop style on the first tracks.  It feels almost like Coltrane is speaking to the listener through his instrument.  As I mentioned before, Trane called this album "a spiritual journey."  As the album moves from one piece to the next, you can hear and feel the different stages in the "journey."  This final part is the ultimate enlightenment, as he has completed his journey and is one with the Lord.  It is a tremendously beautiful song.

With only four songs, A Love Supreme comes in with an overall length of just over 30 minutes.  This is really the perfect length.  I think if it was any longer than what it is, there is a possibility that listening to it would become tedious.  It seems almost impossible to imagine a jazz collection that does not include this masterpiece.  It is the record that I play before I go to bed every night and it's hard for me to imagine going to sleep without it!  It is the ideal jazz album and deserves a spot in any music listener's collection. 

Listen to A Love Supreme on Spotify!

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WE ARE FINALLY BACK ONLINE!!!

It's been about two weeks since we've had a new post, and we are excited to say that we will back to the old schedule starting on Thursday, December 6th.  As you know, that is Throwback Thursday.  We would love it if you leave a suggestion in the comments section below!  It was really discouraging to be gone for as long as we were, so unexpectedly.  We really want to make our "comeback" something you all want to read.

I know you have all been wondering where we have been for the past couple of weeks.  Let me explain.  We were having some trouble with the comments section, and we tried to make it easier for the readers to utilize.  HOWEVER, the approach I took did not cooperate with Blogger's conditions at all.  This is what caused the site to be down in the first place.  It didn't take too long to make the site viewable again, but it wasn't the same experience as before.  Due to some other complications with Google, we were unable to make new posts for a while.  But all of our issues have been resolved, and we are ready to be back and better than ever, with your help.

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Just to refresh your memories, we will have new posts each Wednesday and Thursday every week from now on.  Still, we will be taking a week off over the holidays where there will not be a new post.  Check back tomorrow for a new review!!!

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