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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — kamenov
November 8, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, 00602567493006
Essential piece of wax, lovely pressing too. You need it.
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — helloimnikitka
October 13, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, 2xLP, Album, Mono, Dlx, B0028317-01
Is there anyone else with two "Side B" labels on the second LP of this album?
John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — Dogan1960
August 20, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
The stereo tapes,as I mentioned, were not available for this release. Only 'Vilia' has been found of the original stereo recordings, and that has been in circulation for many years. The mono reference tapes were in the possession of Coltrane's first wife's family, Naima, as opposed to second wife Alice Coltrane, where the majority of his posthumous releases were usually sourced. These tapes as well as many other unreleased recordings were actually put up for auction in 2005 but withdrawn by Naima's family after an injunction by Verve who complained that some of the recordings duplicated material that was released already by the label and which they had rights to.The family did consult a researcher named Barry Kernfeld who analyzed and catalogued the tapes and it was his work that helped authenticate their existence and determine their historical value. (See 'The John Coltrane Reference' for further information about these tapes.) Now that the label is working with Naima's family, it is probable that more of these recordings will see the light of day.
John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album as reviewed by Dogan1960
August 15, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
To answer a few of the reviewer's questions- yes,it is a mono recording sourced from a reference tape from Coltrane's own collection.It was common for him to take home mono reference tapes for him to evaluate how the sessions went. The original stereo recordings are presumably lost for good, though the stereo version of 'Vilia' (Take 5) has surfaced- not sure why this wasn't included in this package. (This would be track 1 on the second LP.) As far as sound quality, no, it's not up his usual standards nor was it ever likely intended to be released either in mono only or even in the way this session appears to be 'mixed' - rather, Coltrane ran his own tape recorder while Van Gelder was engineering the sessions and what you get is what you get, limitations and all. As to why these recordings never made the cut when they were first made, who knows? They are still exciting to listen to as a bridge between 'Coltrane' and 'Crescent'.
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — pgspecialagent
August 19, 2018
edited over 3 years ago
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
So is there both a 2LP mono version (for the EU) and a 2LP stereo (For the US) or are they simply identical?
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — keefy6
July 18, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
After listen somewhat disappointing but I do take into account the mastering is not of that time, i.e. Dr. Rudy Van Gelder. I like the music but I do not like the the mixing and to be fair, I don't know the condition of the original music and its recording quality.
- There is a (to my ears) muddy mid-bass boom to sound made from acoustic bass throughout. Many notes have the same tone?
- There isn't (to my ears) a sound stage at all as every single instrument is dead center or within a very small box. Interesting; if using the pictures as reference, there are at least four (4) microphones.
- On a few tracks (to my ears) Elvin Jones' drums are almost a whisper...Elvin Jones.
Possibly worth keeping for historical value. In fairness I listen to mostly original recordings and not represses, so differences are probably (to my ears) more pronounced than say someone who primarily listens opposite.
- There is a (to my ears) muddy mid-bass boom to sound made from acoustic bass throughout. Many notes have the same tone?
- There isn't (to my ears) a sound stage at all as every single instrument is dead center or within a very small box. Interesting; if using the pictures as reference, there are at least four (4) microphones.
- On a few tracks (to my ears) Elvin Jones' drums are almost a whisper...Elvin Jones.
Possibly worth keeping for historical value. In fairness I listen to mostly original recordings and not represses, so differences are probably (to my ears) more pronounced than say someone who primarily listens opposite.
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album as reviewed by nevraumont
July 4, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, 2xLP, Album, Mono, Dlx, B0028317-01
Some observations about Both Directions at Once / The Lost Album.
The packaging is an example of a graphic artist focusing on creative design without sufficient attention to function. This is particularly crucial in packaging design.
The cutouts are susceptible to tearing. Check out the cutout on Ornette Coleman’s ”Free Jazz.”
The matte finish will pick up grime and smudging more readily than the glossy finish applied to most album covers.
Over time, the four-square-foot separate liner notes will have a tendency to fray or end up lost. When trying to read the notes, this poster-size sheet is cumbersome. Another example of hip design over mundane function.
The track list on the back cover set as a block is typographically interesting, but certainly not as easy to read at a track list set in columnar form,
Then there is the question of the value of this music.
Recorded on 6 March 1963, it was sandwiched between “Coltrane” recorded in April and June 1962 and “A Love Supreme” recorded on 9 December 1964. These two albums are among the best Coltrane assembled and released in his life time. Some aficionados consider “A Love Supreme” his all-time greatest recording achievement.
There are fourteen tracks on the current vinyl release: seven compositions plus seven alternate takes. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future a CD will be released with the entire recording session.
How much new musical ground is covered in this release? Is this music deserving of Ashley Kahn’s approximately 4,500 word magazine-article length appreciation? And no disrespect of Ashley, who is the author of “A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album,” and who, in fact, teaches a semester-long course on “A Love Supreme” at NYU.
And why didn’t Coltrane assemble a new album from this session or include any of the tracks on his seven subsequent albums released before his untimely death.
I’ll leave that judgment to the ears of all who listen to this music. Anything Coltrane recorded is worthy of our attention.
I wonder, however, whether this album isn’t an example of clever, over-hyped marketing. Marketing into which I bought.
Maybe Ravi Coltrane put it best, quoted by Ashley:
“To my ears, it was a kicking-the-tires kind of session.”
The packaging is an example of a graphic artist focusing on creative design without sufficient attention to function. This is particularly crucial in packaging design.
The cutouts are susceptible to tearing. Check out the cutout on Ornette Coleman’s ”Free Jazz.”
The matte finish will pick up grime and smudging more readily than the glossy finish applied to most album covers.
Over time, the four-square-foot separate liner notes will have a tendency to fray or end up lost. When trying to read the notes, this poster-size sheet is cumbersome. Another example of hip design over mundane function.
The track list on the back cover set as a block is typographically interesting, but certainly not as easy to read at a track list set in columnar form,
Then there is the question of the value of this music.
Recorded on 6 March 1963, it was sandwiched between “Coltrane” recorded in April and June 1962 and “A Love Supreme” recorded on 9 December 1964. These two albums are among the best Coltrane assembled and released in his life time. Some aficionados consider “A Love Supreme” his all-time greatest recording achievement.
There are fourteen tracks on the current vinyl release: seven compositions plus seven alternate takes. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future a CD will be released with the entire recording session.
How much new musical ground is covered in this release? Is this music deserving of Ashley Kahn’s approximately 4,500 word magazine-article length appreciation? And no disrespect of Ashley, who is the author of “A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album,” and who, in fact, teaches a semester-long course on “A Love Supreme” at NYU.
And why didn’t Coltrane assemble a new album from this session or include any of the tracks on his seven subsequent albums released before his untimely death.
I’ll leave that judgment to the ears of all who listen to this music. Anything Coltrane recorded is worthy of our attention.
I wonder, however, whether this album isn’t an example of clever, over-hyped marketing. Marketing into which I bought.
Maybe Ravi Coltrane put it best, quoted by Ashley:
“To my ears, it was a kicking-the-tires kind of session.”
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — InDustWeTrust
August 5, 2018
edited over 3 years ago
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, 2xLP, Album, Mono, Dlx, B0028317-01
Perhaps so. As musical art, this can hardly be called the second coming of A Love Supreme. Then again, like asenseofmuse, I didn't go in expecting a proper studio album to compete with Coltrane's best. Though undeniably (and inevitably) overhyped by Universal's marketing department, I imagine that most seasoned Coltrane fans came to Both Directions at Once more curious than expectant. On that level, it's a rewarding listen, one to which I'll likely return at least a few times over the coming years. You can't really ask for much more from one of these posthumous vault-scrapers.
Here, I disagree. The die-cut, matte-finish gatefold sleeve is elegant, appropriately reverential, and not impossibly fragile. While I might fault it for a restraint that verges on timidity, that's so common in contemporary package design as to be unremarkable. Visually, the design suits the contents and honors the artist, which is to say that it satisfies the general remit. The back cover text block is less easy to read than a simple column might have been, but I don't see this as problem. The trade-off (a bit of readability for a bit of typographic formalism) seems reasonably well-negotiated. I mean, it's not a Ray Gun page... I do agree with you about the fold-out insert, though. It's nice enough as a poster, but a terrible way to present long-form liner notes.
More broadly, I'd argue that the value of a luxury consumer product's ability to withstand time and use in "Near Mint" condition is a matter of philosophical perspective. Instantaneous digital information transmission has rendered the traditional, purely functional value of information-containing physical objects like books & records not obsolete, exactly, but certainly less important. The musical contents of this package can be had on demand for next to nothing by just about everyone in the world. Which leaves the market for the physical object to people like me: a coterie of first-world format fetishists with way too much "disposable income". Why shouldn't its design cater to our decadent whims?
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, 2xLP, Album, Mono, Dlx, B0028317-01
nevraumont
I wonder...whether this album isn’t an example of clever, over-hyped marketing. Marketing into which I bought.
Perhaps so. As musical art, this can hardly be called the second coming of A Love Supreme. Then again, like asenseofmuse, I didn't go in expecting a proper studio album to compete with Coltrane's best. Though undeniably (and inevitably) overhyped by Universal's marketing department, I imagine that most seasoned Coltrane fans came to Both Directions at Once more curious than expectant. On that level, it's a rewarding listen, one to which I'll likely return at least a few times over the coming years. You can't really ask for much more from one of these posthumous vault-scrapers.
nevraumont
The packaging is an example of a graphic artist focusing on creative design without sufficient attention to function.
Here, I disagree. The die-cut, matte-finish gatefold sleeve is elegant, appropriately reverential, and not impossibly fragile. While I might fault it for a restraint that verges on timidity, that's so common in contemporary package design as to be unremarkable. Visually, the design suits the contents and honors the artist, which is to say that it satisfies the general remit. The back cover text block is less easy to read than a simple column might have been, but I don't see this as problem. The trade-off (a bit of readability for a bit of typographic formalism) seems reasonably well-negotiated. I mean, it's not a Ray Gun page... I do agree with you about the fold-out insert, though. It's nice enough as a poster, but a terrible way to present long-form liner notes.
More broadly, I'd argue that the value of a luxury consumer product's ability to withstand time and use in "Near Mint" condition is a matter of philosophical perspective. Instantaneous digital information transmission has rendered the traditional, purely functional value of information-containing physical objects like books & records not obsolete, exactly, but certainly less important. The musical contents of this package can be had on demand for next to nothing by just about everyone in the world. Which leaves the market for the physical object to people like me: a coterie of first-world format fetishists with way too much "disposable income". Why shouldn't its design cater to our decadent whims?
:format(jpeg):quality(40)/discogs-avatars/U-3127994-1573948955.jpeg.jpg)
John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — asenseofmuse
July 17, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, 2xLP, Album, Mono, Dlx, B0028317-01
You may be right that the album is an example of "clever, over-hyped marketing". But understanding this before i bought it, that it was basically a practice session is part of the thrill. Although the tracks are not polished like a usual release, are any of Coltrane's albums, with this quartet, in this era..... polished? It was still recorded by the master, and has a great sound, but instead of cueing up this record and feeling like i am sitting in a Jazz Club, i'm sitting on the couch, at Van Gelder Studio's listening to a work in progress.
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — waxmonster
July 8, 2018
edited over 3 years ago
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, 2xLP, Album, Mono, Dlx, B0028317-01
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, 2xLP, Album, Mono, Dlx, B0028317-01
I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you on a number of points. I think the design and packaging is absolutely beautiful on this release. It's true that the die cuts and non laminated cover will require a bit more care but lets face it.... it's not like jazz collectors don't take care of their records. If anything... these design aesthetics will add value to copies that are taken care of in the future so surely something a jazz collector will be mindful of.
As regards the music itself. I really don't think that there can be any question over the importance of finding a new Coltrane album... regardless of what kind of session it may have been. Although... to my ears it doesn't exactly sound like the guys were on autopilot. This is a pretty ripping session that was discovered! It's very special to find new music from such a giant in this genre and surely an interesting listen to anyone with even a mild interest in Coltrane.
Hype or no hype... this is an important find and a pleasure to listen to. To think in 2018 we're listening to unheard of Coltrane recordings is absurd! EMBRACE IT!
As regards the music itself. I really don't think that there can be any question over the importance of finding a new Coltrane album... regardless of what kind of session it may have been. Although... to my ears it doesn't exactly sound like the guys were on autopilot. This is a pretty ripping session that was discovered! It's very special to find new music from such a giant in this genre and surely an interesting listen to anyone with even a mild interest in Coltrane.
Hype or no hype... this is an important find and a pleasure to listen to. To think in 2018 we're listening to unheard of Coltrane recordings is absurd! EMBRACE IT!
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album as reviewed by dorium_Tres
July 4, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
This is a slick record and I'm really happy it was found.
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album as reviewed by rykodrix
July 4, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, 2xLP, Album, Mono, Dlx, B0028317-01
It sounds terrific to me, in terms of hi-fidelity. It's another wonderful document of the power of 'Trane. It echoes some of the tradition of the past (Soul Train/Blue Train and certainly Giant Steps), and it absolutely fits right in with some of the other work he was doing more closely before and after this date (My Favorite Things/Crescent and even A Love Supreme a tad). The quartet is absolutely perfect for 'Trane, imho: McCoy Tyner proved to be the perfect foil to Coltrane's soloing. Coltrane may be the genius and "fearless leader," but Tyner is amazing every step of the way. A side note: there are a few cuts where Tyner sits out, which prove equally interesting--perhaps even more so to jazz afficianados who thirst for glimpses of 'Trane stretching out in different ways. Coltrane was certainly a jazz intellectual: continually exploring the nuances of a song, playing it different at every turn, aware of the traditions of the past yet insatiably yearning to turn the whole room upside-down with his 'free"-ness, which was barely containable at this point (perhaps contained only by RVG's hand in pushing the structure of a "record," as opposed to just letting the tape capture whatever came during a live date). And it's impossible to listen to Coltrane and not be intellectual stimulated and challenged. Yet, the first thing that hits you is a visceral, emotional response. Hearing the accomplished, confident 'Trane here is to step into a building where, far off in the distance, something incredibly magnetic instantly pulls at you in a way you simply cannot understand with your mind, only with your heart. You wind your way through the halls, up the stairs, down the stairs, and, finally, into the space 'Trane and Co. occupy. You wonder if you'll leave this place with everything you brought into it: certainly, parts of you are melting and puddling at your feet. And perhaps that's exactly the point. You will not leave as you came; you will leave with something new, different, better, inside you. You leave with 'Trane.
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — DonnieDiamonds
July 2, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
Here's my question: This recording is mono. So, was this cut as a mono record? It surely sounds great through my mono cartridge.
John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — keefy6
July 18, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
Based on what I heard, I determined the source was definitely Mono. Personally, it should have been left alone, produced as Mono and sold as such.
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John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album — patientot
July 6, 2018
referencing Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album, LP, Album, B0028316-01
The master was mono but more than likely cut with a stereo cutter head, just like the vast majority of mono reissues these days. I use the mono button when on my phono preamp when I play the record.
John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album as reviewed by funkynial
September 13, 2020