John Coltrane – A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle

Of historic interest for Coltrane fans, but not a good recording. Very lengthy bass solo too (longer than the studio album), which is even less interesting given the poor recording. As others have said, this doesn't have the Acoustic Sounds treatment...vinyl is flat and quiet, but comes in paper sleeves, the jacket isn't tip-on etc..

Music is energy. Sometimes you do not have to hear all the notes to get blasted with it. This performance is a huge wave of such energy. It's a blizzard that smashes into you and takes you with it. And like in a real blizzard, sometimes you get only the shadowy shapes of objects, other times you get the full picture.

I was expecting a bootleg level recording that I would consider a historical document at best. What I got is some of the closest approximations of what it might have been to sit in a smoky club with bad acoustics and witness a group of geniuses transform that place into a storm of music. Side A is the worst to me - it really is so irritating to barely hear Coltrane behind Elvin smashing the drum kit to pieces. Side B is much better right away, with a great Dolphy-esque solo from Ward. (Dolphy had died over a year prior to this recording, and half a year before A Love Supreme was recorded. Had he lived, who knows, it might have been him instead of Ward.) Coltrane's solo after Ward's can be heard much better than on side A mostly due to Elvin letting the drums catch a breather, before he gets them to work much harder on the loudest solo on the album.

LP2 sonically is better than LP1. Side C has a stunningly fierce "wounded animal" music from Sanders and a trans-inducing solo from Tyner, where it feels like he himself doesn't quite know where the music will take him next (the piano is noticeably turned up in the mix). Side D is Garrison's focused solo, where it shows that the recording equipment was actually pretty capable of catching some low freq resolution. Then Coltrane finishes the album off. At that point I am really grateful the recording does not end with last notes of music or with applause, but for a moment offers some random sounds from the room, as if people are stunned with what happened.

I love great sounding records. This one does not sound great. But its energy is exhilarating.

Okay, okay the sound's not so good but the performance, my god, is fierce!!! The records are flat and near quite. Minimal ticks here and there but nothing to worry about. After a good clean in plays even better.

I think if you are a diehard aficionado of the interpretations recorded by John Coltrane, you will be very intrigued by this recording. It is not a studio recording by any means, in that the acoustics, placement of the mics, mixing of the instruments for emphasis is nonexistent. This recording is a raw, single source, unadulterated ( at least the original magnetic tape, not sure about the subsequent vinyl pressing) impression of a live, warts-and-all, Coltrane session. It is obvious that the mic was not placed to record the sound of the saxophone, therefore IT is not isolated or well defined; in fact, it sometimes barely surfaces above the over enthusiastic beats of the drums and cymbals, yet, when it does, one can hear and picture in one’s mind John Coltrane in his “zone”. THAT is what this recording offers to the Coltrane connoisseur … This recording, beyond whatever manufacturing imperfections of the vinyl or packaging may exist, is truly an experience…. Definitely not geared to the general Jazz listening public. For them, the studio recording of John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” would Suffice…

Well... The work is very confused. The recording seems kind of dull. Pressing overall clean. Vinyl is flat.

I don’t suppose anyone has a download for this? I own the record. You pay so much for them the least they could do is include a download card.

The mere fact that this exists is a miracle, the fact that it was pressed with such quality and care is another miracle, people that say they can't hear the saxophone need their hearing checked! It's a superb live audience that responds appropriately and is heard throughout. The mix is f-ing LiVE in '65 done by a saxophone player, stop whining about paper sleaves and miniscule imperfections on a handful, mine plays fantastically well and is a new treasure in my collection. People that dwell on perfection will always be unhappy.!

Awesome 180 gram vinyl set was presented in cheap paper sleeves. I replaced them with poly lined sleeves ASAP. Nice quiet vinyl….Very minimal surface noise. Gatefold and booklet were immaculate. The recording left much to be desired as John Coltrane (star of the show!) is buried so far back in the mix. I’m sure this could’ve been corrected with today’s technology. At any rate, this is a nice addition to the collection. I can see why it wasn’t too expensive!!

I had a copy with serious background noise and clics on Side D. Very disappointing. Not to mention the cheap unlined paper sleeves used.
Curiously visually that side looks good. All other sides play fine.

For those of you who are disheartened at not being able to hear Coltrane as loudly in the mix... I get it. But this will not be the final word for this recording, either.

Technology is always making strides. In his documentary on The Beatles, Get Back, Peter Jackson's team developed technology to "demix" mono audio tracks and isolate the individual components of sound in mono audio. This may not be the first attempt at such a technology, but it was certainly used to great effect. As time passes and the technology is further refined, I would not be surprised if a decade or two down the road, demixing technology is used to create a more balanced mix to these recordings as well. If you're at all interested, there's a pretty great rundown of that technology and how Jackson used it here: https://collider.com/peter-jackson-the-beatles-get-back-interview-demixing/

That said, although I wish we could hear more Trane, I am absolutely not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. This release is an absolute treasure, and the fact that it exists at all is a blessing unto itself. And the fact that it was released and, all things considered, sounds as great as it does is another blessing. One day the technology will be there. But in the meantime, I'm grateful for what we got.