John Coltrane - Side Steps 5-CD

[Chuck Nessa]

FWIW, I think the first disc sounds fine. I have had the lp, cds. K2s but not the RVG. Still sounds good.

[BFrank]

Got mine today, too!

[JETman]

It's not easy being green, eh?

Eh?

Off of which exit do you live?

[7/4]

It's not easy being green, eh?

Eh?

Off of which exit do you live?

Which subway are you closest to? Or do you have some kind of MetroNorth or LLI thing happening?

[JETman]

It's not easy being green, eh?

Eh?

Off of which exit do you live?

Which subway are you closest to? Or do you have some kind of MetroNorth or LLI thing happening?

Let's not get into a public "thing". You know the real deal!!!

[7/4]

It's not easy being green, eh?

Eh?

Off of which exit do you live?

Which subway are you closest to? Or do you have some kind of MetroNorth or LLI thing happening?

Let's not get into a public "thing". You know the real deal!!!

Actually, I don't. I have noticed that some New Yorkers have some "issues" about state lines.

What ever.

[JETman]

It's not easy being green, eh?

Eh?

Off of which exit do you live?

Which subway are you closest to? Or do you have some kind of MetroNorth or LLI thing happening?

Let's not get into a public "thing". You know the real deal!!!

Actually, I don't. I have noticed that some New Yorkers have some "issues" about state lines.

What ever.

For reasons obvious to those who live in the tri-state area.

[Big Al]

Got mine yesterday and put in disc four immediately. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but "All Morning Long" NEVER sounded this good, IMHO. And it's not like I have the greatest sound-system in the world. Jamil Nasser's bass is so PRESENT. The whole disc sounds extremely roomy, uncluttered, and organic. I can't wait to listent to the rest of the box.

Speaking of the "All Morning Long" sessions (for lack of a better term), I am *so* glad the CD programmers decided NOT to be strictly chronological by putting "Tenor Madness" at the beginning of disc 2, thereby letting everything else fall nicely into place. This is ESPECIALLY effective on the "All Morning Long" sessions, leaving them on two discs instead of staggering them over three discs on the old box. (For that matter, all three of these boxes have been very good about keeping all of the sessions as together as possible. This makes for much easier listening, IMO)

My only complaint is with the booklet, and even that is a minor one: mostly discographical stuff like incorrect track listings when notating which side of a record the songs are on, as well as other typos whose details apparently are so minute their escaping my cluttered mind.

Overall, a HIGHLY enjoyable release, and one I would've gladly paid retail price had I not found the Best Buy link (thanks again, guys)!

On a semi-related note, I continue to be impressed by Concord's packaging of boxes like this, and wish they would do more of them. I know that a similar plan was supposed to be in place for all of Miles' Prestige recordings; with the release of the Miles/Sonny collection, I wonder what the odds are that the remaining sessions will be released in box form. I e-mail Concord about this; if I ever hear back from 'em, I'll post it here.

[sonnymax]

i received mine as well, which leads me to ask this question:

ANYONE WANT TO BUY A BRAND NEW COLTRANE BOX?

I'LL SELL IT TO YOU FOR $5000!!!

No? Guess I'll go over to the Hoffman forum.

[WorldB3]

My copy of Side Steps just arrived today. I put on disc 1 which includes Informal Jazz and Mating Call. I like the packaging and the booklet but I do hope the sound on the other discs is better than on disc 1. Mating Call especially sounded poor. I thought maybe my speakers were having a problem suddenly (Magneplanars). So I put on an older remastered disc that I was recently impressed with (Walt Dickerson's Sense of Direction) to check. It still sounds great. And I thought the Interplay box also sounded very good. Were these particular sessions poorly recorded? I've been surprised how good other mid/late 50's RVG Prestige recordings sound. Not disc 1 anyway.

Listening to disc 1 now. Mating Call sounds better to me on the RVG, but sounds good here, this session sounds to me as it always did. It IS a slightly different sounding album than some of it's contemporaries. There is less depth to the sound than some other Englewood Cliff recordings. The other discs in the set should sound better.

The Ray Draper sessions on Disc 5 sound much warmer and rich to me then some of the Hope/Dameron sessions on Disc 1 that sound a little distorted. Probably a combination of the sound boost for the CD remasters and that the sessions on Disc 1 were probably recorded too hot anyways. Once my ear got use to the sound on disc 1 it stopped bothering me.

Great set and packaging all around.

[felser]

On a semi-related note, I continue to be impressed by Concord's packaging of boxes like this, and wish they would do more of them. I know that a similar plan was supposed to be in place for all of Miles' Prestige recordings; with the release of the Miles/Sonny collection, I wonder what the odds are that the remaining sessions will be released in box form. I e-mail Concord about this; if I ever hear back from 'em, I'll post it here.

Coupla things. First, I believe that Chuck indicated this and almost all of the "intelligent" packages were developed under Fantasy's watch, and just were released by Concord after the transfer. Second, good luck hearing back from Concord on any of this. They've ignored several emails I've sent on related topics over the past couple of years. I am very thankful this set finally saw the light of day after many years, but don't expect much new. Maybe if the work was already done on the Miles sets in the past we'll see them, but I agree that the Miles/Rollins set, while very nice in and of itself, may not be a good harbinger of what is (not) to come.

[Norm]

I received my box yesterday too. The only session that I already had is Soul Junction so I can't really compare the sound quality to any previous releases. I'm glad to see that most are pleased with many of the sessions. I've only listened to disc 1. It sounded just fine to me until I got to track 9 (I think it was track 9...it was very late last night so I can't be sure) and the piano started to sound distorted. Again, I don't know how it sounded originally, it just struck me as a slight departure from earlier portions of the disc.

+1 on the packaging. This being my first box in this series of three, I'm very impressed. I'll trust you guys on the factual errors -- but the quality of photographs from the various sessions and amount of data presented is truly impressive, especially for someone such as myself with no background in this phase of Coltrane's career. I also love the shot of Coltrane they used for the box itself. Now, I'm really looking forward to receiving Fearless Leader, assuming Concord/Prestige was consistent.

Thanks to all for the recommendations. Mistake or not, I still can't get over the fact that this was 11.99. It feels like I stole it.

[Niko]

Thanks to all for the recommendations. Mistake or not, I still can't get over the fact that this was 11.99. It feels like I stole it.

has been mentioned before, the other two are not much more expansive, e.g., between 14 and 16 at amazon marketplace

[Big Al]

On a semi-related note, I continue to be impressed by Concord's packaging of boxes like this, and wish they would do more of them. I know that a similar plan was supposed to be in place for all of Miles' Prestige recordings; with the release of the Miles/Sonny collection, I wonder what the odds are that the remaining sessions will be released in box form. I e-mail Concord about this; if I ever hear back from 'em, I'll post it here.

Coupla things. First, I believe that Chuck indicated this and almost all of the "intelligent" packages were developed under Fantasy's watch, and just were released by Concord after the transfer. Second, good luck hearing back from Concord on any of this. They've ignored several emails I've sent on related topics over the past couple of years. I am very thankful this set finally saw the light of day after many years, but don't expect much new. Maybe if the work was already done on the Miles sets in the past we'll see them, but I agree that the Miles/Rollins set, while very nice in and of itself, may not be a good harbinger of what is (not) to come.

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath, just remaining hopeful. I remember sending them an e-mail this time last year asking about this particular box, and they actually responded in a couple days time, IIRC. Funny thing is, at that time, Concord says there were no plans to release this box. I'm glad they changed their mind!

[jlhoots]

Thanks to all for the recommendations. Mistake or not, I still can't get over the fact that this was 11.99. It feels like I stole it.

has been mentioned before, the other two are not much more expansive, e.g., between 14 and 16 at amazon marketplace

Yes - I picked up Fearless Leader yesterday for $15.58 + shipping (the usual $2.98).

[Noj]

I already had the Fearless Leader box, so I went for the other two. Fifteen and eighteen bucks for Side Steps and Interplay, respectively. Great deals, thanks for the heads up!

[TedR]

Listened to disc 2 today. Lon was right. In very good sound. Believe it or not, most of these recordings and compositions are new to me so it's a thrill to hear them for the first time. "One by One" got me to get my trumpet out and play along with the staccato theme. That had to be a fun one for them to play. And I believe it was "Blue Calypso" with it's great theme and intriguing drum breaks, etc, etc. Looking forward to the Red Garland sessions next. The only one I have is All Morning Long.

I have most of the Coltrane leader dates on individual cds so the Interplay and Side Step boxes give me lots to explore. Thanks again for the heads up on the Best Buy sale/giveaway or whatever it should be called.

[CJ Shearn]

my set arrived in the mail today, awesome package design, great booklet, I'm so used to seeing Wolff photos from Hackensack, seeing how bright the room looks in the Edwards photos is cool. Great discography details too... The notes may not be as musically involved as the Woideck set in the red box, but they are very good. As was the case when I had the big box years ago, the Red Garland sessions remain some of my favorite.

Edited October 8, 2009 by CJ Shearn

[WorldB3]

Got mine yesterday and put in disc four immediately. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but "All Morning Long" NEVER sounded this good, IMHO. And it's not like I have the greatest sound-system in the world. Jamil Nasser's bass is so PRESENT. The whole disc sounds extremely roomy, uncluttered, and organic. I can't wait to listent to the rest of the box.

I haven't done a back to back test of it compared to the K2 of All Morning Long but its fresh in my memory as it was a recent purchase and I think your right.

Curious on your thoughts on Disc 1 in regards to the sound.

Edited October 9, 2009 by WorldB3

[Big Al]

Will report back once I listen to it. Still reveling in the Garland Quintet stuff! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

[JETman]

This set, and the other two, have reminded me how much Trane kicked butt, even early in his career. The Atlantic and early Impulse stuff have always been my favorite periods, but the Prestige recordings are moving up the list with a bullet.

[7/4]

Disc 5, track 8 - the Real McCoy skips like crazy on my copy.

Anybody else having this problem?

[CJ Shearn]

7/4 have you tried getting dust off the CD? b/c these come in holders they are particularly vulnerable

[7/4]

7/4 have you tried getting dust off the CD? b/c these come in holders they are particularly vulnerable

Of course!

[CJ Shearn]

hmm....... I'll check to see if mine has the same problem. I find skipping only tends to happen with discs in mini LP sleeves or odd packaging.