Coltrane: The Impulse! Albums Volume Four

[jazzbo]

I'd say the reproductions are mediocre, not lousy. That's a very personal value choice I guess. Would look much better on a digipak, that's the main problem in my opinion.

The price I paid was as if I paid ten or eleven bucks each for five reissues, not too bad. And I hardly read notes any longer, I still haven't read the notes of the last three or four Mosaics I bought. . .most bore me. So I'm not unhappy.

Edited September 11, 2011 by jazzbo

[Chuck Nessa]

The VV cover is an abomination. I pay for printing/scans of this type and would have changed suppliers.

[king ubu]

Ok, good. Thanks everyone.

Will not buy then, I'm afraid. Don't feel the need for yet another sonic upgrade that my ears won't really notice and already own all of the music, some of it in various issues ("A Love Supreme" must be the album I've bought most often, four or five times, I think... plus I've got an old mono LP from my dad's...)

[jazzbo]

I confess I haven't even really taken a good look at the VV cover! I've seen those covers so many times.

Yeah, if you're not seeking a sonic upgrade, and you don't have a nostalgic or "brain" need to have these in lp format, no reason to buy these. I've the best sounds system that I've ever had now (my recent purchase of a PS Audio PerfectWave Transport and DAC really set my system flying!) and I'm really enjoying the sonic upgrade on these.

[king ubu]

You know, each of us has his own weirdnesses, I guess... me, I'd have been all over a nice 7" Hip-O of Trane's later stuff and would have been all over that. But then, too, I'd still have wanted the bonus tracks (which in a larger box would have made more sense).

I was slightly disappointed to realize that Hip-O is merely continuing the concept of the Original series by Universal (which, true enough, have done some wonderful digipacks... I got "Crescent" again and it's indeed very nicely done, as are of course many of the non-Trane reissues!)

[jazzbo]

At this point Hip-O = Universal seems to be the thing. I wish they had really taken over the concept and just gone with the digipaks. I don't know why that didn't happen, that's my big disappointment. I have all the bonus material other places and to be honest there's a reason why some of it wasn't officially released. I tend to listen to Coltrane as I did in the lp age. I never really liked the Cuscuna produced box set, and I liked the separate issues with bonus tracks, but I think what I'll do is make myself a boxset of the alternate material all over the place and put that with these Original Album sets. Somehow hearing the albums as originally released is my priority and makes me hear new things in them.

I found the upcoming Vol.5 at a pretty good price on Blow it Out of Here, so I'm looking forward to that.

[sambrasa]

Are these Japanese new versions of Seattle and Olatunji concerts remastered? Do they sound better than previous versions?