Ayler's Spiritual Unity - bonus track

[bertrand]

Is the bonus track 'Vibrations' also from the 7/10/64 session?

Thanks,

Bertrand.

[Scott Dolan]

Well, it's complicated. Perhaps you can decode the explanation here better than I can.

http://www.ayler.co.uk/html/spiritualunity.html

[bertrand]

I had read those things and they all are sloppily written. My understanding is that yes, it is from the same sessions and they mean to say it is the same composition as the one labeled on subsequent recordings as 'Vibrations'.

So yes, I think it's from the same session. Does anyone else disagree?

Bertrand.

[Scott Dolan]

Sloppily written sums it up. And I agree with your assessment. I guess they didn't explicitly say it came from that session because they thought it was a given.

Either way, I actually appreciate that you started this thread because I wasn't even aware they'd released a 50th anniversary package.

[jazzbo]

Be wary, apparently the first pressing of this new edition has the bonus track at an erroneous speed.

[Scott Dolan]

Does that go for the digital version as well?

Does the 50th have special packaging of any kind? If not I was just going to grab a digital copy of it, as the only time I buy physical copies anymore is for special packaging. i.e. The Endless River box set with Blu-ray I purchased a couple of months ago. And that was the first physical copy I had purchased since I got the Bill Evans Vanguard box set three years ago!

[jazzbo]

Don't know, I'm the opposite, I don't do digital files, hate 'em. Nothing special about the packaging.

Edited January 1, 2015 by jazzbo

[Scott Dolan]

Love 'em, less clutter same sound as CD.

Has the reference tone ever been removed from Ghosts: Second Variation, do you know?

[erwbol]

The 50th Anniversary CD seems currently unavailable at amazon.com. Probably to do with the sped up Vibrations?

Be wary, apparently the first pressing of this new edition has the bonus track at an erroneous speed.

Probably best to eventually order through the label's site itself then.

Edited January 1, 2015 by erwbol

[Clunky]

I got a speed corrected version via Martin Davidson (Emanem)

[l p]

it was dated as 7/10/64 on the fan compiled 'ayler tree' discs a few years ago.

[bertrand]

What a mess!

So, here is a summary:

1) We don't know if the digital version (currently available from Amazon etc.) has the wrong speed or not.

2) The physical copy that was for sale is out of stock. This one had the wrong speed.

3) Emanem has a corrected version. What is Emanem and how do I purchase this from them legally?

4) The bonus track is from 7/10/64.

So I can either:

1) Download the extra song, but ONLY if someone has done so and can confirm whether or not that track is at the wrong speed.

2) Buy the corrected version from Emanem.

3) Live without it.

Bonus question: how can you tell if Ayler is at the wrong speed

Bertrand.

[Caravan]

It's from the same session. In fact, this track was on the very first (the red ESP LP) edition of Spiritual Unity, but was soon replaced (for reasons unknown) with another track on all subsequent editions. They are two different compositions, but they didn't change the name for the replacement track, which also came as Vibrations. Supposedly, one can consider the first edition and now bonus track as the "original" Vibrations, but then there are several other (and different) Ayler compositions going under that name on other LP's/CD's.

At some point there was a Japanese CD edition of Spiritual Unity that had all five tracks.

[l p]

this confirms the date. it's a nice mini-bio and discography.

http://www.reocities.com/jeff_l_schwartz/chpt2.html

Recording Session

July 10, 1964, New York.

3.Spirits (actually "Vibrations" on ESP 1002B and "Saints" on ESPM 1002B..."

Edited January 1, 2015 by l p

[Scott Dolan]

What a mess!

Would it be Spiritual Unity any other way?! It has led a wonderfully chaotic existence from the time it was recorded up until this very day.

Though, I would still like to find out from any of you if the reference/test tone was removed from Ghosts: Second Variation.

My pressing has it from 3:22-3:27.

[B. Clugston]

According to this article, http://www.wonderingsound.com/feature/albert-ayler-spiritual-unity-history/, the reference tone was removed for the reissue.

[Scott Dolan]

Nice!

Thanks, brother!

[Clunky]

What a mess!

So, here is a summary:

1) We don't know if the digital version (currently available from Amazon etc.) has the wrong speed or not.

2) The physical copy that was for sale is out of stock. This one had the wrong speed.

3) Emanem has a corrected version. What is Emanem and how do I purchase this from them legally?

4) The bonus track is from 7/10/64.

So I can either:

1) Download the extra song, but ONLY if someone has done so and can confirm whether or not that track is at the wrong speed.

2) Buy the corrected version from Emanem.

3) Live without it.

Bonus question: how can you tell if Ayler is at the wrong speed

Bertrand.

Emanem don't appear to carry the disc any longer. Davidson (I think) carried stock because he was the source of the bonus track.

http://www.emanemdisc.com/emanem.html

[Caravan]

It's from the same session. In fact, this track was on the very first (the red ESP LP) edition of Spiritual Unity, but was soon replaced (for reasons unknown) with another track on all subsequent editions. They are two different compositions, but they didn't change the name for the replacement track, which also came as Vibrations. Supposedly, one can consider the first edition and now bonus track as the "original" Vibrations, but then there are several other (and different) Ayler compositions going under that name on other LP's/CD's.

At some point there was a Japanese CD edition of Spiritual Unity that had all five tracks.

As I was writing from memory, I have (not surprisingly) to correct myself. The "bonus track" appeared as Spirits on the first ESP LP, as did the replacement track on subsequent editions. However, it (i.e. the bonus track) correspondents with a tune named Vibrations on other LP's/CD's and apparently it has now been decided that this should be its rightful name.

The Japanese CD that had all five tracks listed both as Spirits, but they are two different tunes. It seems that Ayler himself wasn't particularly clear as to which title belonged to which tune and - especially during this period - Spirits and Vibrations were his favorite titles, at times applied to a variety of tunes.

[l p]

1) We don't know if the digital version (currently available from Amazon etc.) has the wrong speed or not.

the copy from the ayler tree (from the mispressed vinyl) is 7:44. amazon is 7:49, so amazon is most likely correct speed, not counting a couple of seconds silence at the end that amazon must have. an incorrect speed would be a bigger difference than a couple of seconds.

[romualdo]

I have a corrected version which runs @ 7:50 - the faulty/slower version is 38 secs longer

[bertrand]

So based on your timing, it sounds like Amazon's is probably OK. Thanks.

[Late]

I have a corrected version which runs @ 7:50 - the faulty/slower version is 38 secs longer

Same here. I purchased the download of this (bonus) track from Amazon, and it sounds fine. The track itself is far from a throwaway. In fact, it contains soloing (Ayler's) that I'd rate as high as any other track on the album. I'm a little surprised that it can be purchased separately. Instead, "Ghosts, Variation 2" is the album-only track from Amazon.

Based on this single track — which, to my ears, sounds like a very good needle drop — it sounds as though the remastering might be a little better than for previous compact disc editions of this album. Hard to tell as I haven't heard an actual hardcopy of this new 50th anniversary edition. (I have the ZYX and Get Back editions.)

[Late]

Along parallel lines, Ayler's complete "First Recordings" sessions (originally titled "Something New!") — that is, all eight tracks — can be purchased as a download from Amoeba Records. (They do sell downloads!) For U.S. buyers, this is the only place, to my knowledge, where a legal download can be purchased. Canadian and European buyers appear to have quite a few more options. The Japanese DIW compact disc sells for medium-high (?) prices when available on eBay.

Tracks from "First Recordings" play a prominent role in the "soundtrack" to the Kasper Collin documentary. I used to have a lower opinion of these recordings until recently. While the supporting ensembles (well, just drums and the whistler in some instances) aren't Gary Peacock and Sunny Murray, Ayler's playing is so committed that I finally woke up and realized how raw and passion-filled these early recordings are.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Late

[Scott Dolan]

So do I have it straight that other than having Vibrations added, there is really no other compelling reason to purchase this reissue?