Ornette Coleman - Beauty is a Rare Thing (2015)

[Clunky]

Impulse buys - good all round!

they all failed my 'do I have it on CD?' test which I reluctantly impose on myself occasionally.....

Nice thick sleeves too on those originals. Enjoy them.

Rules are there to be broken but in this case I didn't have any of the ones I went for.

[l p]

The Coltrane set (Heavyweight Champion) supposedly also has some issue with missing seconds of music at the start of certain tracks.

only on one track - equinox. and ole may have a brief flaw during coltrane's solo.

there are a lot of previously unissued alternate takes which are still available only on this box.

[Chuck Nessa]

Worry not.

[erwbol]

Ornette Coleman - Change Of The Century (SHM-CD, WQCP-1081)

The 2011 SHM of This Is Our Music (WQCP-1082) came highly recommended, so I thought I'd try Change Of The Century (WQCP-1081). This SHM-CD does not have the white hot treble of the recent Japanese Warner budget CDs I heard (no Coleman titles). Good, (very) deep, detailed bass. However, it is a bit louder than the HD Tracks release of Change Of The Century. It also lacks the more natural sound of the CD layer of the ORG Music hybrid SACD of The Shape Of Jazz To Come, which I prefer, and which has more comfortable volume levels typical of such audiophile releases.

I don't regret getting this given Beauty Is A Rare Thing has the album spread over two discs with non-album tracks in between. I also don't doubt it must be better than the recent budget release.

The ORG Music release is IMO a definite upgrade over Beauty Is A Rare Thing. The SHM-CD is very good, but I would have liked it even better if the volume levels had matched those of the HD Tracks release or the ORG Music release.

[AllenLowe]

I have problems with chronic boredom.

[Scott Dolan]

I fell asleep halfway through his post as well.

[erwbol]

If you want to get rid of me, you'll have to ban me.

Oh, wait. You're not even a moderator.

[Scott Dolan]

Dude, you are of absolutely no importance to me. I could not care less if you stayed, or left.

[bluesoul]

New copies of this set going for as low as $27.98 plus shipping

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00RC9WLAO/ref=wl_it_of_o_pC_nS_lnk?ie=UTF8&colid=269V32PY3WZJ&coliid=IQMB5DWRBY3CH

[clifford_thornton]

Amazon is showing 1-3 weeks on this thing (which I was all set to grab for pops via Amazon Prime for Father's Day). Dusty Groove has not had it for sale at all. I may have missed the boat, but was this here and gone or has it been delayed slightly? I see third-party sellers seem to have copies but am not sure whether they "really" have it.

[Chuck Nessa]

Many titles by Ornette sold out on Amazon recently. They should be back soon.

[xybert]

I know that i suddenly got the urge to finally pull the trigger on some Ornette purchases that i'd previously held off on: ordered the recent remasters of Love Call and New York is Now! to replace my old second hand copies of the original CD releases, as well as The Empty Foxhole to replace my 'CDR on demand' version, and Chappaqua Suite which i've never had.

[clifford_thornton]

Many titles by Ornette sold out on Amazon recently. They should be back soon.

good that people who are curious about his music bought some, though sad in light of recent events that it didn't happen earlier.

[BFrank]

I got it from Amazon back in April for about $32. It was too good of a deal to pass up at the time. Glad I did (obviously).

[xybert]

Ended up buying this set, my copy arrived yesterday. Clam-shell and cardboard sleeves are standard, the booklet is squarebound and of excellent quality. So far i've only listened to the first two discs and have really enjoyed them. Although i have all the original albums on CD, there's always been an aura about this set and it's fun to finally hear the music in this sequence and in this form (yeah i could have made my own mixtape/playlist minus the bonus tracks, and yes it's on Spotify but it's not the same for me). 

[SimonC]

Hi, all.  I'm a newcomer to the forum (I was drawn here by Larry Kart's participation), as well as a relative newcomer to jazz.  I hope it's not bad form reviving this thread.  I'm also a newcomer to Ornette Coleman and just received this box set from Amazon yesterday.  I wanted to ask: is there an aesthetic rationale for ripping and then burning discs in the original album order? I know people on this thread have mentioned doing so, but I was wondering how much of that was driven by nostalgia for the original albums.  Did Coleman select and order the tracks for the original album releases? 

Thank you, and looking forward to participating here!  (I probably have more to contribute in the classical discussions...)

[jazzbo]

Welcome Simon. I can really only speak for myself: I have the box but mainly listen to the albums as originally released, and mainly for nostalgic reasons. 

I'm not sure how much input Coleman or band members had in the sequencing or take selection for the albums. My gut says some, but not final say so, but that's just my gut, not an informed opinion.

[Scott Dolan]

Hi, all.  I'm a newcomer to the forum (I was drawn here by Larry Kart's participation), as well as a relative newcomer to jazz.  I hope it's not bad form reviving this thread.  I'm also a newcomer to Ornette Coleman and just received this box set from Amazon yesterday.  I wanted to ask: is there an aesthetic rationale for ripping and then burning discs in the original album order? I know people on this thread have mentioned doing so, but I was wondering how much of that was driven by nostalgia for the original albums.  Did Coleman select and order the tracks for the original album releases? 

Thank you, and looking forward to participating here!  (I probably have more to contribute in the classical discussions...)

My personal thought is that it would be more important to those who had the original albums. I never had them, so the chronological order of the discs in the box set work just fine for me. Plus, I think chronological order simply makes more sense. Seems that you can hear ideas flow a little better. 

As for resurrecting this thread, I certainly see no issue with it. Makes more sense than starting a new one only to have someone post a link to this thread. Though, most folks here likely wouldn't have cared either way. 

Either way, welcome to the board! I know a pretty fair share about Jazz, but most here know ten times more, and are more than willing to share that knowledge with you. Stick around, have fun, and keep a close eye on your bank account. ;)

[niels]

I also rearranged everything to the original albums after ripping (no burning, as listen to my music through a Squeezebox that is connected to my harddrive) this box. For me, I think it is because I consider myself an "album" kind of guy.  I rarely listen to songs individually and never make my own playlists. I just always put up an album, and because I had only three Ornette albums from this box, this was a great way for me to buy a lot more from him for a low price.

[Scott Dolan]

That's a really interesting take, neils. I guess I would have to consider myself more of an "album" person as well. 

I wonder if that plays into revisiting box sets far less often than returning to individual albums. Something that seems to plague a lot of people. That possibility never really struck me until reading your post. Perhaps I've simply been "doing it wrong" all of these years, and nevr even knew it. 

Of course, now it's a million times easier since most software allows for playlists. 

[xybert]

Welcome SimonC. Prior to having this set i had all the albums, and with these type of things, where i'm familiar with the original albums, hearing them in a different sequence just sounds wrong. I think there is also an element of wanting to hear it as it was originally heard. However, in the case of Beauty is a Rare Thing, it's taken on a life of it's own as a major release of this music in it's own right rather than just being a collection or compilation. I've read so many blogs and articles over the years where the author bypasses the original releases of these albums all together and essentially refers to Beauty is a Rare Thing as the definitive release. The impression i get is that at the time this was a major release and it was the first time hearing the music for a lot of people. So obviously it's very subjective, but for my experience it's like both the original albums and Beauty is a Rare Thing are legit ways to experience this music. There's been so much talk and reverence for Beauty is a Rare Thing that from a fan's perspective it's almost like that is the legit way to hear it. It's definitely an either/or thing anyway. So from that sort of vicarious ''i want to hear it how it was originally heard'' perspective, this is how a lot of people originally heard it, and so for me it still provides that experience.

Hearing the tracks in a different order can also be a refreshing way to re-experience the music without being on autopilot. Again, you could always just cue up the original albums and hit random, but at least for me there's the added dimension of listening in the sequence of the legendary Beauty is a Rare Thing box.

 

[LouisvillePrez]

I usually reconfigure box sets into original albums in my iTunes, often creating a separate, "new" album of alternate/previously unreleased material.  Sometimes, the record companies already have "alternate track/outtake" albums that can also be reconfigured.  For example, the Coltrane Atlantic box includes material originally released on two separate albums of Coltrane outtakes/alternates.  Sometimes I find myself playing my newly created, stand-alone "albums" as much as the original ones -- like the collection of previously unreleased material on the 65-68 Miles Quintet box.   At the end of the day, I still play the CDs of box sets, and the burned material is just for the iPod.  I like the original album configuration because I prefer the time length of albums vs. the sometimes bloated length of CDs.  The greater length of a box set CD, however, does often give me a fuller picture of the music I am listening to, and I enjoy that, too. 

I really do enjoy the time/energy that goes into to breaking up a box set into the original albums, as I end up learning more about the history of the artist and the presentation of the artist by record companies over time. In short, the whole process is very educational.

When it comes to Beauty is a Rare Thing, which is still in my Amazon wish list waiting for me to spend more time with other things acquired in the last year, I imagine that I will break it out into the original albums.