John Coltrane: The Atlantic Years in Mono

[jazzbo]

Coming this year, supposedly on LP and CD, in a box set:

http://www.recordshopx.com/artist/coltrane_john/the_atlantic_years_in_mono/

Not much more solid info than that, yet. I'm interested.

[Stefan Wood]

ugh.

[CJ Shearn]

Yes Lon, this does look interesting.  I wonder if it'll have the missing bars on "Equinox" restored that are absent from the Heavyweight Champion set? Otherwise I love that set, it's indispensable.

Edited March 18, 2016 by CJ Shearn

[mikeweil]

Will these be real mono grooves, requiring a mono stylus? If so, I'd be heavily tempted.

But: Why didn't they include Coltrane Jazz and Coltrane's Sound, not to mention the My Favourite Things LP? No original mono mixes available?

So no Equinox included in this box. I guess I need a single CD reissue as I, too, miss those few bars.

[erwbol]

Another bullshit release.

For CD, the original early Atlantic CDs (stereo) still sound best, except for My Favorite Things get the Bernie Grundman remastered hybrid SACD by ORG Music.

[jazzbo]

I don't necessarily agree. I have a few on mono LPs and prefer them to the stereo. So I don't personally feel this is a "bullshit release."

[sidewinder]

Have to agree with Lon - if these are in a good 180g pressing, there will be more than a few interested.

Edited March 19, 2016 by sidewinder

[paul secor]

I have Japanese stereo LPs of most of the music - probably everything except alternate takes - so I don't feel a need to pick this up. I don't know if the mono LPs are superior - Atlantic's sound wasn't all that great in general, to my ears - but to call it a "bullshit release" seems curmudgeonly.

[bluesoul]

Available for preorder on Amazon.  Release date June 10.

[Big Al]

On 3/18/2016 at 0:33 PM, mikeweil said:

Will these be real mono grooves, requiring a mono stylus? If so, I'd be heavily tempted.

But: Why didn't they include Coltrane Jazz and Coltrane's Sound, not to mention the My Favourite Things LP? No original mono mixes available?

So no Equinox included in this box. I guess I need a single CD reissue as I, too, miss those few bars.

According to the Rhino website:

A quick caveat, however: you will not find My Favorite Things, Coltrane Jazz, or Coltrane's Sound contained within this set, but it’s through no fault of ours: the mono masters were lost in a fire, so their inclusion simply wasn’t possible, sadly.

http://www.rhino.com/article/out-now-john-coltrane-the-atlantic-years-in-mono

[mikeweil]

Thanks for the link. 

I think I'll pass - too many other interesting things to buy ... 

[sidewinder]

55 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

too many other interesting things to buy ... 

Ain't that the truth - starting with my Mosaic 'bucket list'...

[mikeweil]

Don't mention that one!

[sidewinder]

1 hour ago, mikeweil said:

Don't mention that one!

It's bottomless..

[mikeweil]

... and will stay that way eternally ... 

[jazzbo]

Nicely-produced, nicely-mastered and nicely-priced CD edition arrived today. Listening to Giant Steps now. Very satisfying listening at that. I'm going to enjoy this set.

[felser]

On 6/12/2016 at 6:08 AM, mikeweil said:

... and will stay that way eternally ... 

Things that are not bottomless:  income, shelf space, listening time, patience/indulgence of significant others...

 

[mikeweil]

All correct. Thanks for your empathy.

16 hours ago, jazzbo said:

Nicely-produced, nicely-mastered and nicely-priced CD edition arrived today. Listening to Giant Steps now. Very satisfying listening at that. I'm going to enjoy this set.

I believe you, but some of my favourite Atlantic Coltrane is missing. With the extreme stereo spread of Atlantic recordings of the time, these must sound terrific.

But, considering the short playing time of all albums, they could have reduced it to three CDs and made it a real bargain.

Edited July 9, 2016 by mikeweil

[jazzbo]

I only paid 39 dollars, total, for this set, and I think it's well-priced and the sound is excellent. I have one of the missing on mono vinyl, and one of the missing on mono CD, and it's enough for now. Worth it for me to explore the sound, and I'm still collecting, I'm still in the mode. Shouldn't be, but I am. I totally understand someone not buying this and for good reasons, but I'm happy to have it and am enjoying exploring it.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I'm reading where these mono masters are made from the same 8 track recording as the stereo masters. So it's going to come down to how different the mix is. I think I'm going to pass.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Kevin Bresnahan

[jazzbo]

It's definitely all about the mix, any way the tapes might be made. I'm enjoying the mixes.

[mikeweil]

I'm confused: the quote from the Rhino site where they state they couldn't include some albums because the mono tapes were lost in a fire implies they used the original mono tapes; Kevin's post seems to imply the mono masters were made from the 8-track masters. Didn't they record direct to a mono mix back then? And did they use these masters for the reissue or mix new mono masters (the latter was the reason I never considered the Miles Columbia mono reissue).

[jazzbo]

The Columbia Miles only really remixed one new mono reissue, the others were original mono mixes.

I think Kevin is saying that the original mono mixes were created from the eight track recordings as were the original stereo mixes.

[mjzee]

I don't think they had 8-track recorders in the early 60's; they had 3, maybe 4 tracks to work with.

[jazzbo]

From this page:

http://www.atlanticrecords.com/posts/father-atlantic-sound-18236

Tom Dowd’s efforts to eliminate the technical woes of the recording process helped expose music recording as a new artform. He pioneered the use of a series of new technologies in the recording studio and helped standardize a number of revolutionary recording practices that are still employed today. For instance, at Dowd’s insistence, Atlantic Records was the first label to issue “true” stereo recordings and to use 8-track recording in its studios.

The first Ampex 8 track recording machine was sold to Les Paul in 1957. And from this page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_multitrack_recording#Ampex.27s_original_8-track_recorder

The second Ampex model 5258 8-track 3 was sold to Atlantic Records at Tom Dowd's insistence in early 1958.^[6] Atlantic was the first record company to use a multi-track recorder in their studio.