a love supreme- the remix / disc 2

flatfifth · June-16th-2003, 08:20 PM

Did anyone notice the lack of applause when the work was first introduced ? Maybe it hadn`t been released yet ?
Any comments on this work at all ? Maybe one of the most important documents of the decade...

Tanager · June-16th-2003, 08:29 PM

The "remix..." ?

Disk 2 (the live rendition) postdates the studio release by a fair bit, IIRC. They hadn't played the suite since recording it and were a little rusty, if memory serves. I don't listen to disk 2 that much, b/c I think the studio rendition is the better version.

Pete C · June-16th-2003, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tanager
The "remix..." ?

Disk 2 (the live rendition) postdates the studio release by a fair bit, IIRC. They hadn't played the suite since recording it and were a little rusty, if memory serves. I don't listen to disk 2 that much, b/c I think the studio rendition is the better version.

Rusty?

The two version are VERY different. Both awe inspiring. I don't know when the original album was released. It was recorded December 1964, and the Concert was July 1965. The album was probably out a couple of months--certainly not long enough to be legendary.

For perspective on where Coltrane's head was at the time, Ascension was recorded a month before the concert, and Sun Ship a month after.

Tanager · June-16th-2003, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pete C
Rusty?

I'll admit - this was a pretty facile and silly way to say what I meant. What I meant was, I think the version in the studio is more impressive - tighter, more cohesive, better played by the band as a unit. The live version was, I think, the first time they'd played it since they'd recorded ALS, so it doesn't seem unbelievable to me that the band might not gel as well on a set of tunes not part of their regular performance book. I know that's not always the case, yada yada yada, but listening to both performances, I just think they do a better job on the studio version (which is also, I'll concede, usually not the case).

flatfifth · June-16th-2003, 11:19 PM

the studio version i am sure was recorded with all the restrictions`s vinyl brings with it ,as a medium. By that I mean the time element being a problem . Musicians had little choice but to play within certain acceptable guidelines, which I am sure the producer kept them aware of. Live concerts have always presented problems in this area as well as producers likes and political leanings , They seem to have more interest in what is playable on the airways then what the musicians' artistic intent was at the time of the recording. i remember hearing horror stories about many of these projects which fall into the more enthusiastic categories.

Having listened all my adult life ,to the first version of ALS , and several recordings of Mr. Coltranes after this I am now certain that this version recorded live was and is the true genesis of his intent, even though the earlier version is much more listener friendly to most of the general public.

HLJ · June-16th-2003, 11:35 PM

Ashley Kahn wrote a good book on the making of "A Love Supreme".You cats might want to dig it.The studio version maybe the best piece of jazz music every record but there is a lot of fire in that live version.As noted Trane was allready headed further out by the time the live performance went down and the live set took a few more listens after being spoiled by the studio set for so long but I feeling it now.Peace and all that

June-17th-2003, 08:38 AM

The two versions are very different.

As concerns the cohesiveness of the band, I am inclined to agree with Tanager. But how many bands have ever reached the level of cohesiveness as was the case for the studio Love Supreme?

The live version is much freer. Coltrane had taken a huge leap "outwards" in early 1965. We are the richer for having the second version as well.

Perhaps the cohesiveness at the concert was affected by the fact that Coltrane and Elvin apparently had a falling out before that gig. They were also wearing suits and ties outdoors in the blistering heat of Southern France in mid-summer.

Dennis Gonzalez · June-17th-2003, 11:34 AM

Are talking about the DJ Spooky remix or the Bill Laswell one?

As far as cohesiveness that John L is asking about...I think many bands have reached that cohesiveness before and after A Love Supreme. I understand what you mean, though. It was incredibly tight...except for some of the unison vocals.

June-17th-2003, 01:11 PM

You might as well compare the studio version of My Favorite Things with the live version from, lets say, New Thing At Newport. In 1965 that band had grown by leaps and bounds and IMO was playing the greatest music I've ever heard. A Love Supreme was a nice studio album, but I think I actually enjoy the live version a little more simply because I loved where that group was in 1965, Sun Ship, First Meditations, Transition, etc.....

In 1964 A Love Supreme, I feel, was the apotheosis of everything that they had been doing up until that point in time. In 1965 it had to be slightly reshaped to fit the direction they were headed in. And both perfectly represent the band at the time they were recorded.

LeMo · June-17th-2003, 02:00 PM

When Coltrane start to play the Suite on the stage of the "Festival d'Antibes" in 1965, "A Love Supreme" wasn't yet distributed in Europe at that time (except maybe in England?).
It has been attested than the public at the festival didn't know the work at all. So why do you want that they applause something than they never heard before and who was so different to what they expected?

In this "prehistoric" time, it takes sometime a year or more before a record was released in Europe. Of course, it was always possible to find some imported copy in a specialised shop in Paris, Amsterdam, Bruxelles, etc. But they wasn't so many of them.

I know this live version since 1989 as it has been put on record (both CD & LP - I have the LP) by Isoldun who was a label specialised in the publication of concerts recorded by the french radio and TV and nothing else.
Since I discover it, I have always prefer the live version more that the studio one. More blood, more passion & urgency.
And very well recorded for a live from this period.

June-17th-2003, 02:20 PM

"And very well recorded for a live from this period." - LeMo

YES! This is the one aspect that I left out. The recording quality is absolutely incredible.

flatfifth · June-17th-2003, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LeMo
When Coltrane start to play the Suite on the stage of the "Festival d'Antibes" in 1965, "A Love Supreme" wasn't yet distributed in Europe at that time (except maybe in England?).
It has been attested than the public at the festival didn't know the work at all. So why do you want that they applause something than they never heard before and who was so different to what they expected?
yes, I think you are right on the money.

In this "prehistoric" time, it takes sometime a year or more before a record was released in Europe. Of course, it was always possible to find some imported copy in a specialised shop in Paris, Amsterdam, Bruxelles, etc. But they wasn't so many of them.
Good things take some time, great things take longer.

I know this live version since 1989 as it has been put on record (both CD & LP - I have the LP) by Isoldun who was a label specialised in the publication of concerts recorded by the french radio and TV and nothing else.
Since I discover it, I have always prefer the live version more that the studio one. More blood, more passion & urgency.

Blood & Passion , the answer to the riddle, what is the meaning and intent of this great work.

And very well recorded for a live from this period.