Search - John Coltrane :: Impulse Albums 2 (Slip)

Better -not great as could be

groover | champaign, IL | 04/10/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After the amazing remasters in Vol 1 by Todd Whitelock, I was hoping he would have a hand in these. No such luck. With so many issues of this material, the only real reason to buy is the sound. So, let's cut to the chase. This mastering version of A Love Supreme is super alive and clear. WOW. I sold all my others. Impressions is also more clear and alive than its 1996 release. Crescent does not fair quite as well. The slight reverb has been wiped though there some gain in the resolution/ realism of the percussion. The reverb removal changes the mood of the album to more in your face. It comes off a tad dry in tone as does Birdland and the Hartman cd despite their clarity. The combination of additional clarity and realistic tonal prescence is what set Whitelock's mastering above these. So, my guess is they took the 1996 remasters and tweeked them = better but not all the way like Vol 1. Vol 1 made it clear there is WAY more inner detail and tonal prescence in the tapes -esp to Tyner's piano - than we get here. Tyner's block chords still sound like hunks of sound vs. the beautiful inner tone and detail on the Vol. 1 reissues. Bring back Todd. Still, I would buy these over the prior releases for the improvements in sound -esp A Love Supreme."