John Coltrane A Love Supreme (Verve Acoustic Sounds Series) 180g LP

Michael Fremer Rated 11/11 Music, 10/11 Sonics!

Easily one of the most important records ever made, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme was his pinnacle studio outing that at once compiled all of his innovations from his past, spoke of his current deep spirituality, and also gave a glimpse into the next two-and-a-half years.

eeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' new audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets.

"We are excited to launch our Acoustic Sounds series," said Bruce Resnikoff, President & CEO of UMe. "Verve and UMe have one of the richest jazz catalogs ever recorded and our goal is to give vinyl and music lovers the best possible versions of classic albums. The Acoustic Sounds series is designed to appeal to today's most discriminating fans, and those discovering this treasured legacy for the first time, looking for the very finest in both artistic content and audio quality."

Anyone who tells you the original pressing bests this new one simply has not heard either! ... The original is just not very good at all. Quite the opposite for Ryan Smith's cut. Tyner's piano in particular is spectacularly well-served sitting clearly and convincingly in three-dimensions between the speakers. You could say Coltrane's sax is slightly thinner than you might want but that would be system-dependent and as far as I'm concerned the cut is another out of the park home run set against black backgrounds.