COLTRANE

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BOTH IMPULSE DELUXE EDITIONS

Just when you think you’ve collected everything by The John Coltrane Quartet, the Impulse tape fairy devises another way of reselling you Trane’s back cat. But what the hell. Truly, this music sounds even fresher today than when it was recorded at the dawn of the ’60s. Over the years, the saxman’s post-A Love Supreme spiritual quests tend to overshadow the lush, lyrical side of his work, and Ballads again focuses upon such virtues. The addition of alternate takes (Ballads includes five of “Greensleeves” and seven of “It’s Easy To Remember” while Coltrane offers four extra takes of “Tunji”) and newly discovered tracks has expanded the 12-inch albums to double CDs. Listen and marvel.