This is a Rhino Records reissue of one great Coltrane album! This album is not only a great introduction to John Coltrane for the new listener, but in my opinion, it is Coltrane's finest. There is a tremendous amount of innovation here yet it is very accessible to the average ear.

Coltrane pushes bebop here as far as it can possibly go. He does so with dynamic style, dexterity, and a real clean sound. It took a very accomplished band behind him to give him the infrastructure to do this and they must be acknowledged for their great performances as well. McCoy Tyner plays piano, Steve Davis on the bass, and Elvin Jones on the drums.

I own a lot of Coltrane albums. Some of which are compilations and some which were originals but I have to say that "Coltrane's Sound" is one of those albums that belongs in every jazz collection. It's up there with Miles Davis'," Birth of Cool", Art Pepper's "Eleven", Sonny Rollins', "Colossus" etc. etc.

To add equity to the purchase Rhino includes both a nineteen-page booklet and two bonus tracks; one of which is alternate take of "Body and Soul". The second song is called "26-2" and it is quite good. The booklet can get a little pedantic or even pompous at times but it gives good info about each song, the people that made this album great, and a history of the album from many qualitative perspectives.

This album should be your first Coltrane album or your next.

Coltrane's Sound was recorded at the same October 1960 sessions as My Favorite Things. (Coltrane Plays the Blues also comes from these sessions.) Though it has never achieved the same popularity as MFT, in my opinion Coltrane's Sound is actually a better album! It comes from a period where Coltrane finally got a working band (McCoy Tyner, Steve Davis, Elvin Jones) together and was shifting direction away from the harmonic density of Giant Steps and "sheets of sound" toward modal improvisation and more open structures.

Coltrane was experimenting with a bunch of approaches around this time, making variety one of this album's strengths. He plays soprano saxophone on the beautiful ballad "Central Park West" (pretty rare for him -- he usually played ballads on the tenor). "Satellite" is a piano-less trio tune. "Night of a Thousand Eyes" and "Liberia" are explosive workouts which already showcase Coltrane's powerful tenor playing and his special relationship with Elvin Jones. "Equinox" has him digging deep, deep into the blues -- some of Coltrane's finest, most powerful blues playing this side of "Chasin' the Trane". Throughout this album, his playing is overflowing with ideas.

The Atlantic recordings contain some of John Coltrane's best, most accessible, and most focused music. If you've already heard Giant Steps and My Favorite Things (or if you haven't), don't hesitate to pick up Coltrane's Sound.

Coming at about the same time as Giant Steps and My Favorite Things, somehow Coltrane's Sound got overlooked. Too bad! Because the brilliance of Trane's playing was never more evident: the beauty of Body & Soul and his own ballad Central Park West being the best examples. The tune to Central Park West sounds like a slowed-down mellow version of Giant Steps; play the tune back to back.

This is a Coltrane classic that any lover of great jazz should treasure.

This is Coltrane's most underrated album and my personal favorite. Of course to say it is better then say A Love Supreme is not important. It's like saying is Beethoven's 9th better than his 3rd -- both are masterpieces and it is a matter of personal taste.
But where the comparison ends is that for some reason this album was never given that much recognition. Maybe it was overshadowed by Giant Steps, which might have been considered more innovative at the time.

To me, "Coltrane's Sound" has a simplicity with depth and subtly. For example Equinox. There is a deep elagance, (like Kind Of Blue). Listen to Trane's nuances on this one. (Have you ever heard someone cover Equinox? then you can appreciate how masterfull this performance is. To me, it is much harder to perform a simple minor blues and make it mean something, then than one with the more complex changes of say Giant Steps.)

Body and Soul rivals Lester Young's. Central Park West is one of the great ballads ever written. (Also check out After The Rain, not on this record --another classic ballad of Trane's.). All tracks are strong and the bonus tracks are excellent.

This one is a must.

A varied, highly enjoyable cd from Coltranes Atlantic-period. Compared to his later Impulse-recordings, the music might almost be called commercial - it's bright, colourful, sizzling and bursting with a joyous energy that would soon give way to darker hues. McCoy Tyner too plays with sparkling brilliance. The music is by no means superficial, though, and retains its freshness and excitement even after hundreds of listenings. A good starter, along with Giant Steps and My Favorite Things.