Ornette Coleman "The Atlantic Years" 10-LP Box Set (May 11, 2018)

Not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but I didn't see a thread for this specifically:



Ornette Coleman-The Atlantic Years-Vinyl Box Sets|Acoustic Sounds

 

Here's a little more information from another online retailer:

Limited special box set / 10 x 180g LPs in buckram wrapped hard bound box. 32 page perfect bound LP sized booklet.

ORNETTE COLEMAN: THE ATLANTIC YEARS
The Shape Of Jazz To Come (1959)
Change Of The Century (1959)
This Is Our Music (1960)
Free Jazz (1960)
Ornette! (1961)
Ornette On Tenor (1961)
The Art Of Improvisers (1970)
Twins (1971)
To Whom Who Keeps A Record (1975)
The Ornette Coleman Legacy (1993)

 

I assume these are from digital source, or am I wrong?

 

I'm a Coleman fanatic and had hoped for something like this in the past, especially after the somewhat incomplete Altantic Years Coltrane set. (Mingus deserves a nice treatment as well.) However, that Coltrane set, while sounding quite good, was digitally cut by the same engineer that did this Coleman box. So I'm willing to put serious money on this being a digital cut. It's not like he (John Webber) can't do a AAA cut, hell he's done some D2D Classical and Jazz cuts for the Chasing The Dragon label. But this being a major label effort and considering the cost my prediction is digital. Sad that while we're in the middle of the second-coming of analog that the overwhelming majority of new releases are digitally sourced. And we keep buying the stuff with no mind toward sharing our dissatisfaction by voting with our dollars. We're past the point of no return now and there's no turning back.....digital cuts are the absolute norm from here on out unless it's from a small and/or dedicated label like AP, and who knows how long they can continue; look at what just happened to them with their Comtemporary/Fantasy Jazz plans after getting shafted by Concord. (Will we ever see AAA Blue Notes again?) At this point there's not even any source info being provided for this Ornette set, but we sure know how the outer box is wrapped and how the booklet is bound. Somewhere along the line with these vinyl reissues it became more important that the graphics were "meticulously and lovingly reproduced" rather than the music itself.

I'd love to be proven wrong on this one but at $175 and considering the source (Atlantic) and previous history I say digital.
Note also that many of these albums can be found as OP's in the $30 region and a few have been very well done recently by ORG (both) and Rhino cut at BG's from original tapes. So ultimatlely (IMO) a blown opportunity for something historic and special. But hey, I'm sure the graphics were meticulously and lovingy restored. (I say this as a lover of lovingly and meticulously restored packaging, as long as the audio receives the same attention.)

Caveat: As an Ornette fanatic I'll probably make space on the shelves for this.

 

I'm curious but I can't imagine they'll be as good as the ORG titles

 

If it's digital I'll pass. I'm of the camp that once it enters the digital domain it might as well stay there. I limit my vinyl purchases to AAA. Since there is still plenty of material out there – including lots of great original pressings of classical available from Europe – I can always find something AAA and desirable to spend my money on.

I still have some old, but pristine copies of Ornette's earlier Contemporary titles and some of the more recent 33 and 45 remasters (re: ORG), as well as other pressing I acquired in the 70s and 80s, so I'm good.

Assuming it's digitally sourced, I'll pass on this collection.

 

I haven’t heard the Coltrane set, but the Ray Charles mono set was from digital sources and it sounded absolutely fab! Whether the source is an analogue master tape or a flat digital high-res copy of the tape, it’s the mastering that makes it or breaks it.

 

No question, but all else being equal a AAA reissue would be preferred and more 'authentic', especially from tapes that are likely in excellent shape. The content of this new set is the exact content of the "Beauty Is A Rare Thing" box, and that sounded fantastic on RBCD. I still turn to that set. No word on any source for this yet. (The Coltrane set sounds very good, worth picking up but the covers leave a little to be desired.)

 

I tend to agree, but the completeist in me for certain artists often over rules my senses. Only thing I don;t like about the ORG "Free Jazz" is it being spread across 4 sides, especially after being able to hear it as a complete take.

 

I understand, and respect the collecting bug. I'm never in it for the collectable aspect myself. I'm in it for the love of listening to the music. I never acquire a record I don't intend to listen to and once I acquire a record it never leaves my collection. I end up being more picky about it.

It looks like I'm about to receive a copy of the Analogphonic remasters of the Evgeny Mravinsky recordings of Tchaikovsky's Symphonies 4,5,6 on DGG. I'm very excited about that.

 

Oh same here, I'm no "collector" for collecting's sake. But for Ornette I'll take what I can get to fill some holes until something better comes along. Some of it will get play time, provided I actually do pick it up. Plus I'm curious about the included book/photos.

Been curious about Analogphonic (a bit of a tongue twister that) how are their productions?

 

This will be my first Analogphonic. But I'm told (by someone who knows the business very well) they are top shelf productions, pressed by Pallas in Germany.

 

The Coltrane an Ray Charles boxes sound great. I bet this will too.

 

That Brahms box looks really tasty. I've enjoyed titles that have come out of Emil Berliner, but do they cut there? The phrase:"From the original masters" is vague these days. Not being doubtful, just applying my normal contrarian bent to suss things out.

 

Looking forward to "The Antilles Years" set.

 

That Brahms box is the later 80s digital recordings. Again, digital, so not interested. I prefer Karajan's Brahms cycle from the 60s on DGG and the second cycle from the 70s on DG. I have a tulips DGG of the former in a numbered box with the German Requiem, Violin Concerto and Haydn Variations. That one is worth getting and often shows up on eBay at reasonable cost.

 

I have the Coltrane box, and they did a very good job with the covers (not just the sound)...not sure what you are referring to in regards to these...

I wish they would have just included the 6 original albums and not included the compilations, over kill for a good but not fanatic fan, plus it would have kept the cost down.

 

I wish they would have just included the 6 original albums and not included the compilations, over kill for a good but not fanatic fan, plus it would have kept the cost down.[/QUOTE]

(posted this response again as it might have looked liked I was still referring to the Coltrane box, was speaking of the OC box with that comment).

Could they not have kept these compilation titles separate? I would think this will cost them extra sales in regards to this set, but I am always willing to keep an open mind here and if these other titles are indeed worth having, I hope to see more feedback here.

 

I think the Coltrane vinyl box sounds fantastic.

 

Which one are the compilations?

 

The Art Of Improvisers (1970)
Twins (1971)
To Whom Who Keeps A Record (1975)
The Ornette Coleman Legacy (1993)

 

Those aren’t in the Mono Coltrane LP box

 

Except Atlantic left so much of the best material the quartet ever cut in the can from the earliest NYC recordings after the band came from LA. Some of it was crucially important rep that went back to LA, like "Circle with a Hole in the Middle," some of it was stuff like "Monk & the Nun," or "Little Symphony"... then some of it was stuff that I don't think turned up until the Beauty Is a Rare Thing box, like "I Heard It Over the Radio" .... I actually thing the original albums give a bit of a warped, and incomplete view of the band's output. The first two records are great, but after that some of the choices about what to leave in the can seem odd in retrospect not only after the '70s anths, which make for kind of haphazard listening, but after Beauty Is a Rare Thing. Personally, I'd skip all these reissues of the original albums and the later comps and just go to the Beauty Is a Rare Thing box in session order. Since that came out I pretty much never return to the original LPs and anths as preferred listening. I mean, for record collectors, I guess having the records seems to hold some appeal, but in terms of not the records but the music, I think not only is there a ton of essential material not on those six albums, but there's always better more sensible ways to listen to a lot of it than these original albums and anths.

 

I know that — they are in this box!

 

Those aren't compilations of previously issued material, the're collections of leftovers and include some of the best material - it's not like any of this material were really hits, although they did have an impact. And I think the dates given for the various albums mix recording and release dates willy nilly.