I think this may be the only case where I've been persuaded to buy an album solely by the customer reviews on the Amazon page
.
I guess I was just intrigued that it was recorded so close to A Love Supreme and a few people were saying that it was better than that album. For example:
This CD was recorded within months of the more celebrated "A Love Supreme" and, because of this fact, remained over-looked at the time. Clearly the classic Quartet had reached it's zenith around this time and it is my contention that as good as the more famous record is, this is, in fact, the superior effort.
Though the atheist goes on to blow his cover, saying, "Crescent eschews the rather dated spritual trappings that slightly mars A Love Supreme for me and consequently is much better for this."
Comparing the two albums shows how important context, concept and packaging are to the way you hear music. Just compare the covers for a start. On Love Supreme, Coltrane is a timeless, existential ur-human. On this album he's situated very specifically as a black jazz musician in an urban club in mid-20th-century America. In the absence of an overarching concept, each of the tracks takes on a more individual identity. On Bessie's Blues there's the distinct impression that fun is being had; something you don't hear on Love Supreme. Altogether, where hindsight and historians have thrown a halo round the latter album, this one sounds like just another jazz record.
Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. And it's not quite true to say it's "just another record" because, from the start, there's the distinct tone and energy of Trane along with the rest of the classic quartet (including McCoy Tyner). This is one I have listened to quite a bit since I got it two and a half years ago, but I still need to give it some more time.
![]() |
Comments