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Throughout John Coltrane's discography there are a handful of decisive and controversial albums that split his listening camp into factions. Generally, these occur in his later-period works such as Om and Ascension, which push into some pretty heady blowing. As a contrast, Ballads is often criticized as too easy and as too much of a compromise between Coltrane and Impulse! (the two had just entered into the first year of label representation). Seen as an answer to critics who found his work complicated with too many notes and too thin a concept, Ballads has even been accused of being a record that Coltrane didn't want to make. These conspiracy theories (and there are more) really just get in the way of enjoying a perfectly fine album of Coltrane doing what he always did -- exploring new avenues and modes in an inexhaustible search for personal and artistic enlightenment. With Ballads he looks into the warmer side of things, a path he would take with both Johnny Hartman (on John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman) and with Duke Ellington (on Duke Ellington and John Coltrane). Here he lays out for McCoy Tyner mostly, and the results positively shimmer at times. He's not aggressive, and he's not outwardly. Instead he's introspective and at times even predictable, but that is precisely Ballads' draw.
© Sam Samuelson /TiVo
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FRANK LOESSER, Author - Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jimmy McHugh, Composer - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Gene DePaul, ComposerLyricist - Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Don Raye, ComposerLyricist - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jimmy McHugh, ComposerLyricist - Harold Adamson, ComposerLyricist - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Arthur Altman, Composer - Jack Lawrence, Author - Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Harry Warren, Composer - Mack Gordon, Author - Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - George Douglas, Producer - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Robert Haggart, Composer - John Coltrane, Producer - Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Johnny Burke, Author - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
John Coltrane, Producer - Phil Silvers, ComposerLyricist - Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jimmy Van Heusen, ComposerLyricist - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 1962 UMG Recordings, Inc.
DISC 2
Irving Berlin, ComposerLyricist - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Arthur Altman, Composer - Jack Lawrence, Author - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
John Coltrane, ComposerLyricist - McCoy Tyner, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
John Coltrane, ComposerLyricist - McCoy Tyner, Arranger, Work Arranger - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
John Coltrane, ComposerLyricist - McCoy Tyner, Arranger, Work Arranger - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
John Coltrane, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Rudy Van Gelder, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jimmy Garrison, Upright Bass, AssociatedPerformer - McCoy Tyner, Piano, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Elvin Jones, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist - Creed Taylor, Producer
℗ 1998 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
John Coltrane, ComposerLyricist - McCoy Tyner, Arranger, Work Arranger - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, Composer - Lorenz Hart, Author - Bob Thiele, Producer - John Coltrane Quartet, MainArtist
℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
Throughout John Coltrane's discography there are a handful of decisive and controversial albums that split his listening camp into factions. Generally, these occur in his later-period works such as Om and Ascension, which push into some pretty heady blowing. As a contrast, Ballads is often criticized as too easy and as too much of a compromise between Coltrane and Impulse! (the two had just entered into the first year of label representation). Seen as an answer to critics who found his work complicated with too many notes and too thin a concept, Ballads has even been accused of being a record that Coltrane didn't want to make. These conspiracy theories (and there are more) really just get in the way of enjoying a perfectly fine album of Coltrane doing what he always did -- exploring new avenues and modes in an inexhaustible search for personal and artistic enlightenment. With Ballads he looks into the warmer side of things, a path he would take with both Johnny Hartman (on John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman) and with Duke Ellington (on Duke Ellington and John Coltrane). Here he lays out for McCoy Tyner mostly, and the results positively shimmer at times. He's not aggressive, and he's not outwardly. Instead he's introspective and at times even predictable, but that is precisely Ballads' draw.
© Sam Samuelson /TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 01:21:13
- Main artists: John Coltrane Quartet
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Impulse!
- Genre: Jazz
© 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2002 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
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