Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings [Box set]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
John Coltrane not only made his reputation once and for all during his brief 1959-61 stay at Atlantic Records; he cut enough material to allow the label to continue releasing "new" albums (the Don Cherry collaboration The Avant-Garde) until a year before his 1967 death. The Heavyweight Champion collects those masters plus revealing alternate takes and false starts in a typical handsome Rhino box that is also packed with informative notes and great Lee Friedlander photos. While the sheer volume of music and emotion Coltrane and cohorts throw at the listener might make purchases of individual discs like My Favorite Things, Giant Steps, and Coltrane's Sound a wise choice, those committed enough to jump right in won't regret adding these seven CDs to their collections. Coltrane had kicked his multilayered sonic and spiritual quest into fifth gear by the time of his Atlantic debut, and to say he scorched plenty of earth while under the care of staff producer Nesuhi Ertegun is only the beginning of an ample description of his achievements at the label. Though he was to go even further at Impulse!, where he ended his career, Champion's tracks rate in the very small beyond-five-stars category. --Rickey Wright --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings, Music, John Coltrane, Avant-Garde Jazz, Box Sets (Audio Only), Hard Bop, Jazz, Modal Music, Post-Bop, Standards, United States of America
The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings of John Coltrane (Incl: 7 CD's; 72 Pg. Hd.C. Book)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • chronological conundrum
  • The total package...
  • HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION IS KNOCKOUT
  • Excellent Atlantic Compilation, But Not Best of His Career
  • A Wonderful Set
 The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings of John Coltrane (Incl: 7 CD's; 72 Pg. Hd.C. Book)
John Coltrane
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
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  2. The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
  3. Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings 1963-1964
  4. Beauty Is A Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings
  5. The Complete Blue Note Recordings

ASIN: B0000033K2
Release Date: 1995-08-15

Tracks:

  1. Stairway To The Stairs
  2. The Late Late Blues
  3. Bags & Trane
  4. Three Little Words
  5. The Night We Called It A Day
  6. Be-Bop
  7. Blues Legacy
  8. Centerpiece
  9. Gaint Steps (Alternate Version)
  10. Naima (Alternate Version)
  11. Like Sonny (Alternate Version)

Tracks:

  1. Spiral
  2. Countdown
  3. Countdown (Alternate Take)
  4. Syeeda's Song Flute
  5. Syeeda's Song Flute (Alternate Take)
  6. Mr. P.C.
  7. Giant Steps
  8. Cousin Mary
  9. Cousin Mary (Alternate Take)
  10. I'll Wait And Pray
  11. I'll Wait And Pray (Alternate Take)
  12. Little Old Lady

Tracks:

  1. Like Sonny
  2. Harmonique
  3. My Shinning Hour
  4. Naima
  5. Some Other Blues
  6. Fifth House
  7. Cherryco
  8. The Blessing
  9. Focus On Sanity
  10. The Invisible
  11. Bemsha Swing

Tracks:

  1. Village Blues
  2. Village Blues (Alternate Take)
  3. My Favorite Things
  4. Central Park West
  5. Mr. Syms
  6. Untitled Original (Exotica)
  7. Summertime
  8. Body And Soul
  9. Body And Soul (Alternate Take)
  10. Mr. Knight

Tracks:

  1. Blues To Elvin (Alternate Take)
  2. Blues To Elvin
  3. Mr. Day
  4. Blues To You (Alternate Take)
  5. Blues To You
  6. Blues To Bechet
  7. Satellite
  8. Everytime We Say Goodbye
  9. 26-2
  10. But Not For Me

Tracks:

  1. Liberia
  2. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
  3. Equinox
  4. Ole
  5. Dahomey Dance
  6. Aisha
  7. Original Untitled Ballad (To Her Ladyship)

Tracks:

  1. Giant Steps (Alternate Version): Take 1 [Incomplete]
  2. Giant Steps (Alternate Version): Take 2 [False Start]
  3. Giant Steps (Alternate Version): Take 3 [Incomplete]
  4. Giant Steps (Alternate Version): Take 4 [Incomplete]
  5. Giant Steps (Alternate Version): Take 5 [Alternate]
  6. Giant Steps (Alternate Version): Take 6 [False Start]
  7. Giant Steps (Alternate Version): Take 7 [Incomplete]
  8. Naima (Alternate Version): Take 1 [Incomplete]
  9. Naima (Alternate Version): Take 2 [Incomplete]
  10. Naima (Alternate Version): Take 4 [False Start]
  11. Naima (Alternate Version): Take 5 [Alternate]
  12. Naima (Alternate Version): Take 6 [Alternate]
  13. Like Sonny (Alternate Version): Rehearsal 1 [False Start]
  14. Like Sonny (Alternate Version): Rehearsal 2 [Incomplete]
  15. Like Sonny (Alternate Version): Take 1 [False Start]
  16. Like Sonny (Alternate Version): Take 2 [Incomplete]
  17. Like Sonny (Alternate Version): Take 3 [Incomplete]
  18. Like Sonny (Alternate Version): Take 4 [False Start]
  19. Like Sonny (Alternate Version): Take 5 [Alternate]
  20. Like Sonny (Alternate Version): Take 6 [Incomplete]
  21. Giant Steps: Take 3 [Incomplete]
  22. Giant Steps: Take 6 [Alternate]
  23. Blues To Elvin: Take 2 [False Start]
  24. Blues To Elvin: Take 3 [Alternate]
  25. Blues To You: Take 2 [Alternate]

Amazon.com

John Coltrane not only made his reputation once and for all during his brief 1959-61 stay at Atlantic Records; he cut enough material to allow the label to continue releasing "new" albums (the Don Cherry collaboration The Avant-Garde) until a year before his 1967 death. The Heavyweight Champion collects those masters plus revealing alternate takes and false starts in a typical handsome Rhino box that is also packed with informative notes and great Lee Friedlander photos. While the sheer volume of music and emotion Coltrane and cohorts throw at the listener might make purchases of individual discs like My Favorite Things, Giant Steps, and Coltrane's Sound a wise choice, those committed enough to jump right in won't regret adding these seven CDs to their collections. Coltrane had kicked his multilayered sonic and spiritual quest into fifth gear by the time of his Atlantic debut, and to say he scorched plenty of earth while under the care of staff producer Nesuhi Ertegun is only the beginning of an ample description of his achievements at the label. Though he was to go even further at Impulse!, where he ended his career, Champion's tracks rate in the very small beyond-five-stars category. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars chronological conundrum.......2007-03-02

As many jazz fans reading this review already know, there are eight albums John Coltrane recorded for Atlantic, 1959-1961:

BAGS AND TRANE ( w/ Milt Jackson )
GIANT STEPS
COLTRANE JAZZ
THE AVANT-GARDE ( w/ Don Cherry )
MY FAVORITE THINGS
COLTRANE PLAYS THE BLUES
COLTRANE'S SOUND
OLE

Given the sheer excellence of these recordings ( "Giant Steps" and "My Favorite Things" are landmarks ), this reviewer is more than a little sheepish at having to slap a 3 star rating on the "Heavyweight Champion" box set. Why? Well, it's certainly not due to the music, for I haven't any doubt whatsoever as to either its inherent quality or artistic significance. And obviously, the low rating can't be chalked up to packaging details, which are uniformly tasteful: the hard-cover booklet, more a "mini-book", is exemplary and there is a truly spectacular "extra" ( ingeniously encased in a replica of a reel-to-reel tape box ) in the form of a disc devoted to virtually *all* of the takes ( partial & complete ) of Trane's groundbreaking tune, "Giant Steps".

No, the crux of my complaint resides in what I strongly feel is an aesthetic violation: the fact that this box set, like so many others, arranges all of the music ( including alternate takes ) in strict chronological order. While this approach certainly has merits for extended live recordings or certain unique studio projects ( eg, Art Tatum's mammoth sessions for Norman Granz ), I find it has little *artistic* ( as opposed to musicological ) justification when applied to a body of work that stands so close to perfection through the arrangement its creator fashioned. Undoubtedly, there are those who truly enjoy fastidious methods of tracing artistic development, but I question whether any other than the most rigorous would be worse off just exploring the albums in their original form with alternate takes placed as appendices at the "bottom" of each particular work. And in fact, all of the work contained in this box set *is* currently available in just such a format. I highly recommend the prospective buyer think this over prior to making an investment; for those other than collectors who just *have* to have the set for the complete takes/outakes of "Giant Steps" ( I admit I wouldn't part with it ), the individual album route makes much more sense.

5 out of 5 stars The total package..........2007-01-12

This is a truly great box set.

First, the music. While I think the peaks of Coltrane's Impulse! years exceed the peaks of his Atlantic years, these Atlantic recordings are astonishingly and consistently strong from start to finish, and document one of the most interesting (and rapid) progressions in Jazz history.

Second, these are nicely mastered - great sound!

Third, the liner notes are actually well-written and interesting, with a nice mix of personal and musical history from different writers and musicians.

The 7th disc is arguably only for the hardcore music-geek fan, but it's worth at least a listen or two to just about anyone.

A box set of great music packaged just right. Love it!

5 out of 5 stars HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION IS KNOCKOUT.......2007-01-09

A fascinating insight into the artistic development of one of the great innovators in jazz through his earlier recordings. Highly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars Excellent Atlantic Compilation, But Not Best of His Career.......2006-03-16

The conundrum of John Coltrane's career was that he was one of the most focused and dedicated horn players of all time, while continually searching for something that apparently always remained just beyond his grasp. His tenure with Atlantic Records captures the time that Coltrane came into his own, as a bandleader with a vision, and yet it also captures the restlessness of that vision, and its ability to continually transform itself into something outside his grasp. In this way, Coltrane's music is very much like life itself; while moments of self satisfaction and peace of mind are obtainable for a short while, our very nature as human beings makes certain that anything so desirable remains tenuous. Listen to Coltrane as he stretches out and his dedication to the music is beyond reproach and cannot be questioned. He lived his music as a metaphor for life, and that is why his approach to jazz has endured the test of time. His questions are eternal, and the flashes of brilliance that seem to provide answers, however fleeting, make the quest almost heroic in nature.
The Heavyweight Champion is subtitled `The Complete Atlantic Recordings' for good reason. The seven disks included herein compile every known recording that exists in Atlantic's catalog. While such exhaustively inclusive box sets usually indicate that there will be endless repetition, false starts and abandoned ideas, that is not the case here. With the exception of disk seven, which is deliberately segregated from the rest of the box because it documents (quite fascinatingly, actually) a recording session with all of its stops, starts and musical revisions, this box set contains no more than two takes of any given title. The reason for this is that the warehouse where Atlantic's tapes of all unreleased sessions (again, with the exception of disk seven) were stored was destroyed by fire. However unfortunate the historic consequences of this disaster might have been, the result is a well-focused collection of music that portrays John Coltrane as one the most restless and insightful musicians of his (or any) age.
All in all, Coltrane recorded thirteen sessions for Atlantic, dating from January 1959 through May 1961. Considering, then, how this collection represents only two and change years of Coltrane's legacy, it is remarkable to hear how much growth and change had taken place in so short a time, especially since it all sounds as if it evolved naturally, rather than from commercial or business influences. Coltrane followed his own muse - often into a corner - but it was his willingness to risk himself that draws any attentive listener inside his vision, trying to see just what he was reaching for. Like Coltrane himself, this box set doesn't provide any unequivocal answers, but it does provide all of the recorded evidence that exists, which means that all the questions are right here to behold. And, as anybody familiar with such things already knows, the way to discovery is in asking the right questions.
A- Tom Ryan

5 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Set.......2005-12-05

I don't have too much to add that has not already been said about this wonderful box set of amazing music.

Aside from containing all the tracks that make up the seminal albums, "Giant Steps" and "My Favorite Things," this set really puts those albums in their musical context within John Coltrane's remarkable body of work.

This set is a "must buy" both for Coltrane aficionados and for those looking to thoroughly explore his music. After intense introspection, I have to rank this set on an equal plane with the "Impulse! Complete Quartet Studio Recordings" CD set, yet above the Prestige recordings set.

This is some fine, fine music and a great starting point for those looking to explore Coltrane's musical legacy.

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  5. Kessel Plays Standards [Import] [Limited Edition]
  6. Legends of the 20th Century [Import]
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  8. Love Touches
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