Reviews by markjazz

Not a favourite of mine from Coltrane but it's still very enjoyable. Oddly enough I enjoy McCoy Tyner's brilliant piano playing out of all the guys on this album. The opening track Sun Ship, is a great example. He strides across the whole piano at a very fast pace and still allows breaks for the other members. My favourite track on here has to be Attaining. John plays relatively slow while the drums and piano are at a faster pace and it's a very beautiful number. One of favourite by John for sure! One of the more interesting things about this album is the track Ascent. It starts off with a bass solo by Jimmy Garrison that runs nearly 2/3rd's of the entire song. Not a lot of bass players got a chance to play for so long in a quartet LP and I think this is because John trusted his bassest so much. The overall album is a good example of avant-garde jazz and the songs aren't too extreme so it gives the easy listener a new sound without being scared off, I think anyway. I have heard better from this group but this is a good starting point for people new to his style of playing.

One thing I never understood was the cover. It shows John playing a soprano sax but he never does play one on this album sooooo, why? Who knows....who cares anyway, it looks cool. Note to self: This was my 100th vinyl release purchse.

This is the Limited Edition in gatefold but there's nothing extra added on it. The gatefold opens to reveal no liner notes or nothing, just 4 pictures of the members. I would have liked a little something extra but the 180gram is fine enough I guess.

Credits:

Bass - Jimmy Garrison
Drums - Elvin Jones
Piano - McCoy Tyner
Saxophone [Tenor] - John Coltrane

This album is one avant-garde album for sure! Right off the bat it starts with a barage of horns, drums and piano on The Father and The Son and The Holy Ghost. As with the classic album Free Jazz, you have sounds coming from different channels and this all adds to the insane craziness that you have going on. Some of the sax from Coltrane I kind of don't like on here. He blows so hard I think his head is going to pop off and I can't imagen what he looked like playing this live! This is the release where I like Rashied Ali the best. His drums seem to be spot on and he has awesome solos, not that he never did anyway, but I just like hearing him a lot in this album for some reason. Maybe he stands out more. Elvin Jones seems to use the Tom more out of the two drummers and it all sounds great.

The first two tracks run as one long piece and you don't even know the switch over at all. I absolutely love McCoy Tyners piano on Compassion. It's the perfect blend of improv and free jazz. Just fucking amazing and I almost wish I could get it just as a solo somehow. It honestly sounds like two people are playing the piano...unreal! Love starts off with a bass solo by Jimmy Garrison and it's very very quiet. Then John comes in with a very soft sax and it's a very relaxing tune, compared to what you just heard before hand. This is probably my favourite track on here as it has a little bit of everything. Everyone seems to be doing their own solos and in such a masterful way too. Like the first two tracks, these last three run as one peice and the pace soom picks up when we get to Consequences. The horns get harsher, the drums get faster and the overall mood is telling you to "Suffer and face this music!" There's another long McCoy Tyner solo finishing off this track and it's not as brutal, as in Compassion, but instead it's light and spans all the keys it seems. The disc ends with the very nice Serenity. A gental, melodic piece with some of the best Coltrane improv sax you'll hear I'm sure.

It's no surprise that album came before Ascension as the two have a very similar quality to them. I for one enjoy them both the same and this type of jazz was what made John really get noticed!

Credits:
Bass - Jimmy Garrison
Drums [Left Channel] - Rashied Ali
Drums [Right Channel] - Elvin Jones
Piano - McCoy Tyner
Composed By, Saxophone [Tenor], Percussion [Left Channel] - John Coltrane
Saxophone [Tenor], Tambourine, Bells [Right Channel] - Pharoah Sanders

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ on November 23, 1965.

One of my favorite Coltrane releases. Africa is such a strong track on it's own that if they reissued this as a 3" CD I'd still buy it for $15. It's a great example of Modal/Bop jazz and you never get bored throughout the 16+ minutes. His take on Greensleeves is just as great. He starts off with the main movement of the traditional track, then goes into his own free style saxophone, then back with the original movement to end. It follows with another great track, Blues Minor. This release is a great starting point for any new Coltrane fan because it was a point were Coltrane started to do his own thing as an artist and he was also making statements within his albums as well, and Impulse! was letting him.

Giant Steps is one of my favorite hard bop'n albums. The title track is a great example of how tight one band can be. The tempo is fast and Coltrane never lets up the whole time. The whole album is like this and the bonus tracks offer a little bit of variation with an extra solo on the Countdown one. I'd still rather get the LP though. If anyone is new to Coltrane and Hard Bop look no further. This was when he was just hitting his prime and becoming a true leader...in my opinion.

One of my favorite releases on the Impulse! label and it was done by the woman with fire, Alice Coltrane. This release wasn't your typical jazz album at the time and I think it does relfect what was going on at the time during the 60's and 70's in America. People were starting to get into Free Jazz and Space Jazz at the time and this release was just an added punch in that craze. Alice plays the harp perfectly on this and what's interesting to note is that she produced this album as well. It was more than likely recorded in her basement that her late husband, John Coltrane, had created just before he died. I think that alone ads even a more spiritual touch to this album as well because of that. My favorite track on here is the last one, Isis and Osiris. Charlie Haden appears on it but aside from that it's simply a marvious tune and carries the album to a wonderful close. I also happen to love Egyptology so this release means a lot to me personally too. Perfect!

This is one of the odder releases I own for sure. If I was to stear someone into the death metal genre that was looking for something different I'd recommend this release. There are times when the band changes styles completely and I'm glad someone is doing something different, even if I didn't like it as much as other stuff that's out there. I absolutely love some of these tracks, like Endless Cycle of Violence and Ov Vicissitude but there's others that just don't do anything for me, like G.Lobal O.Verhaul D.Evice (I love the sax solo that creeps in though). All in all this album is pretty good, and one hell of an improvment from their last one for sure. I'm glad to have it in my collection. It's just a bit too 'all over the place', but it does have me wanting to check out their earlier works for sure.

This release disappointed me a lot. They seem to be spanning too many metal genre's in one release and when I heard the nu-metal sounding vocals in Dying Will Be the Death of Me I rolled my eyes in disgust. Pick a damn style. I wanted to hear grindcore or death metal so make the whole release that or do a side project. Their release after this is awesome so I don't know what happened here but it's almost has if they wanted to go mainstream or something.

Kill for Weed? Come on, lame...

I got my copy of this album in the mail and I was so glad I managed to get a signed one! The packaging of this album is awsome and it's one of their best ever. The DVD is pretty cool. It's not something I'd pay extra for but it's always fun to see a band you love have fun creating the album you enjoy. Some highlights is when George yells in a high pitched voice getting out his frustrations during a recording session. The band shows off their gear too and some of it is nice!

The music on this album is wicked. The last 3 tracks are a bit weak but they're still brutal as hell and this is one album I find I don't need to skip any tracks on. The opener kills!!! Tons of good riffs and solos on this album and this is already my 2nd favorite Corpse album. A worthy purchase for fans of Death Metal!

I'm not much of a metal fan but I like Death Metal and the heavier the better. This DVD delievers it all. Cannibal Corpse has been known for it's insainly grotesque lyrics and cover art and through out the DVD you get a very clear understanding of why they did what they did and what made their fans love them so much. There's three DVD's in this set.

The first one deals with the bands progress up until 2007 and it's a 3 hour ride as they take you from start to finish showing live shows and a ton of interviews from everyone that helped the band what it is today. It's a great view and it was something I needed for myself because I didn't know much about the band at all and it increased my respect for them after watching the disc.

Disc two is nuts. It has a shit load of live shows from concerts around the World from when the band was brand new up until 2007. There isn't much to say about it but the highlight is when George "Corpse Grinder" says "This next song is dedicated to all you woman out there..." and right away the crowd roars "Fucked with a knife!". I just love that.

Disc three features a ton of artwork and gallary photos and some other bonus features that I'll leave for the viewers to watch. All in all this is one mighty fine DVD set from one damn good Death Metal band. Like'm or not, they set a benchmark back in the day and it's still great to get reactions from people looking at a big ass poster of one of their album covers hanging on my wall, especially Tomb of the Mutilated.

I picked this EP up because I am a Cannibal Corpse fan and it's also Limited. I'm not sure how Limited because Metal Blade is still selling it on their site for cheap still. If your a death metal fan your pretty much going to like this EP. It's a short 25 minutes but it's a great 25 minutes. It features three covers of other artists tracks as well. There is the Demon's Night track written by Accept. The Confessions track written by Possessed and the Metallica track, No Remorse. The last track probably being my favorite, although the title track and the Accept cover kick major Death Metal ass! The artwork is it's usual awesomeness and features a big tit chick with a monster vagina behind her and she seems to be infested by cock looking worms too. Brilliant to look at and listen to. Get this if you can.