The “Teaser and the Firecat” episode earlier today  reminded me of this…

Afro Blue Impressions – 4 sides of the John Coltrane Quartet recorded live in Stockholm and Berlin in late 1963.    This is a solid recording of The Quartet during the Impulse years and near its peak – it was not released ’til the late ’70’s some 10 years after JC’s passing.

I like the Pablo Live JC albums – they capture the atmosphere and performance – maybe they are not the essential JC albums – but if you like JC then you should have them – the Quartet space out and are released to play.

Above left you have the cover of the original Pablo Issue –  it looks vibrant. On the right you have the 2014 re-issue – rather black and white, arty and sterile?  In this instance, for me, the covers quite nicely capture the difference in sound. I bought the reissue as I had not managed to find a good Pablo copy  – it sounded clear and crisp – but uninvolving and yes it was boring – for me the life had been drained from the performance – I took the record off after about a minute.  Later I looked and found a cheap secondhand original Pablo copy.  I played the original and it felt real and involving – like you are there.  Why did I feel like that? What is the difference?  I can only guess that the re-issue is from a CD equivalent resolution file that has lost the fine detail. Or maybe I am going mad.