Search - Sonny Rollins :: Original Album Classics (5 CD)

Sonny squealed on Hawk

Rain Delay | 05/13/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At these prices you can't expect Japan mini-Lp packaging. If you store the cardboard container with the open part to the front of the shelf, you won't dump the discs onto the floor when you pick it up. There's bonus material on most of the albums, but the liner notes are just reproductions of the original Lp and don't mention the bonus tracks.



But should you buy it even at this price?



You'll hear occasional tape noise and distortion, but that's part of the equation with tapes of this vintage. Overall, the sound is very good.



The real bummer here is "Sonny Meets Hawk." How this one ever escaped the can is a mystery. Hawkins is trying, but Rollins's playing is the worst I've ever heard--not just for him, but for any tenor sax player. This should have faded into a collector's item as an Lp. Was Rollins reading the Racing Form instead of the chart? Or was the chart upside down and he didn't know it?



If you don't have these albums, and you're not too neurotic, you might want it. Just don't carp about the minimal packaging. It's like 12 bucks delivered. Have some sense of proportion.



"

Value for money

Nikica Gilic | Zagreb, Croatia | 03/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As someone who wanted to learn more about Sonny Rollins, I found this reasonably priced collection very useful;

few classical albums and a few oddities thrown together really show the scope and range of Sonny's art at a very important stage of his carreer. Meeting with Coleman Hawkins, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins and working in a famous band with Jim Hall, Rollins really shines on many of the tracks...

The Bridge The Standard Sonny Rollins Our Man in Jazz Sonny Meets Hawk!"