Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep with the record.

— Paul, Vinyl Curator

John Coltrane

Blue Train

1958 · Blue Note BLP 1577 · Mono · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM

Pressing details

Label	Blue Note
Catalogue number	BLP 1577
Year	1958
Mono / Stereo	Mono
Country	US
Format	LP
Speed	33 1/3 RPM
Genre	Jazz - Hard Bop
Producer	Alfred Lion
Musicians	Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), John Coltrane (tenor sax), Kenny Drew (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), "Philly" Joe Jones (drums)

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  RVG 9M BN-LP-1577-A EAR
Side B:  RVG 9M BN-LP-1577-B EAR

Condition

Cover: VG+
Vinyl: VG

Variant chronology

1957/58 - US mono, NY23 label one side/47 W. 63rd other side, deep groove, RVG/EAR, 9M stamper
1958 - US mono, 47 W. 63rd address on BOTH sides (no NY23), deep groove, RVG/EAR, 9M stamper  <- this copy
1958 - US mono, 47 W. 63rd address on both sides, deep groove, RVG/EAR, 9M stamper (collection's other copy, VG+/VG)
1959-1979 - later US mono/stereo Liberty-UA era repress and reissue labels (BST 81577 etc.)
1984 - Japan Blue Note reissue (ST-81577/BLP 1577) - No documented sale found for this variant
2022 - Blue Note Tone Poet stereo reissue, Kevin Gray/RTI 180g (collection's other copy, NM)

This Pressing

1958 second-label mono pressing - Blue Note NYC address (47 W. 63rd) on both sides, deep groove, RVG/EAR/9M stampers place it in the same early lacquer generation as the true NY23/63rd-hybrid first pressing.

The Album

Recorded on September 15, 1957, at Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack studio, Blue Train was John Coltrane's only date as leader for Blue Note during the 1950s, made while he was contracted to Prestige (credited here "by courtesy of Prestige Records") and only months after joining Thelonious Monk's quartet at the Five Spot, an engagement that pushed his harmonic language forward dramatically. Coltrane assembled a stellar band - trumpeter Lee Morgan, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer "Philly" Joe Jones - giving the record a two-horn front line unusual for his own leader dates of the period. The title track and "Moment's Notice" became modern jazz standards, the latter prized for its then-novel, rapidly shifting ii-V progressions that challenged improvisers for decades after. "Lazy Bird" reworks Tadd Dameron's harmonic ideas into a brisk vehicle for Coltrane's exploratory blowing, while the album overall balances hard-driving blues form with the harmonic sophistication that would soon flower into his

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Blue Train (Coltrane)
2. Moment's Notice (Coltrane)

Side 2

1. Locomotion (Coltrane)
2. I'm Old Fashioned (Kern-Mercer)
3. Lazy Bird (Coltrane)

The Label

Both side labels read "BLUE NOTE RECORDS INC. 47 WEST 63rd . NYC" arching the rim, white field with a blue "BLUE"/"NOTE" band, no registered-trademark ® mark visible - this is the variant of this catalogue number in which BOTH labels carry the 63rd St. address, rather than the earliest configuration with NY23 on one side and 63rd on the other. Blue Note moved from Lexington Ave to 47 W. 63rd St. in the mid-1950s and dropped the New York 23 zip designation from later label runs of the same pressing generation as the plant used up remaining NY23 labels; this both-sides-63rd label therefore sits just after the true transitional first pressing in the same 1958 pressing run, sharing the identical 9M lacquer/stamper generation. Deep groove on both sides is consistent with an early Blue Note deep-groove press and places this copy in that early pressing window. Runout data (RVG, EAR, BN-LP-1577, 9M) matches the matrix for this catalogue number, with no contradiction between label and runout on this copy.

Fidelity

This is a Van Gelder-mastered mono lacquer (RVG stamp) pressed by Plastylite (ear mark) with a 9M-suffix stamper, placing it sonically at the top of the album's fidelity hierarchy alongside the true NY23 first pressing - both draw from the same early metal parts. Collectors on the forums generally rate original Van Gelder Blue Note mono cuts of this era as warmer and more upfront than the later Liberty/United Artists stereo reissues (BST 81577), which were remastered from safety copies and show reduced dynamic punch. The 2022 Blue Note Tone Poet reissue (mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog tapes, pressed at RTI) is a modern audiophile benchmark prized for quiet surfaces and tonal accuracy, but many purists still prefer the immediacy of an original Van Gelder mono cut like this copy for the horns' presence. Within the album's overall hierarchy: original mono (this copy) > Tone Poet reissue > vintage stereo reissues (BST 81577, various eras) > later 1970s-80s reissue pressings.

Notes

1958 Blue Note BLP 1577 mono - an early original pressing, essentially the same lacquer as the classic first issue but with the "47 West 63rd" address reset on both labels instead of the NY23/63rd split found on the very earliest copies. Deep groove on both sides, RVG and Plastylite ear stamps, and 9M matrix suffix in the runouts all support an early-run original rather than a later 1960s repress. The collection's other copy (row 137) shares the identical 47 W. 63rd/both-sides label design and the same RVG/EAR/9M runout data, making the two effectively the same pressing generation differentiated mainly by condition and a minor cover-print variation, not by a demonstrable chronological gap; the collection's second other copy (row 138) is the 2022 Tone Poet stereo reissue and is a wholly separate, modern manufacture.

Documenting collections

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