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
Giant Steps
2008 · Atlantic (45 RPM Master Series, manufactured/marketed by Rhino) R1 512581 · Stereo · US · 2xLP box set, gatefold, 45 RPM · 45 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Atlantic (45 RPM Master Series, manufactured/marketed by Rhino) |
|---|
| Catalogue number | R1 512581 |
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| Year | 2008 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
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| Country | US |
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| Format | 2xLP box set, gatefold, 45 RPM |
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| Speed | 45 RPM |
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| Genre | Jazz - Hard Bop |
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| Producer | Nesuhi Ertegun (supervision) |
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| Composer | John Coltrane |
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| Musicians | John Coltrane (tenor sax), Tommy Flanagan (piano, most tracks), Wynton Kelly (piano, on Naima), Paul Chambers (bass), Art Taylor (drums, most tracks), Jimmy Cobb (drums, on Naima) |
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Matrix / Runout
Side A: 17851.1(3) RI-512581-A45
Side B: 17851.2(3) RI-512581-B45
Side C: 17851.3(3) RI-512581-C45
Side D: 17851.4(3) RI-512581-D45
Condition
- Cover
- NM
- Vinyl
- NM
Variant chronology
1960 - US Atlantic 1311, black label, deep-groove mono first pressing
2008 - Atlantic 45 RPM Master Series numbered stereo box set (2 x 180g LP, RTI-pressed) <- this copy
2023 - Electric Recording Co UK mono reissue
This Pressing
2008 Atlantic 45 RPM Master Series numbered box set (stereo) - a limited audiophile reissue, not an original Atlantic pressing.
The Album
Recorded in New York in the spring of 1959 just as John Coltrane was stepping out of Miles Davis's shadow, this was his debut as a leader for Atlantic Records and his first album built entirely around his own compositions. The title track's rapid, symmetrically shifting key centers became so influential that the underlying harmonic device is still taught and discussed among musicians simply as its own named pattern. Alongside that showcase of technical and theoretical ambition sit gentler, more lyrical pieces, including a tender ballad written for his first wife that has become one of the most recorded pieces in the jazz repertoire. The session paired Coltrane with pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor, with a second rhythm section of Wynton Kelly and Jimmy Cobb brought in for the ballad. The record arrived at a pivotal moment in Coltrane's career, capping his sideman years and opening the run of increasingly adventurous leader dates that would carry him toward his mid-1960s masterworks. It is now regarded as one of the essential hard-bop and post-bop albums of its era, inducted into major recording halls of fame, and its title composition remains a standard test piece for improvisers navigating rapid harmonic motion.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Giant Steps
2. Cousin Mary
Side 2
1. Countdown
2. Spiral
Side 3
1. Syeeda's Song Flute
2. Naima
The Label
The side labels reproduce the vintage yellow-green Atlantic 'Stereo' swirl-logo design - a single central logo, 'HIGH FIDELITY' at left, 'SIDE' number and catalogue number at right, and 'LONG PLAYING UNBREAKABLE' arced around the rim with a '45 RPM' roundel at the bottom - printed flat with no deep-groove ring. This is a period-style label reprinted for a later reissue: Atlantic's own 1960s labels carried this look only through the black/red-and-plum eras, and by the address and catalogue prefix seen here (R1 512581) this is a modern remanufacture rather than an original Atlantic pressing. Its place in the hierarchy is as a later audiophile stereo box, well below the original black-label mono pressing that first carried catalogue number 1311.
Fidelity
Mastered by Bernie Grundman for 45 rpm playback and pressed on 180-gram vinyl, this box spreads the stereo mix across four sides for lower distortion and a wider dynamic window than a standard 33 1/3 cut. Collectors on the forums are split on the result: some praise its clarity, while others find it a little thin and short on excitement compared with the original black-label mono pressing and with later Kevin Gray-mastered Rhino stereo cuts of the same album. Within the album's fidelity hierarchy this box sits as a respectable but not top-tier stereo option, generally ranked behind the vintage mono original and the more recent Kevin Gray stereo reissues.
Notes
This is a 2008 Atlantic 45 RPM Master Series numbered box set, limited to 2500 copies worldwide - a stereo audiophile reissue rather than an original Atlantic pressing. The runout etchings carry the R1-512581-A/B/C/D45 codes with the 17851.x(3) numbering used on that box set, and the side labels show a flat, modern printing of the vintage swirl-logo Atlantic design with no deep groove. The jacket is a gatefold replica of the original artwork housed in an outer sleeve styled after a master-tape box, a packaging detail unique to this edition. None of these features belong to the 1960 black-label mono first pressing that originally carried the Atlantic 1311 catalogue number.
Documenting collections
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documented, or a record you want identified properly, get in touch:
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This record’s page: https://vinylcurator.net/albums/john-coltrane-giant-steps/
