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
Lush Life
1961 · Prestige PRLP 7188 · Mono · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Prestige |
|---|
| Catalogue number | PRLP 7188 |
|---|
| Year | 1961 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Mono |
|---|
| Country | US |
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| Format | LP |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
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| Genre | Jazz - Hard Bop |
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| Producer | Bob Weinstock |
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| Musicians | John Coltrane (tenor sax); Trio (Side A): Earl May (bass), Art Taylor (drums); Quintet (Side B): Donald Byrd (trumpet, B1 only), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Louis Hayes (drums, B1), Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums, B2) |
|---|
Matrix / Runout
Side A: PRLP-7188 A RVG AB
Side B: PRLP-7188-B RVG AB A
Condition
- Cover
- EX
- Vinyl
- EX
Variant chronology
1961 - US Prestige yellow "fireworks" label, Bergenfield NJ address, deep groove, RVG stamp, Abbey Mfg pressing (AB) <- this copy
1964 - Prestige PRLP 7188 reissue, later flat-edge label (no deep groove reported) - band not documented
1968 - Prestige PR 7581/PRST 7581 stereo reissue - band not documented
1984 - Original Jazz Classics OJC-131 reissue - band not documented
2003 - Analogue Productions/Prestige 45RPM 180g reissue (AJAZ 7188) - band not documented
This Pressing
1st pressing (mono, 1961) - Prestige yellow fireworks label, Bergenfield NJ address, deep groove, RVG stamp.
The Album
Lush Life gathers two distinct dates from Coltrane's early Prestige years: a 1957 trio session with Earl May and Art Taylor, and a 1958 quintet date with Donald Byrd and members of Miles Davis's rhythm section, Red Garland and Paul Chambers, plus drummers Louis Hayes and Albert Heath. Coltrane was still a working sideman-turned-emerging-leader at this point, only a few years removed from his tenure with Davis and Thelonious Monk, and the album captures him refining the harmonic vocabulary that would soon flower into his classic quartet period. The title track, Billy Strayhorn's brooding
Tracklist
Side 1
1. Like Someone In Love
2. I Love You
3. Trane's Slo Blues
Side 2
1. Lush Life
2. I Hear A Rhapsody
The Label
The side labels show the classic Prestige yellow "fireworks" design - black rim with yellow lightning-bolt/star graphics, "PRESTIGE" arched in yellow-on-black at top, "LONG PLAYING MICROGROOVE" arched at bottom, a spiral "@" logo and starburst flanking the top arc, and the 203 South Washington Ave., Bergenfield, N.J. address printed above the title - this is the address/design Prestige used from 1958 into the early-1960s before the West 50th St. New York address replaced it. This is a deep-groove pressing on both sides. This Bergenfield-address, RVG-stamped, deep-groove yellow label is the first-pressing design for PRLP 7188, ahead of the mid-1960s reissue with the same catalogue number but a later, non-deep-groove label.
Fidelity
Rudy Van Gelder recorded and cut the lacquers at his Hackensack studio for this original Prestige pressing, and the RVG-stamped, deep-groove first pressing is the cut collectors on the forums generally regard as the most vivid and immediate-sounding version of this material, ahead of the mid-1960s Prestige reissue and the 1968 electronically reprocessed "stereo" PRST 7581 edition. The 2003 Analogue Productions 45 RPM mono reissue (mastered from the original tapes) is the modern audiophile benchmark and is often preferred for surface noise and dynamics, but the original RVG mono pressing remains the historical reference for tonal character. Pressing quality on this Abbey Record Mfg. copy is typical of early-1960s Prestige manufacturing - generally solid, if occasionally variable in vinyl formulation compared to later, quieter reissue pressings.
Notes
1961 Prestige PRLP 7188 mono - original first pressing. Yellow fireworks label with the 203 South Washington Ave., Bergenfield, N.J. address, deep groove on both sides, and RVG stamps with AB plant etch in the runout, matching the first-issue configuration. The runouts read "PRLP-7188 A RVG AB" / "PRLP-7188-B RVG AB A", consistent with this as the first-pressing edition rather than the 1964 reissue with the same catalogue number.
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