Seeking to offer audiophile grade versions of some of the best jazz records ever made, Verve and Universal Music new audiophile Acoustic Sounds Series is supervised by Chad Kassem, utilizing the skills of top mastering engineers and the craft of Quality Record Pressings, with all titles being mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing.

• Acoustic Sounds Series
• Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes
• Cut by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound
• Audiophile 180 Gram Vinyl LP
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings, QRP USA
• Deluxe Gatefold cover by Stoughton Printing

Rated 11/11 Music and 10/11 Sound by Michael Fremer (Analog Planet)

"(Ballads) is an album that will never go out of style and never be unwelcome on any jazz lover's turntable. ... I compared this Ryan K. Smith cut with an original pressing (so happy to have) and with the out of print double 45 RPM ORG Music version cut by Bernie Grundman aboutt a decade ago. ... Ryan's cut has his characteristic clarity and transparency all set against QRP's usual jet black backgrounds ... Ryan's new cut is a 100% top to bottom success and is easy to recommend." — Music = 11/11; Sound = 10/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet

Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' new audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.

John Coltrane's immortal Impulse! records, A Love Supreme (1964) and Ballads (1963) both have drawn rave reviews since their original release. A.B. Spellman, former administrator for the National Endowment for the Arts, once described Ballads as "some of the most sensitive, heartfelt music that any lover ever sang on a horn." Put simply, most guys don't play the saxophone like John Coltrane.

The intense passionate Coltrane interpretation of standards such as "All Or Nothing At All," "What's New," "It's Easy To Remember" and the Sinatra classic "Nancy (With The Laughing Face)" are the essence of Ballads. When asked why attempt such an undertaking, Coltrane replied "Variety."

While it may have been a short detour by Trane before he exploded off into the nether regions of jazz music a few years later, it is still a fantastic document of one of the premier jazz groups of the 1960s.

Recorded December 21, 1961 and September 18 & November 13, 1962 at Rudy Van Gelder Studios.

"It's impossible to sleepwalk through tracks like "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "I Wish I Knew" and impart them with even a fraction of the emotional heft that the Quartet achieves. This is the type of jazz album in which the music just washes over the listener with it's restrained grace and beauty, and while it may not have the adventurousness that some listeners think Trane should have had each and every time he recorded, I'd say it shows off a side of him that only makes us appreciate his more bold and daring albums even more." — The Jazz Record

Musicians:

John Coltrane - tenor sax
McCoy Tyner - piano
Jimmy Garrison - bass
Elvin Jones - drums

Track Listing:

01. Say It (Over And Over Again)
02. You Don't Know What Love Is
03. Too Young To Go Steady
04. All Or Nothing At All
05. I Wish I Knew
06. What's New
07. It's Easy To Remember
08. Nancy (With The Laughing Face)

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫