Quad LP/Tape Poll Ellis, Don: Tears Of Joy [SQ]

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Rate "Tears Of Joy"

  • 7

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1: Bad Mix, Bad Sound, Bad Content

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    9

EMB

2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Since 2002/2003
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Well known jazz innovator goes Quad on this 1972 Lp.

Side 1:

1. Tears Of Joy
2. 5/4 Getaway
3. Bulgarian Bulge
4. Get It Together

Side 2:

1. Quiet Longing
2. Blues In Elf
3. Loss

Side 3:

1. How's This For Openers?
2. Samba Bajada

Side 4:

1. Strawberry Soup
2. Euphoric Acid
 

Attachments

  • Don Ellis Tears Of Joy.jpg
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Saw Don Ellis at the Villanova FIeld House when he was touring around the time of this album.

What a great band--really brought a lot of the prog rock elements into his music,as well as avant classical (quarter tones) and international (unusual time signatures).

There's nothing exceptional about the way this recording sounds, I gave it an 8 for the music. BTW, a stereo album, Live at the Fillmore, came out right B4 this one--it's my favorite of his.

ANd there's someone on the net who is desperately trying to finance a documentary on Don Ellis. If I was a rich philanthropist, I would give him the bux, but ... ah well.........................
 
timbre4 said:
FYI - This was issued as SQ 2 record set only; there was no Q8 counterpart.

Really? Most unusual for Columbia, then.....I have the SQ album, quite the interesting listen, but I'll need to listen yet again before offering a rating....

ED :)
 
My wife would not agree with that assessment, heh...:) Actually, she can handle Brubeck, some Miles, some Trane...tried Ellis on her, didn't work. But it is one of his best, and in quad, even better.

ED :)
 
You can't dance to it, with all the unusual time signatures, and multiple ones within a track. Since I'm not a great dancer, I love it.
My wife would not agree with that assessment, heh...:) Actually, she can handle Brubeck, some Miles, some Trane...tried Ellis on her, didn't work. But it is one of his best, and in quad, even better.

ED :)
 
You can't dance to it, with all the unusual time signatures, and multiple ones within a track. Since I'm not a great dancer, I love it.

I've never heard this album. But based on reviews I've read that say the odd time signatures are Bulgarian-based, maybe you *can* dance to it. I've been to shows by Ivo Papasov, which is all Bulgarian odd time signature music, and people danced up a storm!

J. D.
 
Actually, Milcho Leviev's Bulgarian Bulge is the only one that is Bulgarian. Yes, there are lots of other unusual time signatures. If you listen, I think you'll agree with that. This is a big band on steroids. Nothing like it!

I've never heard this album. But based on reviews I've read that say the odd time signatures are Bulgarian-based, maybe you *can* dance to it. I've been to shows by Ivo Papasov, which is all Bulgarian odd time signature music, and people danced up a storm!

J. D.
 
The documentary was made. I became aware of it on the last couple of weeks. Yesterday, I received my copy. It's wonderful! The title is Electric Heart. Sleepy Night Records www.sleepynightrecords.com There are clips of the band and interviews with Ellis. There is also a concert with a tribute band featurind Ellis alums as a bonus.

Get it (together.)

Saw Don Ellis at the Villanova FIeld House when he was touring around the time of this album.

What a great band--really brought a lot of the prog rock elements into his music,as well as avant classical (quarter tones) and international (unusual time signatures).

There's nothing exceptional about the way this recording sounds, I gave it an 8 for the music. BTW, a stereo album, Live at the Fillmore, came out right B4 this one--it's my favorite of his.

ANd there's someone on the net who is desperately trying to finance a documentary on Don Ellis. If I was a rich philanthropist, I would give him the bux, but ... ah well.........................
 
I've only got access to DVDA Q4 transfer but am I right assume it's the origin for the SQ?

Either way, this album swings hard from the outset - a joyous and uninhibited noise presented in a full on quad mix is a wonderful thing to behold. As mentioned by other commenters, riotous time signatures abound throughout. It sounds so studio clean and full but then the audience kicks in, surprising you with polite applause and whistles from the rears. This album never rests on one theme or one level of interpretation, it's always morphing from one to another via solo instrument spotlights or full on volte-face hard turns. I can't help but hear the sound of what Buddy Rich could have cut if he'd have lightened up a bit and let the rest of the band take centre stage for a while. That doesn't really do Ellis or Rich justice though. 'Roar of 74' is a Q4 favourite of mine and on 'Tears of Joy' Don Ellis plots his own course through big-band freakoutland. Special mention goes to the groovy cover art too. 10.
 
I've got a Leon Levitt sourced NOS copy of the Stereo version. Out-frikkin'-standing on all counts, but I can't (but would like to) rate the Quad content.

I'll start searching....wish me luck....
 
Good Luck! :upthumb

Been looking for a sealed or 'NM' copy of the SQ from a UK/European seller.. still waiting :eek:

afaik there is a 'Robin Reel' of this one "out there"?
(never heard it, or indeed any of them bar the White Trash)
 
What a knockout! Maybe the SQ version is underwhelming, but the Robin reel is a stunner. I say this about pretty much every “legacy” release I hear, but this is crying out for a commercial remaster on a modern hi-res format.

An adventurous, eclectic, high-energy set. This is Ellis at the peak of his imaginative powers.

I don’t know Phil Macy’s other mixes—I’m not a Janis Joplin fan, and the rest are easy-listening titles—but I’d love to know how he got these sorts of results with a big band, especially in a live club setting. (And not just any big band: this one comes with a string quartet, a wind quartet, a brass octet, and two drumkits.) I’m guessing the fancy electric pickups they were trying out on this session helped. Solos are always discretely placed, and there’s great separation generally between fronts and rears—even between alto and tenor saxes, no mean feat—with little to no bleed. On at least one track, you hear snare, toms, hi-hat and cymbals in four different channels. Brass and reeds are all close-mic’d and in-your-face, and on several cuts the strings are prominently spread across the rears, though on other tracks, they’re squeezed into the left rear corner with the piano and electric keyboards. On the downside: the piano isn’t well-mic’d—or maybe it just wasn’t a great instrument to begin with—and it sounds a little distant and tinny. The entire recording is super-bright, moreover, and needs a bass boost. (If only Ellis had stuck with his earlier three-bass big-band concept.)

A “9,” only because of the less-than-perfect sonics.

By the way: liner notes here; and that documentary @Quad Linda mentioned still seems to be available from the UK and Germany.
 
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