The Thelonious Monk Quartet – Straight, No Chaser (2LP)
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Thelonious Monk, piano [click here to see more vinyl featuring Thelonious Monk]
Charlie Rouse, tenor sax [click here to see more vinyl featuring Charlie Rouse]
Ben Riley, drums
Larry Gales, bass
2 LP,s, gatefold jaket
Limited edition
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : RTI
Label : Impex Records
Original Label : Columbia
Recorded 1966 - 1967
Produced by Teo Macero
Remastered by Kevin Gray and Robert Pincus at Cohearent Audio
Originally released in 1967
Reissued in 2014
Tracks:
Side A :
- Locomotive
- I Didn't Know About You
Side B :
- Green Chimneys
- Straight, No Chaser
Side C :
- Japanese Folk Song
Side D :
- Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
- We See
Awards:
TAS Super LP List! Special Merit: Informal
Reviews :
"This is the sixth studio album cut by Thelonious Monk under the production/direction of Teo Macero for Columbia and as such should not be confused with the original motion picture soundtrack to the 1988 film of the same name. The band featured here includes: Monk (piano), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Ben Riley (drums), and Larry Gales (bass). This would be the final quartet Monk would assemble to record with in the studio. While far from being somber, this unit retained a mature flavor which would likewise place Monk's solos in a completely new context. At times, this adaptation presents itself more subtly than others. For instance, Monk's extended solo in "Locomotive" never reaches beyond itself due in part to the tempo-laden rhythm section. The contrast of styles, however, appreciates the caliber of this particular solo, including an obvious assertion by Monk which leads the band, albeit temporarily, into playing double-time. Other recommended quartet selections on this disc include a liberated version of the title track, which highlights some stellar interaction between Monk and Rouse. The same can be said for "We See," which features the hardest bop on the album. In addition to the quartet sides, Straight, No Chaser contains two unaccompanied piano solos: "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and "This Is My Story, This Is My Song." [The original disc only included six performances, half of which were edited due to the stringent time constraints of vinyl; subsequent reissues not only restored all of the previously abridged performances, but also added a trio of sides, two of which ("I Didn't Know About You: Take 1" and "Green Chimneys") are issued here for the first time.]" AllMusic Review by Lindsay Planer
“Thelonious Monk’s Straight, No Chaser is the pinnacle of his recordings for Columbia Records. It was his eighth for the label, and there would be only two more official releases before Monk and Columbia parted ways. By this point in 1967, he and his bandmates, tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, bassist Larry Gales, and drummer Ben Riley, had been playing together for a number of years and this showed in the near-telepathic way they played with and off each other. It also meant that they knew Monk’s music inside and out — no small feat — so they could improvise at will. Much of this album was of older Monk tunes, the title coming from one of his most widely recorded and praised compositions. Not that that was a huge surprise as he tended to recycle his music over and over. But what would for almost anyone else have become tediously repetitious as the years rolled by, for Monk, the inveterate innovator, it managed to always sound fresh — as if he had written the tunes just for that particular session.
Given that copies of the original LP are plentiful in used record stores the country over and they sound very good, what makes this Impex double-LP reissue worth its premium price? How about an additional 29 minutes of music that never made it onto the original LP? Yep, for the very first time vinyl fans have what has, until now, been the exclusive domain of digital versions. This bonus material consists of full-length versions of the original numbers and two bonus tracks, including one complete song, “Green Chimneys.” This isn’t material of interest only to completists. It provides greater insight into each number, which now exists as it was played and recorded.
There are always going to be tradeoffs when you are dealing with reissues of albums as old as this one, now celebrating its forty-seventh birthday. Magnetic tapes age and wear with time and with that aging comes sonic degradation. The trick is minimizing any losses while accentuating the positives to create an LP that at the very worst is the sonic equal of the original and at the very best surpasses it. Here we get more of the latter, along with the bonus of the added material. The original and reissue do not sound exactly the same. Impex gives us a better rendering of Monk’s piano and Riley’s drums, which both sound clearer and more detailed. Gales’ bass, while deeper on the original, is a bit less defined than on the Impex version. It’s Rouse’s tenor where the differences are most noticeable. On the original, Rouse has a sense of separation and space around him that is lacking a bit on the Impex, although both offer excellent tone and timbre. But when you buy a Monk album, it’s Monk you are paying to hear, and the Impex reissue brings his contributions more front and center, making him sound more in-the-room.
What Impex has added to this now double-LP set could have been done originally if Columbia hadn’t cheaped out and released a single LP. Once you’ve heard the full tunes, the original album sounds like the cut-and-paste job it was. That is what makes this Impex reissue such a treasure.” JOHN CROSSETT, THEAUDIOBEAT.COM, NOVEMBER 7, 2014
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 , Discogs : 4,52 / 5