The 2018 SACD of A Love Supreme issued by Tower Records Japan escaped my attention at the time of release. Hearing this SACD recently, I realized that it must have been mastered from a different tape than the other SACD versions of the album in my library. John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Analogue Productions) and John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Acoustic Sounds Verve Series) were sourced from the UK safety copy tape, which, notably, features a wide stereo panorama. The 2018 Tower Japan SACD does not.

That raised questions about Tower's source tape, which I attempted to clarify by searching online. What I found left me with more questions than answers.

From the listing for the 2020 Acoustic Sounds Series LP of A Love Supreme:

“The original master tape is available but it's not in the best shape. This LP was cut from a flat tape copy made by Rudy Van Gelder and used for cutting in the UK in April of 1965. This tape was discovered at Abbey Road and had been untouched between 1965 and 2002. So while the original tape is available and while we would always opt for the original whenever we can, in this case this copy was the better choice as the tape has incurred less overall wear and sounds much better than the original.” (Note: the UK tape was also the source for the Analogue Productions SACD.)

“The original master tape is available…” How did I not see that information back in 2020?

What I thought I knew about the source tape for reissues of A Love Supreme came from Ashley Kahn’s liner notes in the 2002 2-CD Deluxe Edition, which described a frantic search for the ‘original tape’ that eventually led to recovery of a non-EQ’d production copy stored by EMI in the UK since 1965. Back in 2002, the original tape was nowhere to be found.

Until it WAS found. But when was it found, and in whose possession? My guess is the tape was kept by a person most likely to have access: an engineer at a mastering studio.

Engineers knew the value of preserving tapes even if record label corporate executives considered tape storage to be a waste of money. Collectors can thank the engineers who saved tapes from destruction. Some safety copies are in better condition than the original master tapes in the archives held by Universal, Sony, and Concord.

Another source for comparison of different releases of A Love Supreme is the 1965 first pressing LP. The first pressing was clearly sourced from a different tape than the UK safety copy. The 1965 LP has a much narrower stereo panorama than the 2010 Analogue Productions and 2023 Acoustic Sounds SACDs. On the first-pressing LP, in the opening passage, Coltrane’s tenor is positioned just left of center, not hard left as in the UK tape source. Elvin Jone’s drums are, likewise, right of center rather than hard right. Moreover, there is a low-frequency hum audible throughout the 1965 LP, especially noticeable in Jimmy Garrison’s bass solos, which is believed to have occurred during the mastering of the first pressing, though it’s difficult to imagine the perfectionist Rudy Van Gelder allowing such a technical error to go uncorrected.

To make matters more confusing: my 1973 black label ABC Impulse LP of A Love Supreme has the same hard left-center-right mix as the UK safety tape that was stored in an archive from 1965 until 2002. How many LP production tapes did Rudy Van Gelder make? If A Love Supreme was recorded on a three- or four-channel machine, two different original stereo mixes, one narrow, one wide, could have been mastered, and a safety copy of the wide stereo mix sent to the UK for EMI to cut LPs, while a domestic US copy of the wide stereo mix was used to cut later LP pressings, such as the one in my record shelf.

And the narrow mix original tape? It was somehow lost… until it was found.

In 2018, Tower Records Japan issued five John Coltrane Impulse albums on limited edition SACDs, with new DSD mastering by Kevin Reeves. From the Tower Japan website (Google translated):

“Newly mastered in a studio in New York using a new 2018 DSD master, the world's first direct DSD conversion produced specifically for this release from the best-condition existing analog master tapes in the US. The new mastering was done by Kevin Reeves (Universal Music Mastering, New York, NY).”

In an attempt to sharpen the vague descriptions by Acoustic Sounds and Tower Japan of the condition of the original master tape vs. the UK safety tape, I compared the Tower Japan SACD to the 2010 AP SACD, the 2023 Acoustic Sounds SACD, and a 24/192 needle drop (digital recording) of the 1965 first pressing LP.

It was immediately apparent that the Tower SACD was sourced from the same master tape (or a safety copy) as the 1965 first-pressing US LP; it has the same narrow stereo panorama. The hum that is audible on the 1965 vinyl was not in the tape itself, so the Tower SACD is hum-free. The sonic presentation of this SACD could be described as slightly rolled off in the high end, more forward, and less dry, compared to the AP SACD. For archival purposes alone, it was worthwhile for Tower to commission the transfer of the original tape to DSD, which Acoustic Sounds had elected not to do.

Tower’s limited-run series of Coltrane Impulse SACDs was intended for Japanese enthusiasts. As a niche vendor, Tower doesn’t have to appeal to the broader music-listening market. Tower’s SACD of A Love Supreme was well-transferred by Kevin Reeves (who might know the provenance of the original tape, and why it eluded discovery for so many years).

A Love Supreme is justly regarded as a masterpiece. It was the pinnacle of Coltrane’s studio work with the quartet of McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison, and one of the earliest examples of what came to be called “spiritual jazz”. The rediscovered UK safety tape provided a clean source for numerous digital and analogue reissues.

Is the 2018 SACD a holy grail collectible? For completists, certainly, even if you’re satisfied with the clean sound and hard left-center-right mix on the 2010 AP SACD and the 2023 Acoustic Sounds SACD. The narrower mix source casts a sound image that places John Coltrane in front of the soundstage. The attraction for collectors will be an opportunity to listen to this iconic album in the narrower stereo mix with the ‘aura’ of the original source hovering over the loudspeakers.

Although this SACD edition appears to have sold through its initial pressing, as of this writing copies are available from third-party vendors. Because of the importance of the album itself and the rarity of this alternate, likely original mix, it is recommended.

Copyright © 2026 Mark Werlin and HRAudio.net

Performance:

Sonics: