There is so much to love about this album - Coltrane's playing is just the tip of the iceberg. Give a few listens to Elvin Jones's drums, though, which are as wild as anything Keith Moon did for The Who. While conceptually, it's a spiritual album, it would be enjoyable even without that knowledge. The songs hold up individually, with the chaotic skills present on "Part III: Pursuance" showing how Coltrane's quartet toed the line between hard bop and free jazz, the brisk track's melody seemingly taken apart and reassembled into something totally new. But it's together, as a whole album that A Love Supreme shines, with each part leading logically into the next, culminating with the serenity in "Part IV: Psalm." At just over 32 minutes, it manages to be a tight album without a moment of filler. Combine that with its wild ambitions, and its place in the upper-echelon on jazz albums is well-deserved.
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