Way Out West

Artist: Sonny Rollins
Label: Ojc
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: LP Record

UPC: 025218033718
EAN: 0025218033718
ASIN: B000000YIP

Release Date: 1995-01-01

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Tracks:

I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)
I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande) [Alternate Take][*]
Solitude
Come, Gone
Come, Gone [Alternate Take][*]
Wagon Wheels
There Is No Greater Love
Way Out West
Way Out West [Alternate Take][*]

Similar Items:

The Bridge
Saxophone Colossus
Freedom Suite
Tenor Madness
Night At The Village Vanguard

Customer Reviews:

Saxophone, Bass and Drums make a great Trio. .......2006-10-26

Sonny Rollins, Ray Brown and Shelly Mann are all superb on this 71 minute album. It comprises 6 tunes; three of which have alternate takes added as bonus tracks. The originals and alternates are similarly compelling. Although my personnal favourite is Wagon Wheels, all 9 tracks are excellent.

The uncanny sense of space and the Western mood created by the trio make the cd great listening.

I am a big fan of Sonny Rollins and his happy, muscular, witty, rich and edgy sound. This album sees all three musicians in marvellous form, with the rhythm section brilliantly creating the illusion of movement.

I would recommend this as THE album to buy to begin a Sonny Rollins collection.

No words can adequately describe the treat that awaits you; however some may point in the right direction. They are; lyrical, witty, warm and imaginative. Way Out West is most original and is one of my favourite cds.

Perfect production........2006-08-31

It's Sonny Rollins trio. Can somebody play better in late 50's ? And perfect production too. Like band's playing in my living room. I love similar productions, it's the best in jazz. Only two songs are composed by Rollins, but no problem in his music is essantial his solo playing. No highlights, whole album is perfect with beautiful resourceful playing. Must for any true jazz fan.

Way Out;Best.......2005-12-14

Sonny Rollins appears to be at the top of his game on this album,he recorded in '57,with Shelley Manne on drums and Ray Brown on bass.I just don't understand why he felt he needed to take off '59 to '61 from public performing to practice on The Williamsburg Bridge before coming back with 'The Bridge';maybe seeing him on the bridge could beat 'Way Out West' and 'The Bridge',but nothing else could. I also can't understand why 'Way Out West' includes two takes of some of the tunes,beginning with
'I'm An Old Cowhand';it was brilliant on the first take...and the second..

I Must Have Been Sleeping........2005-10-07

Believe it or not, this reviewer has been a Jazz fan for years and surprisingly had never heard anything by Sonny Rollins until this week with the purchase of "Way Out West". I must say that listening to this album was like unlocking a door to a mansion (like my discovering of John Coltrane was) and there definitely will be more Sonny albums making their way to my collection soon.
With that out of the way, onto the music itself: "Way Out West" was recorded in 1957 and finds Rollins playing in a piano-less trio backed only by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne. The liner notes to the album state that the three musicians hadn't played together before until this recording session. You'd never know it by listening to this album though. Rollins, Brown and Manne play off each other effortlessly and are like six hands in a glove. It's as if they'd played together for years.
On the upbeat tracks, "I'm an Old Cowhand", "Come Gone" and the title track, Rollins and his trio really swing and leave plenty of space for improvisation and soloing. "Come Gone" is an especially prime example of this.
The same can be said for the slower ballad-oriented pieces. Sonny's take on Duke Ellington's "Solitude" is superb and soothing and is a real standout. "Wagon Wheels", while not neccesarily a ballad, is also a standout with its mid-tempo blues-like runs.
Besides the original tracks that made up the album, there are also three alternate takes tacked on as bonus tracks. The alternate version of "I'm An Old Cowhand" is arguably stronger than its master take and is also twice as long running at 10 minutes rather than five and a half. The alternates of "Come Gone" and the title track are performed in such a way that they almost become different pieces of music altogether. Rollins solo in the alternate "Come Gone" is more raspy and edgy which gives the impression that this take was recorded live in a club rather than a studio. It's fabulous too.
With that said, "Way Out West" is an excellent first choice for the emerging Sonny Rollins fan. The playing is excellent and the musicianship is flawless. The only minor complaint is that the bonus alternate takes are presented on the CD after their master take counterparts (example: The master take of I'm An Old Cowhand is immediately followed by its alternate take as is "Come, Gone" and "Way Out West"). They should have been sequenced at the end of the disc following the original album tracks. Apart from that, who really cares? This is a great album with great music on it.
Essential!!

New Mexico Space Within A California Studio 1957 ..From A New Yorker.........2005-09-05

The freshness of this enchanting CD cut in a few hours is like a mirage. Beautiful and temporary while leaving an impact.
The motiff and location of the Wild West as the idea of Cowboy Rollins on the CD cover and the sense of wilderness felt in the pure uncluttered music reveals a spacious quality as the jagged flowing pointed playing of Rollins,accompanied here with a bass player and drummer makes a statement of clear distinct music. The sparseness and texture of the emptiness of a desert/LA in the 1950's, as distinct from the hustle of a New York or Chicago, serves as a backdrop to Rollins's music here while the choice of compositions was well intended as a return to nature and basic heartfelt playing.
A few swinging Cowboy Western style tunes with Lincoln County imagery, some compositions in the ballad form, even a dreamy Ellington cover of Solitude (lost and stranded in a desert?),with many alternate takes, makes this CD both a lengthy one, and a worthy piece of music somehow unique coming from a great sax player and this stripped down band.

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