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In the standard process of reissue/repackage, Impluse! put together an eight-track compilation of John Coltrane numbers together under the Spiritual title and theme. The job must have seemed pretty easy since just about everything he recorded for the label could be considered in the spiritual order. The real problem, therefore, became deciding which pieces to leave off the compilation as opposed to which ones to include. For instance, "Acknowledgement," the first movement from the landmark A Love Supreme is in tow, but taken out of context it feels secluded and unsupported, thereby relegating the rest of A Love Supreme (which is arguably even more spirited) inconsequential. There are certainly some beautiful works here: "Song of Praise" (an odd, but delightful choice), and "Dear Lord" typify this compilation -- in fact there's not a dud in the group. It's just not possible to capture or do justice to Trane's spiritually themed Impulse! output onto one disc. For the seasoned Coltrane fan this compilation will prove useless. For those beginning their journey into Coltrane's formidable catalog, Spiritual is a mediocre representation of some magnificent records.&mdash;Jack Isles

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