Critic Score
Based on 3 reviews
1974 Ratings: #99 / 206
User Score
Based on 149 ratings
1974 Ratings: #105
May 1974 / Release Date
LP / Format
Milestone / Label
Orrin KeepnewsProducer
Full Credits
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Critic Reviews

86
Pitchfork
Alice Coltrane teamed with Joe Henderson for this 1973 jazz classic, an album where each memberโ€™s playing is in service of a single, cosmic statement of music.
RemisReviews
91

A sonically Avant-Garde Jazz album, with lots of uncommon time signatures that are even more uncommon than Jazz usually is, as well as a peculiar sound design that has instruments being used in quite a unique way to create quite a special vibe. Not only is this record instrumentally compelling, but it also draws a fine line between stimulation and immersion. It keeps your attention with a pretty moving rhythmic core, but its Spiritual undertone definitely also immerses you in its own beautiful ... read more

homuli
66

A simple concept executed well. "The Elements" is comprised of four tracks, each one named after, you guessed it, each one of the four main elements -- beyond the song titles, you'll also notice that the songs' moods and instrumentation vary based on the element; "Fire" has Henderson at his most fiercest, with a strong-driven bassline blazing throughout the whole track, while "Air" presents a more let-loose, spaceous environment enriched by Alice ... read more

krmn10
80

One of the best jazz collabs

More popular reviews
RemisReviews
91

A sonically Avant-Garde Jazz album, with lots of uncommon time signatures that are even more uncommon than Jazz usually is, as well as a peculiar sound design that has instruments being used in quite a unique way to create quite a special vibe. Not only is this record instrumentally compelling, but it also draws a fine line between stimulation and immersion. It keeps your attention with a pretty moving rhythmic core, but its Spiritual undertone definitely also immerses you in its own beautiful ... read more

ChoppedNScrewed
90

A brilliant collaboration of two seemingly fairly disparate musicians, albeit less so given Henderson's switch in the 70s to a more fusion-heavy, sometimes spiritual and sometimes political sound and aesthetic. Henderson to my mind steals the show in large parts despite Alice Coltrane's considerable talent, and if there is any criticism to be made of this album it is perhaps that she does not shine quite so much as she might, or naturally as much as she does in her solo work. ... read more

Tapiocadoente
NR

FL.
I liked this a lot, for a person that doesn't listen to jazz in general, It obviously surprised me, I didn't expect to hear a lot of things here, it kept me engaged even tho it didn't have 10 things playing at the same time, everything here have its own place and sound, and especially sound, some of them reminds me of Industrial music. Charlie Haden's Bass and Baba Duru Oshun's percussions are one of my favorite things here, along with Joe Henderson's Flutes ... read more

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