Om is a sacred symbol in Hinduism. It symbolizes the infinite, the endless, the form of the grand deity manifested as the first sound, the great vibration. OM. It's a heavy symbol, drenched in meaning. To name an album OM, an artist should harness that idea of vibration and being. I don't think anyone was more qualified to do this then JOHN COLTRANE. Coltrane was part of the beginning, part of the vibration of so many different movements in jazz. From bebop to modal to free-form, he was there and he was probably recording some of the best albums in those styles.
Om was recorded in 1965, when he began his avant-garde period. Influenced by Albert Ayler and Sun Ra, he recorded several albums in this time period. Om was an early recording from this period, but it remains the best. It is closer to noise than it is to jazz, pure experimental, atonal squeals from Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders. It's truly ahead of its time, closer to Merzbow than Miles Davis.
Unfortunately, Coltrane died before this albums release. I can imagine this led to its poor sales, as the news of his death jumpstarted sales for his more popular albums. It's a shame, as this is a fantastic album. For fans of noise and jazz.
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