Reissued August 6, 2021
Blue Note
1xLP (Tone Poet Series)
McCoy Tyner was 30 when Expansions was released in 1968. By the time he was 21, Tyner was already a legend. At the same age he was legally able to imbibe, he was John Coltrane's pianist of choice, and had featured on some of the aforementioned greats' most distinguished albums (My Favorite Things, A Love Supreme), which by proxy make him one of music's most accomplished pianist before he really had to feel the sting of adulthood. Does that make you feel old? It should. It makes us feel old as hell, like when you're watching professional sports, and as you're cheering some young, hip, able-bodied Adonis pulls off a stunt you can barely wrap your head around, and as you're caught up in the pure euphoria of the moment it dawns on you that, damn, this kid is half my age. That's what listening to Expansions can be like. It pairs well with eating early dinners, and wearing a jacket even if it's not that cold, because you wouldn't want to catch a chill.