Best Ever Albums

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

PurpleHazel — Thu, 7 Jun 2018 17:10:49 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 06/07/2018 21:10

Fischman wrote:

(The man was quite prolific!)

Like the understatement of you sticking the word "quite" in there!

Quote:

I’ll have to check that out.

The set's excellent, two CDs and a DVD of a third concert. I have nine bootlegs of this "Lost Quintet" tour, and though they chose the best-sounding shows for the set, the music on some of other boots is incredible, my favorite acoustic Miles (semi-acoustic -- Corea's playing electric piano). Wayne Shorter's playing on those particular boots is phenomenal, the most advanced tenor playing I've ever heard, except some Coltrane. It's almost free, without ever raising his "voice." And Corea destroys that early electric piano.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

syptixed — Thu, 7 Jun 2018 01:34:02 GMT

Author: syptixed

Posted: 06/07/2018 05:34

Bitches brew was a godsend one morning for me last year. I haven't driven a car very often in the last 8 years and i have extreme problems with sound and being out in public and i have been living with it all my life so my brain is pretty fucked up.

Also, when i have been up for more than 14 to 16 hours, i get into a state where i really shouldn't be driving but i had to drive somewhere one morning and i was tired and my eyes and my brain weren't on the same wavelength so i drank one of those energy coffees but it wasn't helping and luckily the only cd i brought with me was a mix and it had the title track on it and it helped me out, big time. The rest of it was probably idm.

Just in general that is a great album.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

Fischman — Wed, 6 Jun 2018 22:42:23 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 06/07/2018 02:42

PurpleHazel wrote:

Agree! Have you heard the Live in Europe 1969: Bootleg Series V.2 set? The same band that plays on a majority of Kilimanjaro -- a transitional lineup and material.

I’ve got over 20 Miles albums, but that isn’t one of them. (The man was quite prolific!)
I’ll have to check that out.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

PurpleHazel — Wed, 6 Jun 2018 21:27:38 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 06/07/2018 01:27

Fischman wrote:

I have been loving Filles de Kilimanjaro, which is sort of transitional between classic and electric. Although evolutionary rather than revolutionary, it's still a fully realized bit of excellence in its own right.

Agree! Have you heard the Live in Europe 1969: Bootleg Series V.2 set? The same band that plays on a majority of Kilimanjaro -- a transitional lineup and material.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

Fischman — Wed, 6 Jun 2018 09:13:00 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 06/06/2018 13:13

Miles went through a number of major evolutionary shifts, and the dividing lines aren't always distinct.

I have been loving Filles de Kilimanjaro, which is sort of transitional between classic and electric. Although evolutionary rather than revolutionary, it's still a fully realized bit of excellence in its own right.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

PurpleHazel — Wed, 6 Jun 2018 05:02:35 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 06/06/2018 09:02

Hope this poll stays a tie forever! 😁

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

Anonymous — Tue, 5 Jun 2018 20:49:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/06/2018 00:49

Classic because of the sheer amount of great material, but In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Live-Evil, and On the Corner are favorites too

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

jdenny2018 — Tue, 5 Jun 2018 12:50:12 GMT

Author: jdenny2018

Posted: 06/05/2018 16:50

Lots of great discussion. I'm pretty consistent with my love of Miles Davis across eras. Gun to my head, I'll say electric, mostly because you can really hear the stark stylistic shifts, whereas his "classic" period's innovation is extremely subtle.

That said, Bitches Brew and Milestones are my two favorite Miles Davis albums.

Speaking of favorite albums... Check out my list! I'm relatively new and I don't have a lot of ratings and would love more feedback.

https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=45360

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

Fischman — Tue, 5 Jun 2018 12:23:22 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 06/05/2018 16:23

For me, definitely electric.

I've always found his classic stuff rather uninspiring relative to the other greats of the time. Give me Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Wes Montgomery, or John Coltrane any time. Don't get me wrong, he put out a lot of great music back then, I just think a little less of it than many of his contemporaries.

But when he got around to the likes of In a Silent Way or On the Corner, he was not only changing the shape of jazz, but changing it in a way that was genuinely exciting and truly shone against the backdrop of everything else that was going on in jazz, and even music in general at the time.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

rkm — Mon, 4 Jun 2018 19:39:23 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 06/04/2018 23:39

I definitely prefer Miles up to the late 60’s. I’m not a purist. I probably prefer Weather Report in the early 70’s over Miles at that time. Wayne Shorter is the connection between the two. In the 70’s I lean more toward the atmospheric and avant-garde of the ECM label jazz, over the funky electric jazz of Miles, Herbie Hancock etc. I also like the spiritual jazz of Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane of the late 60’s and early 70’s. For me, Miles holds less interest once I get to the 70’s.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

boyd94 — Mon, 4 Jun 2018 13:46:06 GMT

Author: boyd94

Posted: 06/04/2018 17:46

Kind of Blue is interesting largely for its formal innovations but nothing compares to Bitches Brew. It's sitting in my top 5 so I would say that, but even compared to In a Silent Way the difference is night and day. I like IaSW but it seems tentative and transitional when considered alongside the follow-up along similar formal lines.

As said above, I never really bought the rock part of jazz-rock. Unless critics who label it as such are hearing very different rock music from me. Davis has claimed to be inspired by Hendrix but that doesn't mean it necessarily emerges in the composition in any identifiable way. I'd wager that rock was influenced by Davis far more so than the reverse.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

RoundTheBend — Sun, 3 Jun 2018 21:36:26 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/04/2018 01:36

Pretty much - well said.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

PurpleHazel — Sun, 3 Jun 2018 02:57:09 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 06/03/2018 06:57

sethmadsen wrote:

I kinda feel like the jazz purist would go early and the hey that's cool music types, but not necessarily jazz enthusiasts, go electric period.

There are jazz purists who don't like the electric period, though their numbers are dwindling, but there are plenty of serious jazz fans who embrace both. Electric Miles does have an appeal beyond jazz fans; then again Kind of Blue is unique in being the one jazz album many non-jazzers like.

Quote:

In A Silent Way musically speaks to me more. It's got this beautiful ambient thing that I barely would consider Jazz.

"Ambient" isn't a bad word for it. Very much an atmospheric piece that eventually builds to something more assertive on the second side. Unique electric jazz album.

Quote:

Bitches Brew is clearly more jazz than "rock"

Agreed. George Grella argues, in his 33 1/3 book on Bitches Brew, that the album actually doesn't have rock elements. As a musician, he analyses the components and points out that the drums' rhythms come from funk and even parade music, but not rock. McLaughlin's guitar, while a little more distorted than the average traditional jazz guitarist, is still more jazz. His playing is experimental as much as anything else.

On the Corner is an interesting beast. It's a paradox, because on the surface it appears to be a commercial heavy jazz-funk album -- though there's something unsettling about it, it defies you to have too much fun -- but it's simultaneously quite radical and experimental for its time. It was influenced by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Ornette Coleman and Indian music. There's sitar and tabla on the album. The lead instruments, including McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock and Dave Liebman, were buried in the mix and drift in and out, going against the hierarchical structure of most jazz. And Teo Macero did the same type of tape editing he'd been doing on Miles' albums since In a Silent Way, sometimes repeating sections.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

PurpleHazel — Sun, 3 Jun 2018 02:23:35 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 06/03/2018 06:23

DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE!!!

Gun to my head, I'd pick Electric, but that's because it has a slight sentimental edge on Acoustic for me. I got into fusion from rock and mainstream jazz from fusion, so Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way, Live-Evil (even better, the Cellar Door Sessions box set) and Jack Johnson were in regular rotation during my late teens, a very formative age for me (my mind made more formable by mind-altering drugs). I love them all.

But I also love Miles Smiles, E.S.P., Kind of Blue, Miles Ahead, Milestones, Sketches of Spain.

Abstain 🤐

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

YoungPunk — Sun, 3 Jun 2018 00:48:25 GMT

Author: YoungPunk

Posted: 06/03/2018 04:48

electric

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

RoundTheBend — Sat, 2 Jun 2018 22:56:29 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/03/2018 02:56

I kinda feel like the jazz purist would go early and the hey that's cool music types, but not necessarily jazz enthusiasts, go electric period. But that's just a wild guess.

As a Jazz beginner I'm stuck between both - I feel Kind of Blue is the jazz in a box album (all things beginner jazz), whereas In A Silent Way musically speaks to me more. It's got this beautiful ambient thing that I barely would consider Jazz.

On the Corner is like soul/funk meets jazz... idk - Bitches Brew is clearly more jazz than "rock", so I won't say that his later stuff is less than 50% "traditional jazz", whatever that means.

Anyway, I'll stop my incoherent ramblins.

Re: Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

stangetzaway — Sat, 2 Jun 2018 20:53:09 GMT

Author: stangetzaway

Posted: 06/03/2018 00:53

Probably depends which perspective you take. 3 of my top 10 Miles Albums (Jack Johnson, On The Corner, Bitches Brew) and considering you're basically looking at 1970 - 1975 in his career you can argue that period punchs above it's weight . Having said that check 1957 - 1959 it includes Round About Midnight, Cookin with the MDQ, Relaxin with the MDQ, Miles Ahead, Milestone, Kind of Blue, L'Ascenseur, Porgy and Bess etc. Little doubt in my mind which was his most fruitful period.

Electric or Classic Miles Davis?

jdenny2018 — Sat, 2 Jun 2018 19:59:23 GMT

Author: jdenny2018

Posted: 06/02/2018 23:59

Which period of Miles Davis is better? His classic period, or his electric period?

I've always leaned more towards his electric stuff, but I want to know what other people think.