Bitches Brew
by Miles Davis

From JulianR TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/18/2017 02:46 | #198172 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

One of the best jazz albums out there. Basically everyone here has that one album that got them into jazz, and it usually holds a dear position in their mind. I see for a lot of people that that album is Kind of Blue, and sometimes A Love Supreme. They're good albums, but when I listned to them both, trying to get into jazz, they didn't really click for me. But then I listened to bitches brew, and it all made sense. This album isn't just jazz, it's never noodling for the sake of noodling, it is art. Pure and simple. (Edited)

Not enough can be said about the impact that Bitches Brew has had on music. With it's dark sound and incredible musicians, such as John McLaughlin and Chick Corea (musicians who are incredibly sucessful in their own right), Bitches Brew was the start of fusion jazz. On first listen, Bitches Brew appears to be nothing more than an extended jam session, a mess of keyboards and rhythm section, while Davis' staccato solos sweep between the rest of the band. On further and closer listens, however, Bitches Brew proves to be an expertly constructed piece of work. With each listen, there is always something new to discover. Whether it be Davis' extremely innovative playing, the odd sax solo here and there, the excellent rhythm section or McLaughlin's excellent funk style guitar work, "Bitches Brew" makes more sense with each consecutive listen. (Edited)

There is something so engaging about the ever-propulsive momentum and the way the notes appear to dance delicately between each other. I was introduced to 'In a Silent Way' first, and loved it, but this feels like that album realised in grandiose, funked-out glory. Alternatively you could argue that In a Silent Way is the more cohesive, truer to jazz album of the pair and that Bitches Brew outstays it's welcome, but I don't know, I enjoy the ridiculousness of this album. On a knife-edge it manages to pull off it's maximalist pomposity in a way a lot of "jazz-fusion" can't (including some later Davis stuff). And it is so transportive, I feel like I am inside that cover art. I can't find anything out there that comes anywhere near the tone and colour of this album. Truly mind-blowing. (Edited)

From SquishypuffDave TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/15/2012 06:14 | #55052 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

An interweaving jungle of noise. Many have explored its depths, but none thus far have tamed this wild, unforgiving landscape. (Edited)

From serpico 12/17/2012 06:50 | #58105 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

"How cool was Miles Davis? He was a key player in untold musical movements, inspired everyone from Sly Stone to John Lydon and led a life rich with colourful hedonism. Pretty cool then, as his 1957 album, Birth of the Cool laid bare. His finest album, though, was 1970’s experimental avant-garde masterpiece, Bitches Brew. Inspired by the likes of Hendrix and Sly Stone, its improvised quality and crossover appeal gave birth to jazz fusion. A challenging, at times impenetrable listen, it remains a benchmark in modern music." (Edited)