Miles Part 3

3) Proto-electric: Miles in the Sky was where Miles first used electric instruments. Filles de Kilimanjaro features Herbie and Chick Corea on Fender Rhodes, and Carter on electric bass. By this time Miles was listening to a lot of Sly, James Brown and Hendrix. This is also the "uncredited Gil Evans album" and Gil loved Jimi as much as Miles did. I'm less enamored of the more electric side one than side two's gorgeous title track -a one of Miles' best performances -- and the Hendrix-inspired ("The Wind Cries Mary") "Mademoiselle Mabry". Side two ranks with just about anything else Miles did in my personal pantheon. In a Silent Way could go in the fusion category, but it's so delicate and so beautiful that it feels more right here. Another essential.

4) Fusion: As with "cool jazz" Miles gets blamed for a lot of crappy music that followed in his wake. Maybe even moreso with fusion since the leaders of so many of the big sellers (Weather Report, Return to Forever, etc.) were Miles' sidemen. But don't hold that against the music. Bitches' Brew is the famous one, and (in part) because of that, the historically important one, but the real treasure is A Tribute to Jack Johnson. Read the link. Lotsa interesting stuff that's new to me, esp. about side two & how it was put together, mostly by Miles' longtime producer, Teo Macero. John McLaughlin is awesome. Miles is great. Would have been interesting if Tony Williams had still been around (the recycled bit from In a Silent Way notwithstanding.) One of the other great things about Jack Johnson is that it's cheap. This period is filled with multi-disc sets. They're expensive. I listen to Agharta occasionally & like it a lot, but enough to recommend you spend $25 bucks on it? That's between you and your pocket book. Ditto for the rest of the 1970-1975 period. If you can find a copy, Greg Tate's Flyboy in the Buttermilk: Essays on Contemporary America has his Downbeat essay on the electric Miles, which I think is the best guide available. See Bob Christgau, too, esp. "Miles Davis's '70s: The Excitement! The Terror!". Btw, Christgau was Tate's longtime editor/mentor at The Voice, and I've no doubt they had many a discussion about Miles electric period.

5) Post-fusion: The only late Miles I have is Aura, but I haven't listened to it much. It's highly regarded within this period. Again, I'm pretty benighted & don't feel comfortable making recommendations.

That's not necessarily a knock on the music, but from such a restless and innovative musician it is surprising.

I think the key notion here is that Miles was looking for the right players. By all accounts, discovering Tony Williams put a fire under Miles' ass, and then getting Wayne Shorter brought in a whole new set of compositions to explore.

Miles was one of the greatest band leaders of all time because he drew so much inspiration from collaborators with distinct styles - whether that was Coltrane, Gil Evans, Bill Evans or Williams and Shorter (and Hancock, another major composer in the group).

Miles and Duke both have that Shakespeare-and-his-repertory-company thing going on, where they created to the talents of their collaborators.

Hey there, wise music people. I have a question for you - if I could only afford one Tim Buckley album, which one should I buy?

Hey there, wise music people. I have a question for you - if I could only afford one Tim Buckley album, which one should I buy?

Happy Sad - it's perfectly poised between his folkier/prettier (though occasionally precious) early stuff and his later jazzy experiments. From AMG:

Easily Tim Buckley's most underrated album, Happy Sad was another departure for the eclectic Southern California-based singer/songwriter. After the success of the widely acclaimed Goodbye and Hello, Buckley mellowed enough to explore his jazz roots. Sounding like Fred Neil's Capitol-era albums, Buckley and his small, acoustic-based ensemble weave elegant, minimalist tapestries around the six Buckley originals. The effect is completely mesmerizing. On "Buzzin' Fly" and "Strange Feelin'," you are slowly drawn into Buckley's intoxicating vision. The extended opus in the middle of the record, "Love from Room 109," is an intense, complex composition. Lovingly underproduced by Jerry Yester and Zal Yanovsky, this is one of the finest records of the late '60s. — Matthew Greenwald

But the Rhino compilation, Morning Glory is an excellent primer that covers his whole career and if you're going to jump in I think you'd probably find even more to enjoy there. He did a lot of good stuff.

Happy Sad - it's perfectly poised between his folkier/prettier (though occasionally precious) early stuff and his later jazzy experiments.

But the Rhino compilation, Morning Glory is an excellent primer that covers his whole career and if you're going to jump in I think you'd probably find even more to enjoy there. He did a lot of good stuff.

Thanks so much! I know I never post in here, but I read this thread sometimes and I am just in awe of you guys.

Thanks so much! I know I never post in here, but I read this thread sometimes and I am just in awe of you guys.

Jump in any time - we've all got opinions.

One reason I'm pimping the Buckley collection is just because he went through many many different phases from straight folk to orchestral psych folk to very jazzy folk to pornagraphic funk (no kidding). Happy Sad is a great record, and I think finds the mean of his interests, but he ranged far to either side of that.

Jump in any time - we've all got opinions.

That's the thing. You've got opinions. Whereas I have almost complete and total ignorance.

ETA: The pornographic funk intrigues me; I'm buying the collection.

The pornographic funk intrigues me; I'm buying the collection.

It was very controversial at the time, but in retrospect it's kind of an interesting detour. It's on the Greetings From LA record.

The pornographic funk intrigues me

"No Head No Backstage Pass", now there's some pornographic funk. (Yes, it's a real song.)

How cool is it that the guy who reviews Funkadelic for Allmusic also reviews the Lothars?