Maybe I just struggle to understand what Miles was trying to get at within this string of his career. On The Corner is an interesting diversion and his work sort of seemed to build up to it. This live companion piece kind of goes off the rails for me though. Kind of feel like this is where some demons start cropping up and he is chasing some sort of sound he can't quite find....and stumbles around in the dark looking for it under the guise of creativity. It sort of started with Bitches Brew, which in my opinion was a direct hit on what he was looking for but than he needed to find a new....crazy, so to speak, which dovetailed into On The Corner. Live-Evil was another frustrating sort of live performance too, just not his best stuff. At any rate, just not my favorite couple years.
Side note: that In Concert cover looks like a template for some of the outfits and characters in HBO's The Deuce. I haven't listened to this release, but I tend to like Miles' music with sitars involved, so I'll have to give it a go.
I always used to put on Ife from In Concert at college parties back in the day and a good time was had. I always thought it was one of the best things ever (preferred it to the studio version from Big Fun, which I also like for its more mellow groove); however, it's been a while since I've played this album, I'll have to break it out soon, maybe later today.
For some time this was my least favorite 70's Miles album, as it seemed like they recorded this band way too soon, and they improved greatly the next year when Dave Liebman and Pete Cosey joined. However, it has been growing on me lately. I think the bass murk of this recording comes through more powerfully on the original vinyl than the U.S. digital remaster of the late 90's, although since I have only heard the latter on lossy streaming I may not have given it a fair chance.
I have to admit to liking combinations all of these things, except that I am not exactly on a Milesian level on the last account, thankfully Joking aside, I find it interesting that the thread has a voice that do not always go with the flow, even if I in no way agree on what you wrote about those two records and others. That discord is much needed in any situation, to shed a light on differing perspectives. Yes, I truly do and indeed did too. What a great thread this is. Thank you for steering the good ship in the right direction, skipper. I've only read the last 20 pages or so, but I'm working my way steadily backwards (which is my prefered way to view older threads). Never noticed this one before today, but luckily it coincides with a massive rediscovery of Miles' music the last few weeks. Keep up the good work, to you and the other participants.
"In Concert" was another of the Davis albums I ran out to buy when it was first released on 2 LP and have been listening to ever since. This one took a bit to gel for me as it has less "movement" than some and when I was younger it was the movement and energy of say "Miles Davis at Fillmore" that drew me into the whole adventure of "Directions in Music" that was the then Miles Davis. But I was getting a handle on it when suddenly Miles Davis was on TV on late night and I saw this band and it clicked in place even more. . . I got the uniquely paced grooves and the nature of the soloing. The most recent Japanese CD reissue of this sounds really really good.
I can't think of anything noteworthy to say about "In Concert" except that it sounds GREAT played loud. Oh, and the cover art!
I've listened to In Concert a lot lately. I used to think it was one of his lesser efforts from the fusion era. Because this was a new band that hadn't have time to really gel. You can hear then miss a few cues (Miles' hand signals), which never happened with the Cosey/Liebman band. Carlos Garnett is a bit muted in the mix and isn't a good fit compared to Liebman or Sonny Fortune. But the opening medley of Chieftain/Rated X is a really deep groove, as is Ife. It's a worthwhile listen for sure.
Are you trying to tell me you don't want me 'round the Dead thread anymore? Heart broken... Music and arguments about it is what's were it is at. If you never get your own opinions about various stuff challenged and questioned, how can you tell if they are what you actually think or feel anymore after a while? It doesn't mean that the person posing those questions is necessarily right (or sane), but it should force you to have that inner dialogue with youreself to check if the other guy actually has some sort of point. Which in my very humble opinion is a very good thing indeed.
Not at all my friend, I thought you, of all folks, might pick up on the intended irony of the post. Carry on! I just got around to putting on disc 1 of In Concert, and it's gotten right off to a good start; this kind of stuff is right up my alley though, On the Corner has always been in my top three Miles periods (along with the Bird years, 1st Quintet, Miles/Evans, 2nd Quintet, Silent, Bitches, & Johnson).
Irony and sarcasm are two things I've never been good at picking up, good Sir ( ) Hmm, I don't think I actually heard In Concert, so I will have to rectify that so I can be able to actully join this thread at some point. It is after all from my favorite era, the dreaded Seventies. I'm on page 37 now, BTW. We are getting there.
In Concert is an album I haven't come to terms with yet. I just really dislike the recorded sound of it.
Holee smokes, man! How come I never heard this one before last night? Like ever? I am totally smitten as this is just up my alley Don't know when I woulda heard this one if it wasn't for clicking on this thread. Kozmik coincidences stumbling over it and getting into that rather heavy fight we had yesterday
I think "In Concert" comes behind "Agharta", "Pangaea", "Dark Magus", and "Live At The Filmore" in the grand list of 70s Davis live albums... But it's still utterly engaging and brilliant and all the superlatives I can think of. (Black Beauty is the one I haven't heard yet. I gotta sort that.)
Well, yeah. And I love all of those. Mad for the racket, you see. But come to think of it I haven't heard Black Beauty either. Hopefully there's another gem there.
Going by his usual form, I've got a feeling it'll be crackingly good stuff. I'm also a sucker for his inimitable "racket".
I will play it some time during the afternoon or evening. Hopefully it will make dogs bark, cats screech and the neighbours to go running merrily for those hills a-yonder. I can get why people do not like this stuff. But then again they are just plain wrong
Black Beauty is from the era when Miles still let Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette play very "free" during his live shows. If you like that playing style, it is worth hearing.
On a personal note I hope you will excuse the little self-indulgence that follows... Having now read all but the first 8 pages of this thread, I have to cop to not being a jazzhead by any stretch of the imagination. However I do like mavericks, magnificence of all shapes and colours and music on a general basis. Miles fits the bill perfectly, but I haven't been listening that much to him outside of IASW to Jack Johnson or jazz the last few years. However I deeply love psychedelic music, prog, metal and hip hop (as well as pretty much something out of every other genre there ever was) and that may be the reason why I was always draw to the skronkier or weirder side of the jazz but I've never really gotten into the early Davis before. I mean, I've always liked those earlier albums, but for me it started with In A Silent Way and ended when he passed. The last four or five years I've been gradually getting back on the jazz track, but any serious effort got derailed by a pretty heavy Dead habit for the last 30 months or so. This thread came along at just the right moment, when my defenses were down after heavily playing the Prince of Darkness' late sixties to mid-seventies stuff for the last week or so. And now this morning I finally caved in, ordered the Mono Box and the Second Great Quintet albums (which I've never even heard in full) and will replace my old and not really that worn out copies of Kind of Blue and Milestones. Because it finally makes sense to me. Great times and thank you all again for making me broke
Epic, right? (Both the fight and the album ). I only had time to get through the first disc (twice ) yesterday; when they finally break into the OtC theme bass riff on "Black Satin" I knew I had come back home. Since I didn't finish the entire thing, I just now put on the 2nd disc in order to complete the album. "Ife" was every bit as good as I remembered it and "Right Off" was a full tilted frenzy. Of course, since you mentioned not having heard Black Beauty yet, I would recommend you to check it out (full disclosure, I will say that about any Miles album should any particular one arise as a topic of conversation).
The album is only epic, but that fight was one for the ages. I like that we can say "when they finally get going with the theme" and it is purely positive. Jazz is both the arduous journey and the arrival at the destination. You can be sure that I will order both In Concert and Black Beauty shortly. I just cannot justify any more purchases for myself today. But there is always tomorrow...
