Anyone want to discuss Dark Magus some more? I like the covers discussion and all of that, honestly, but I think it's best we keep them for the time of 1975-1980. Just for the sake of future generations stumbling upon this thread expecting discussions about the album.
Even though I love the live albums around the Dark Magus timeframe like the Cellar Door box, Live at Filmore, Agharta, Pangea, and any other Miles Davis album pre 1975 retirement, I couldn't get into Dark Magus for some reason. After seeing the comments here, im hoping that will help and I'm going to try it again when I have some good uninterrupted time this weekend.
It's weird...I couldn't get into Agartha at all and am still trying to digest Panagea, but Dark Magus sucked me in from the minute I first played it.
Of all the 72-75 record(ings), Dark Magus comes out on top for me. It's just relentlessly funky, driving, inspired. Not one dull moment for me. Get Up With It would be a good number 2. I think Dave Liebman is the factor and player tipping the scales in Dark Magus' favor. Every note he plays on this record is fire-breathing. By the time he was gone from the band something happened - as an ensemble they became ever tighter, but there was less interesting stuff breaking it up and stirring the pot, so to speak.
IIRC, Miles *did* say something to the effect of "why did you put that f***ing white bi*ch" on the cover, MOFO?". As for my favorite covers, there are sort of three "schools": 1) Large portrait of Miles: In a Silent Way, followed by Nefertiti and Kind of Blue. All iconic. 2) Colourful painting/sci-fi: Bitches Brew, followed by Live/Evil and On the Corner 3) Classic 50s/60s style (photo and/or graphics): Blackhawk
This was my experience too! After Dark Magus, though, I much more readily got in to the other two. I had gone through Miles sort of chronologically but starting with Sketches of Spain and Kind of Blue and In a Silent Way. Bitches Brew took some time for me to get what was going on (I had heard the remix version only, and I don't think it fully clicked until I had a copy of the original mix - nothing really had changed, but I had obviously got a different mindset and approaching with fresh ears made a wonderful difference), but On The Corner blew me away. I was, stupidly, expecting something of a live sound to mimic OTC, even though of course there's a few years difference, but at that point had no real knowledge of MD live at all. The big, dark, dense and intense sound of Dark Magus made a huge impact and I still think its intensity is very full on, and the performance is (miles) ahead of its time. I love how aggressive and relentless some parts are. I still hold DM as being a more interesting record, but I think perhaps Agharta is a 'better' one. That's all open to opinion of course. I got the late 90s digipack version, and remember getting into disc 2 a lot, especially the opening Funk/Prelude. Over time both halves have come to be seen by me as excellent. I find that versions of Ife can be hit or miss, and this one is definitely a 'hit'. In short it's all good, and I wish the additional stuff to make this a whole show was out there. I really like the addition of Gaumont and wish that more survived from this lineup. The 1973 shows I have are a very different vibe to this (and worthy of their own bootleg series, as are 1975) but as @shakti says above, there is some amazing stuff 'stirring the pot' here, which was tightened by a year later, adding some thing, but losing some thing in the process. In addition, I have a very strange relationship with Pangea. When I am just putting it on in the background, I can't get into it at all (unlike Agharta or Get Up With It - I know they're very different but to me they demand attention). Pangea just never grabs me in that context. But a few times I have sat down to dedicate time to listening to it and doing nothing else, it has blown me away, only for me to pop it on casually the next day and not really care for it. Strange!
I was going to type up Jack Chambers' brief comments on Dark Magus (which might have sparked more conversation) but everything he says has pretty much been plagiarised on the album's wiki page! (Ian Carr doesn't even mention Dark Magus at all!) Chambers doesn't seem to care for most electric Miles but I give him credit for trying to be impartial in his coverage of the period and making an effort to find positive things to say.
It's funny how he tries to find "traditional" jazz elements in the 70s recordings to like. Say, he enjoys various versions of Ife (unidentified as various blues pieces). He holds up Theme From Jack Johnson and Mayisha from Agartha as successes among failures, and sure, they are really good.
Exactly. If there's a bit of blues or any swing rhythm then he's in love. I actually attended a lecture Chambers held at the University of Toronto around the time of publication of his Miles books (maybe 1985-6?). One of my bones of contention with him was his idea that no one had really been influenced by Miles' 72-75 period, which was plain wrong in my eyes as Material and Bill Laswell proved - just listen to the song 'Disappearing' from Material's Memory Serves. I was young and didn't have the guts to speak out during the question and answer session. In retrospect I figure that Chambers probably didn't have his finger on the pulse of any music that might bear the influence of Miles' funk era.
While there’s no denying the genius of Miles’ legendary 50s and 60s bands, there’s something otherwordly about his “electric”period that I love. It’s exciting, dangerous, decades ahead of anyone else. It doesn’s sound like mere “funk” to my ears, although James Brown, Sly Stone (nice On the Cover cameos) and Jimi Hendrix are the obvious inspirations. It sounds more like an intergalactic mashup of jazz, rock, hip-hop, voodoo funk, electronica and thrash metal. I still don’t think we’ve caught up to the sounds on Get Up With It, Dark Magus, Agharta and Pangaea. I wrote several chapters about “Electric Miles Davis” in my book Pop Life (thanks to all six of you who bought copies). I probably should have written more, but that can always be used for a future book project. As always, the vinyl LP editions are superior to CD, but if you’re stuck with digital, you’ll be fine.
Dumb question coming from a novice like myself, probably, but why call it "Theme From Jack Johnson"? Isn't it just "Right Off" or a variation thereof?
Not dumb. It's indeed "Right Off"; no idea why the producer (Teo Macero) choose to title it "Theme...".
Tomas Graves' "Tuning Up at Dawn" memoir mentions his friendship with the artist Mati Klarwein as well as his use of Balearics imagery in his album artwork such as "Abraxas".
I'm sure that the guy who chose the names for the dark magus songs had no clue of what they actually were. I mean, even the band members had doubt's. But I like those names (meaning is explained some posts before) and they increase the mysticism around the album.
Dark Magus, Agartha, Pangaea...mystical titles and artwork indeed. Very much doubt that Miles was involved, but someone at Sony Japan had imagination. Beats Live at Carnegie Hall and Live In Tokyo.
I know, eh? Makes no sense. Admittedly "Moja" has a better ring to it than "Turnaroundphrase>Tune In 5"... Of course, the b--tlegs from that era call 'em the individual songs. Oh yeah..."Miles Davis Live At Carnegie Hall side one/side two/side three/side four"...pretty original titles there guys! It'd be one thing if all the individual pieces were untitled, but they're not.
When I talked to Pete Cosey he just called the Eb riff from Dark Magus and Pangaea "that riff we played to start the show" (or something like that).
Crispi, we know Miles was famous for being late to his shows. But this japanese crowd is getting impatient
Is that photo from the 1975 Japanese your? Miles looks very thin, which would jibe with his diet of Heineken, coke and morphine.
