Miles Davis' best live album?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by pig whisperer, Nov 4, 2008.

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  1. pig whisperer

    pig whisperer CD Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Which live Miles Davis album is your favorite. Why?

    I haven't heard a single one...

    Thanks :wave:
     
    mark winstanley likes this.
  2. bluesbro

    bluesbro Forum Hall of Shame

    Location:
    DC
    If you accept boxes, the Plugged Nickel by a mile.

    Otherwise, I'll go with miles in tokyo. Sam Rivers is incredible, to this day I cant understand why Miles let him go and went with George Coleman instead.
     
  3. Mark

    Mark I Am Gort, Hear Me Roar Staff


    I agree.
     
    mark winstanley likes this.
  4. wolf66

    wolf66 New Member

    Location:
    Austria
    Is/Was the "Plugged Nickel" set available on vinyl too ? Parts of it ?
     
  5. Mike in OR

    Mike in OR Through Middle-earth...onto Heart of The Sunrise

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    My favorite live is the JPN first issue 2 LP set, Miles Davis at the Plugged Nickel, Chicago. CBS/Sony Vol.1, 25AP 1 and CBS/Sony Vol. 2, 25AP 291. The music is great and the sonics are excellent. A friend of mine in DC has the Mosaic set, we A/B'd the sets and the JPN vinyl came out the clear winner sonically. Strictly as far as the music goes, definately the Plugged Nickel is my favorite live Davis.
     
  6. pig whisperer

    pig whisperer CD Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Thanks for the replies. It is unanimous at this point. What sets the Plugged Nickel performances apart from all of the others?
     
  7. jdw

    jdw Senior Member

    George Coleman was in the band before Rivers. Wayne Shorter was Rivers' successor.

    But I agree the Plugged Nickel material is essential.
     
  8. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    I'm partial to Miles Davis At Fillmore from 1970, with Corea and Jarrett on keyboards and Miles out for blood. However, Plugged Nickel is great, as is Blackhawk from 1961, and Cellar Door from later in 1970.
     
    dzhason likes this.
  9. CybrKhatru

    CybrKhatru Music is life.

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    My faves are the "My Funny Valentine" and "Four & More" two-fer, from 1964.
    Sounds like I need to revisit "Miles in Tokyo" though.... :)
     
    JeffMo, StarThrower62 and Humbuster like this.
  10. Mark

    Mark I Am Gort, Hear Me Roar Staff


    IMO, his finest band, bar none, and some seriously smokin' performances. They were so on and imaginative for that week that it's almost criminal.
     
    mark winstanley likes this.
  11. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    Challenging to even put a listing together of every official release

    At Newport 1958
    Friday at the Blackhawk
    Saturday at the Blackhawk
    At Carnegie Hall
    Four & More
    My Funny Valentine
    Miles in Tokyo
    Miles in Berlin
    Miles Davis in Europe
    Plugged Nickel box
    Black Beauty
    Live at Fillmore East
    In Concert: Live at Philharmonic Hall
    Dark Magus
    Agharta
    Pangea
    We Want Miles
    Live Around the World
    Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux (plus the 20 CD Montreux box)
    All Stars Vol 1 & 2 Live
    Live at the Barrel
    At Last
    Miles & Coltrane
    Miles & Monk at Newport
    Jazz at the Plaza
    Miles in Antibes
    It's About That Time
    In Paris Festival International de Jazz
    Birth of the Cool (the live disc on The Complete Birth of the Cool)
    In Stockholm 1960 Complete
    Miles! Miles! Miles! Live in Japan '81
    Cellar Door Sessions

    These aren't in any particular order, and I'm sure I'm missing a number of them (probably moreso from his early career). Plus, there are variations on some of them - Vol 1, Vol 2, Complete, etc.
     
  12. Mark

    Mark I Am Gort, Hear Me Roar Staff

    Aggie: Good work! :righton: I was thinking about it, but got tired just thinking about it....
     
    mark winstanley likes this.
  13. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    "The Plugged Nickel" box is fantastic, but in first place I have to put "My Funny Valentine."
     
    bonus likes this.
  14. Jerry

    Jerry Grateful Gort Staff

    Location:
    New England
    Hmmm, looks like I need to get this. What's the best version to get, Mark?
     
    mark winstanley likes this.
  15. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    You need the complete box set in my opinion. Unfortunately it's OOP.
     
  16. Mark

    Mark I Am Gort, Hear Me Roar Staff


    Right. OOP and mega-costly, therefore,if you can find one, as I recall.
     
  17. Jerry

    Jerry Grateful Gort Staff

    Location:
    New England
    I'll put the word out with my contacts. You never know.....
     
  18. Xico

    Xico Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sao Paulo, Brazil
    It was available, complete, as a Mosaic vinyl set. OOP for years, though.

    There were other editions on LP, like "Cookin at the Plugged Nickel", but I don't know how good they were. But for the complete performances, you just have the Mosaic set.
     
  19. Xico

    Xico Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sao Paulo, Brazil
    And my favorite live performances are:
    Friday and Saturday night at the Blackhawk
    Live in Berlin
    And, of course, the Plugged Nickel.
     
  20. honkymagic

    honkymagic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vienna, VA
    The Plugged Nickel collection rocks me the hardest when I listen to it, but in terms of sheer volume of plays, I have to go with the Friday and Saturday Night at the Blackhawk sets. The band (Mobley / Kelley / Chambers / Cobb) doesn't have the sheer creativity or the crazy tempo modulations of the Shorter / Hancock / Carter / Williams grouping, but Davis is in absolutely amazing form throughout. In fact, I like Davis more on the Blackhawk dates than on the Plugged Nickel set. The version of "Walkin'" from Saturday night is amazing, simply amazing.

    I also like the 1970 Fillmore 2-disc set with Shorter still in the band (It's About That Time).
     
    djost likes this.
  21. My favorite live recording is also "My Funny Valentine" from 1964. By the way, my preferred digital version of this is the first Japanese pressing (35DP) which has a unique mastering. Other digital versions are also nice (Japan SACD, early European pressing), but that one I find the overall best.
     
  22. audiospirit

    audiospirit Active Member

    Location:
    Germany
    My funny valentine.
     
  23. mr_mjb1960

    mr_mjb1960 I'm a Tarrytowner 'Til I die!

    If you do Buy a "Live" Miles Davis,do yourself a favor and stay away from the "Saturday Night" 2-Lp set..that's a journey thru a drug-fazed H---! Everything about it turned me off on it! It's a jumbled,out of tune and rhythm Album! YECHH!! Not one of his best-go with his "Plugged Nickel" Albums! Much Better!:righton:
     
  24. steveharris

    steveharris Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    If you can`t find the Plugged Nickel box at a good price,
    There is a single cd sampler that is cheap and easy to find.
    There is also the original Cookin and More Cookin At the Plugged Nickel,
    and the japanese Sony mastersound cds sound realy good.
    Maybe the Complete Boxset will be reissued on hybrid SACDs someday.
     
  25. J.A.W.

    J.A.W. Music Addict

    The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 set is my favourite, but the Miles Davis in Stockholm 1960–Complete 4CD-set on the Swedish Dragon label is a close second. Fantastic playing, especially by John Coltrane on the first two CDs (Sonny Stitt replaced Coltrane on the rest of the set).
     
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