From a collector's standpoint I can see the point in purchasing both releases. Does "Acrobat" compensate the estates of any of the participating musicians ? I am sure Sony does.... Public Domain is grey area, with national differences regarding copyright wide enough to drive a truck through.
I listened to a couple of tracks on Spotify (hi res) of non-authorised and compared to the official Sony, the sound wasn’t great.
Acrobat and other ripoff labels either make cds from a public domain LP or rip a cd. Almost always inferior because they have no interest in improving the sound experience.
My father attended the first of the two concerts in Cologne/Germany (Messehalle 8/Convention Center Hall 8) on April 2, 1960 on that Miles Davis/John Coltrane tour. He still has the ticket stubs. On the tickets it says "Miles Davis Sextet" (even though it was the quintet performing), so technically it was a Miles Davis performance. In terms of marketing it makes sense to release the shows as Miles Davis/John Coltrane shows, though. Unfortunately it seems that the Cologne show was not recorded. The local radio station WDR (which is based in Cologne) recorded the show in nearby Düsseldorf on March 28 at which Miles did not play. It was released on Jazzline in 2010.
I had the Acrobat set but sold it off after the Sony set came out. The best-sounding material on it was the stuff that ended up on the Bootleg Series album, and the editing was really choppy. It served the purpose of plugging that gap in the collection until Sony issued the real thing, but it felt a bit extraneous (especially on shelves where space never ample) afterwards.
The Barnes & Noble version on red vinyl, by Music On Vinyl, is surprisingly good. Is the Vinyl Me Please edition of the Paris concert as good as Copenhagen? I wish they hadn't split them up. I don't want to subscribe to anything.
how has having the full june 70 fillmore shows affected your opinion of the original edited 2LP/2CD? i love the edited fillmore 2 cd and even scored myself a Japanese pressing . i'm nervous of getting the full set in case it changes how i hear the original - its happened before like the David Bowie Station to station box with its remixed nassau gig which kind of killed one of my favourite concerts for a while hows the mix on the full set, are Jack De Johnette and Chic Corea still upfront? does the full version dilute the aggression? is it still "Punk-Bop" ?
Although I've enjoyed the 2 LP set for years, I've rarely if ever gone back to it since the complete set came out. I haven't compared the two mixes extensively but I think they are similar.
From memory, are the two keyboard swapped in the stereo image? I think that was talked about at the time, but otherwise I'm the same: haven't gone back to the original since the box was released.
The Paris set is brilliant on vinyl. Now available in the VMP store for all members (not only Classic members).
I took advantage of this. Thanks so much for the heads up. Looks first-class, but haven't had the chance to listen yet.
1 6 2 3 4 5 The first is just great. Too bad they had to cut "Walkin'" from the video, but it seems that was beyond their control. I tend to favor the later shows from the Spring 1960 tour, because they seemed to loosen up more from Copenhagen onward, but Paris is a fascinating document of Coltrane facing off with some hostile listeners, and I've been good friends with Stockholm since finding the Dragon release in the university bookstore some 25 years ago. I was disappointed by the dry, somewhat acrid sound of the '69 Antibes; it sounded better on the '90s CBS France release. They also could've included more of the second concert in Stockholm, I think. My VHS boot of the Berlin show also has an "In Color" screen at the start that I kind of miss. But I'm very happy to have a crisp upgrade of that video, and all of the performances in the set are very good. I enjoy the 3rd volume, although I think they sacrificed some of the exciting "live" sound of the original mix to get more separation & clarity, and I still don't think that an expanded version of an official live album, recorded by CBS engineers and stored in Sony vaults, really belongs in the "Bootleg Series." It should've been a Miles at Fillmore - Deluxe, and something else could've been in the series that year. The 4th volume is particularly valuable for collecting the '66-67 recordings, complete and in improved sound. I'm also glad to have a '71 show on CD, and the '73 Berlin show is smoking--although I prefer the FM sound of the boot. I enjoy everything in it, although it's really a stretch to include the '70s shows in the "At Newport" conceit, and they shouldn't have included so much previously released material in a "Bootleg Series" set. I'd probably rank this higher, but that still bothers me. It's just wrong. I listened to a library copy of the 5th volume a couple times, but haven't bothered to buy it. It's interesting to get a glimpse into the Second Quintet's creative process in the studio, but I don't think I'll need to hear it any more.
1 3 2 6 4 Didn't get 5. I'm surprised that there isn't too much love for Vol. 3. I get what @frightwigwam is saying about it being an expanded version of Miles at Fillmore and thus shouldn't be called "Bootleg Series", but the music itself is phenomenal.
3 is terrific. It is only as low as it is in my rankings due to the stupendous quality of the series overall. I’ve never heard the original Fillmore album, but should remedy that sometime.
Some of the edits are quite harsh/sudden, but it does keep the momentum going. Each of the four sets are trimmed down to around 25 minutes so that they could each fit on a side of the 2LP album. The poor saxophonist had most of his solos cut.
I haven’t heard the Fillmore box but listened to the original again the other day. Much to love here. Teo was really into something.
1970 Miles is top shelf, one of his peaks, but if I’m ranking 1970 shows I’d go December Cellar Door March Fillmore East April Fillmore West August Isle of Wight & Tanglewood June Fillmore East October Fillmore West So, although I like all of it, I guess I’m not as enthusiastic about June.
Thanks for the poll, people -- the results have been sort of inspiring, actually. I have (and really like!) 3, 4, and 6, but the poll has just cost me 80 USD this morning, ordering 1 and 2, since they've been so happily rated among poll-takers here. If I'm disappointed, you can be sure I'll let you know about it! RH
