Tracks
- Pharaoh's Dance
- Bitches Brew
- Spanish Key
- John McLaughlin
- Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
- Sanctuary
Bitches Brew is a complex album. The music is mix of jazz and rock. At least that's what I'm told. I know that part of the fusion was adding electric instruments to the performance. However, I really can't pick out any particular kind of rock music in any of the pieces. It's entirely possible that there are rock features in the music and that I'm just not knowledgable enough to pick them out.
It's things like that which make this album complex. There are other things which are harder to figure out than trying to locate the rock influences in the music. At first, it seems the songs lack any real structure and that there is an absence of melody.
I've listened to this album many times and I have only just begun to discover the structure of these pieces. Melody is sparse, but it's there from time to time. The more musically inclined will have this all figured out in no time, but for more casual listeners, it will take patience.
That it takes many repeated listens for the causal listener to penetrate this album is large problem. Most people are not going to invest the time to do and so they won't even be able to appreciate this album for what it is. But is that the listeners fault? Should popular music be more accessible to listeners? Should Bitches Brew be considered popular music in the sense that it really is being marketed to the public-at-large?
I have spent the time to better appreciate this album and I do enjoy it very much. I actually bought this album because I was looking for music that had a rock and roll sound, but jammed the way jazz musicians jam rather than how rock musicians jam. I don't think that's the album that I bought and I was completely overwhelmed by this album when I first started listening to it. I always enjoyed it, but I never felt like I knew what i was listening to; I always felt at the mercy of the music. That's not the case anymore; however, that doesn't mean I understand in a detailed, sophisticated way what this album is about. Perhaps, I don't understand it all, but rather, I've become accustomed to it. That's completely possible.
Nevertheless, I think this album is worth listening to; owning it is another matter, entirely. This album does require effort and patience to be appreciated, though. I do think this album belongs on the 1001 Albums list. I don't think there's been an album or a musician more daring than Bitches Brew or Miles Davis.
Well, casual listeners will either love or hate this album in its entirety. I can't imagine a casual listener being specific at all. For me, every piece is amazing now that I have a better understanding.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Shhh/Peaceful
- In a Silent Way/It's About That Time
In a Silent Way is a novel album. Miles Davis, once again, has reinvented himself. Not only did he "go electric", but he also used the recording studio to as instrument for editing parts of pieces to form another piece. Those two things seem normal now, but was heresy to jazz purists at the time.
On the other hand, this album has been considered either rock or a fusion of rock and jazz. I just don't get that feeling when I listen to it. There aren't any rock and roll rhythms or structures from what I can tell. Nor is there a rock and roll style of jamming, as some have claimed. Miles was playing this way on Kind of Blue.
Of course, how the album was edited might be what everyone was referring to, but I don't see that as making this a rock and roll album. I don't think any rock and roll band that I've listened to up to this point edited their music like this. Sure, there were artists like the Beatles who used the studio as an instrument and made heavily layered songs, but that's not what Miles is doing. Or that's not what I hear with the end product. If anything, he took the idea, which may or may not be a feature of rock and roll, and made turned it completely into a jazz feature.
I like Miles' style on this album. The music is quiet and soothing. It has an airy, ethereal quality to it. There is a groove or two, but it doesn't dominate. In retrospect, this album is the mild-mannered and well-mannered sibling to the crazed and ill-mannered Bitches Brew.
The only problem I have with the album, is that I hate the sound of Joe Zawinul's organ. As far as I know, he's a great musician, but every time I hear his organ, I cringe. It's more tolerable on Bitches Brew than it is on this album. Maybe it's not more tolerable, it's just easier to ign
This album is enjoyable and it deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list for its innovation, but I don't think this is Miles' best work. It's not essential to own it, but both pieces are worth listening to.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- So What
- Freddie Freeloader
- Blue in Green
- All Blues
- Flamenco Sketches
Kind of Blue is a brilliant album. It's a very different style of jazz from the previous jazz featured. It's laid back. It has a clear sound and it's simple to follow. Listening, it's almost as if anybody could play this music, but the musicians on this album are not mere mortals.
Each piece on this album is worth listening to over and over and again and again. All Blues is my favorite piece though.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Jeru
- Move
- Godchild
- Budo
- Venus de Milo
- Rouge
- Boplicity
- Israel
- Deception
- Rocker
- Moon Dreams
Birth of the Cool is cool. The pieces are very short and confident, yet unassuming. It's a group of nine jazz musicians trying hard not to outdo each other. That these musicians are so talented makes the music seem simple and easy.
The sound is also pleasing to the ear. Sometimes trumpets and other horns can really be hard on the ears, but these pieces will save your hearing.
To people who both understand the historical context of this album and understand music, this album is one of the most significant in the history of jazz. For the layman though (me included), its strength is also its weakness; the style makes the album seem too similar-sounding.
All the pieces are good, but the ones that do stand out are Godchild, Venus de Milo, Boplicity and Move.
★★★★★★★★★☆
