Miles Davis - Bitches Brew: 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Box set) (2010

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew: 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition (Box set) (2010)
X Lossless Decoder | FLAC (tracks + cue + log) | No scans | 3 CDs | 1.06 GB (RAR 4% Rec.)
DVD-5 | 01:10:12 | 720 x 480 | MPEG-2 5800Kbps | PCM - 1536Kbps | 3.97 GB
Jazz | Label: Sony Legacy | Hotfile/Fileserve/Filesonic

Commemorating its release in 1970 and profound impact on modern music, the 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew are two CDs with the original 94-plus minutes of music plus six bonus tracks, and a third CD of a previously unissued performance at Tanglewood in August of 1970 featuring Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Airto Moreira, and Gary Bartz. If that isn't enough, there's a DVD of a previously unissued performance in Copenhagen in November of 1969, with Wayne Shorter, Corea, Holland, and DeJohnette.

 

This new release of ¡°Bitches Brew¡± is a treat for those who collect multi-format audio media.

¡°Bitches Brew¡± does not mark Miles¡¯ first use of electrical instruments¡ª¡°Miles In The Sky¡± introduced electrical guitar and electric bass. Nor was it his first plunge into free jazz: the title track of ¡°Nefertiti¡± is a nine-minute unstructured foray with stunners like Tony Williams¡¯ explosive drumming and Wayne Shorter¡¯s manic melody repetition. It didn¡¯t even sport the first psychedelic cover: see ¡°Filles De Kilimanjaro¡± for that. What made it notable was its innovative use of funk-style beat with multiple percussionists, two bassists (one acoustic, one electric), and multiple electric pianists (up to three), all playing at the same time. According to Enrico Merlin, ¡°Bitches Brew¡± also pioneered the use of the studio as active participant, ¡°featuring stacks of edits and studio effects that were an integral part of the music.¡±

The long performances of pieces like ¡°Pharaoh¡¯s Dance¡± and ¡°Bitches Brew¡± (20 and 27 minutes respectively) not only don¡¯t follow respected and expected jazz forms, they break off into what are nearly modern classical suites with deftly executed tempo changes, use of rubato, and developmental sections like Indian ragas. Some people knew how to rXLDt at the time, but others wore it out on their turntables, right next to scuffed copies of The Beatles¡¯ ¡°Sergeant Pepper¡¯s Lonely Heart Band¡± and James Brown¡¯s ¡°Sex Machine.¡±

The third CD has alternate takes on ¡°Bitches Brew,¡± ¡°Sanctuary,¡± ¡°Spanish Key,¡± etc., as well as hard-to-find takes like ¡°Directions.¡± (If you want a chuckle, play ¡°Directions¡± just before viewing an episode of ¡°The Simpsons.¡± Find the resemblance to ¡°The Simpsons¡± theme a little eerie? Think its composer (Danny Elfman) ever heard ¡°Directions?¡±)

The DVD from 1969 is well filmed and shows how much Miles progressed from the live performance filmed in 1967 (included in ¡°Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection¡±). It¡¯s fascinating to see how often Chick Corea tuned his electric piano almost constantly while playing, and how little Miles interacted with his group during performance.

 

Disc Two (CD)

1. Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
2. Sanctuary Bonus tracks:
3. Spanish Key (alternate take)
4. John McLaughlin (alternate take)
5. Miles Runs The Voodoo Down (single edit)
6. Spanish Key (single edit)
7. Great Expectations (single edit)
8. Little Blue Frog (single edit).

 

CD 01