I was looking forward to this record already but now you've got me thinking about setting aside Live Evil and Dark Magus to listen to it lol! Great writeup!
I'm not surprised Miles retired for a bit after this record. From what (I think) Gary Bartz said in the liner notes of Live Evil, the music was very physically taxing to play and that Davis had been in really good physical shape up until the car accident, working out a lot, eating vegetarian, and quitting booze, drugs, and smokes. It's telling that he played trumpet less and less as the decade wore on, though in my case, it makes me appreciate his contributions more. But the man was probably exhausted by that point. Still, it says a lot about how committed he was that he was able to put out such high quality stuff even up to that point.
He went through quite the transformation as a musician and human being from the late-60s onward. If you’ve never read his autobiography, that’s a trip in and of itself.
I've read it a few times and it's really wild how big a transformation he went through. He was smart in the same way people like Bowie were in that he was good about having other brilliant people around him and letting them flourish without feeling threatened by that. And of course being around those types of people, you can't help but evolve yourself.
Miles knew what was up when it came to evolving with the times. Had he stayed the Kind of Blue guy his whole career, he’d still be respected, but he wouldn’t be talked about today as the legend he is.
I'm fond of saying that "He Loved Him Madly" is the most influential song in rock history because 1) it influenced Eno, who 2) influenced everyone else.
That's a little flippant because Can were independently splicing *their* tapes, and also I dunno Lamont Young's Drift Studies and Edgar Froese and Stockhausen too.
But anyway, man! 70's Miles! The more wasted he got, the better I liked his releases! It got to the point where he was so cocaine-addled he had no editorial input at all, and I might like (those live records released after GUW)I best. . . . .
Ok, that was more flippancy. Will attempt to be serious now. There has never been an artist with such a large artistic legacy. And there has also never been an artist with so little regard for his legacy. That you could make both statements about the same guy, it's really jawdropping.
What a comment, love it (including the flippancy haha)! What’s shocking for me is how little air time Miles gave this record in his autobiography. He talked about his severe addiction during the same timeframe but not much about the actual music. Perhaps it’s for the best, he clearly wasn’t fond of returning to that part of his past.
Thanks! Sometimes I run off at the keys and I don't know how it's gonna land. . . . this was one such case. Listen, I like the Great Quintets just fine, and I like the comeback stuff like Star People pretty well too. But I am simply in awe of the stuff in between.
The late 1960s and early 1970s was a time when Davis was open to experimentation with adding more popular Black music to his jazz sound. He and his listeners both benefitted.
Love this album. The story I’ve heard is Eno was ill in bed listening to He Loved Him Madly over and over and this inspired his ambient pieces.
Thanks for reading Nolan! Yes Eno has said multiple times this record was super influential on his 70s and 80s output. Game recognize game :)
I was looking forward to this record already but now you've got me thinking about setting aside Live Evil and Dark Magus to listen to it lol! Great writeup!
I'm not surprised Miles retired for a bit after this record. From what (I think) Gary Bartz said in the liner notes of Live Evil, the music was very physically taxing to play and that Davis had been in really good physical shape up until the car accident, working out a lot, eating vegetarian, and quitting booze, drugs, and smokes. It's telling that he played trumpet less and less as the decade wore on, though in my case, it makes me appreciate his contributions more. But the man was probably exhausted by that point. Still, it says a lot about how committed he was that he was able to put out such high quality stuff even up to that point.
He went through quite the transformation as a musician and human being from the late-60s onward. If you’ve never read his autobiography, that’s a trip in and of itself.
I've read it a few times and it's really wild how big a transformation he went through. He was smart in the same way people like Bowie were in that he was good about having other brilliant people around him and letting them flourish without feeling threatened by that. And of course being around those types of people, you can't help but evolve yourself.
Miles knew what was up when it came to evolving with the times. Had he stayed the Kind of Blue guy his whole career, he’d still be respected, but he wouldn’t be talked about today as the legend he is.
I'm fond of saying that "He Loved Him Madly" is the most influential song in rock history because 1) it influenced Eno, who 2) influenced everyone else.
That's a little flippant because Can were independently splicing *their* tapes, and also I dunno Lamont Young's Drift Studies and Edgar Froese and Stockhausen too.
But anyway, man! 70's Miles! The more wasted he got, the better I liked his releases! It got to the point where he was so cocaine-addled he had no editorial input at all, and I might like (those live records released after GUW)I best. . . . .
Ok, that was more flippancy. Will attempt to be serious now. There has never been an artist with such a large artistic legacy. And there has also never been an artist with so little regard for his legacy. That you could make both statements about the same guy, it's really jawdropping.
What a comment, love it (including the flippancy haha)! What’s shocking for me is how little air time Miles gave this record in his autobiography. He talked about his severe addiction during the same timeframe but not much about the actual music. Perhaps it’s for the best, he clearly wasn’t fond of returning to that part of his past.
Thanks! Sometimes I run off at the keys and I don't know how it's gonna land. . . . this was one such case. Listen, I like the Great Quintets just fine, and I like the comeback stuff like Star People pretty well too. But I am simply in awe of the stuff in between.
Couldn’t agree more. This and On the Corner are seriously incredible.
Absolute killer of an album. Maiysha is one of my favorites, it's just such a blissful track - a futuristic vision of R&B.
Absolutely! Thanks Jeremy 😊
The late 1960s and early 1970s was a time when Davis was open to experimentation with adding more popular Black music to his jazz sound. He and his listeners both benefitted.
Couldn’t agree more, thanks David :)