Bitches Brew

youtu.be/wwOipTXvNNo

That sure was several 20-minute jazz songs.

It's true what they say about experimental jazz. It's shit

Miles Davis scrambles around like an uncircumcised elephant trying to skull fuck the charred remains of Madeline McCann.

Fuck, Jazz!!! Just fuck!!! I can’t do the improvisational shit. The lack of structure drives me insane. It’s cacophony! This album is at least 10x too long. I quit before the second song was half over. I just can’t do it. I know this is somewhat unfair, but I have to stick to my rating system and this album is unbearable. My apologies, Mr. Davis. I know you are a master at your craft.

Listening to this gave me anxiety

A dream, a place with a clearing that drips with choices. In even waters, the fish will swim. As the album starts, the drummer seems to be the only thing holding everything together. It sounds like Miles is just paying attention to the drummer. Then I start to hear the musicians pairing off, twisting into and out of each others rhythm. I think timing and tempo are important to this album. Everyone feels so free to throw in fills or take a silent beat. Love this album!

This is a seminal album for any jazz fan. The addition of electric instruments to a more traditional jazz set-up creates a really unique sound and it was pretty revolutionary at the time. The songs feel exciting and alive because they were largely improvised in the studio. Shoutout to the album art, which really captures the feel of the music.

Whew. I thought I had listened to this record before but maybe not. It was WAY more experimental and chaotic than I expected. The musicianship is undeniable but it's not exactly an enjoyable listening experience. For some reason, though, it absolutely pushed me to heights of productivity while I listened to it this morning so there's something there that's working on my subconcious. Overall, I absolutely understand why this is on the list and I think I'm going to have to give it a second listen to understand it.

loving this. Bonkers and I can see why it is in the Top 1001 album's

Probably the best album I'll never listen to start to finish more than once. Best track: Miles Runs the Voodoo Down

I'm getting increasingly frustrated at the negative reception to experimental album - you're given 1001 albums and you're getting frustrated at the ones that stand out? Albums like these are what make music so exciting, important, and revelatory. Nothing is happening quite like it.

Fucking Miles Davis. 4 times now. Can't be arsed with it.

I think the time it would take to learn to enjoy listening to this album would be better spent enjoying not listening to this album.

Instant five. The kind of album that makes me throw my head back in relief, one of my all-time favorites ever by anyone. Anyone who thinks Kind of Blue is Miles Davis' magnum opus is a square, this one's otherworldly. It's frantic and hypnotic, a constant cyclone of disarray and hallucination. Imagine how psychotic these studio sessions must have felt. The title track is my favorite, especially for the moments of quiet that Davis punctuates by alternating between distant, echoing toots and loud, alarming blares of his trumpet. The guy is a wizard, that's never more clear than it is on this album. Do I have it on vinyl? Uh, yeah, two copies. You can't risk not having this around to spin. Also, as someone who likes to complain about long albums, I've got no complaints with this one. The standard is 90 minutes, but I listen to it with bonus tracks because it's that good. Each track is an odyssey. Favorite tracks: Bitches Brew, Spanish Key, but really the whole thing. Album art: Iconic. Easily in my top 5 ever ever. I love this art and art style so much. Most if not all vinyl releases for this are in gatefold format, and the art on the back is equally striking--the woman's face on the left is mirrored by an albino woman and there's a grimacing shaman priestess or something. I don't know if any artist has nailed the aesthetic of the music as well as this. 5/5

I haven't finished listening to this yet (and I will, I am no quitter) but I already know my rating will be 1/5 because the whole of the 45 mins I've listened to so far has sounded exactly the same to me.

I just can't get past the discordant jumble of sound.

This is my favorite era for Miles though it may not be for many others. I love getting lost in these jams especially the way they are edited together to make these "movements" and suites. A bold experiment in searching for a new sound and creating a new subgenre in the process.

I was led to believe Kind of Blue was his opus but this meandering puzzle of noise is absolutely fantastic, something that you can immediately have enthusiasm for, but also something that would take a long time to truly understand on a theoretical level.

first song was enough for me. It’s just musicians warming up and making senseless noise. no one actually is able to sit through nearly two hours of that shit. 0/5

Absolutely electrifying, magical, dense, vibrant, warm, dynamic, climactic, cathartic, relentlessly colourful, masterfully performed, and endlessly forceful stuff. And that's putting it mildly.

They sure have a lot of superstars on this album. I like the way the ample rhythm section carves out spaces for the horns to solo, so they’re not soloing over top of each other, which is the problem I had with the recent Mingus album. I love the percussive nature of the rhythm guitar and keyboards. Miles plays aggressively at times, more so than I’ve heard before. While it’s great that it’s so improvised, with little rehearsal and only impromptu guidance from Miles, the fact that it was over-edited seems to defeat the purpose. I didn’t like this when I sampled it back in the day but after three listens in 24 hours I’m a fan.

nazi scientists pioneered the use of powdered orange juice drink but we dont put them on the '1001 scientists you need to know about' list saying that, I didn't hate this completely, there was a head bop or two I could imagine myself in a swanky jazz club listening to this - only manageable by the copious amounts of cocaine I would have to do to enjoy it

So Miles walks into the studio and says: "hey cats, I've got an idea: let's all play each other's instruments. I don't have the first f'ing idea how to play drums, but how hard can it be? Also, let's not stick on any particular tune ... or key.". Nigh on two hours I don't wish to repeat.

The instruments don't sound like they're playing the same songs. 26 minute songs strike me as being made for the artists themselves rather than the end listener. Shite.

set a course for F U S I O N. Chick Corea on the keys and Wayne Shorter on the sax. LFG! Spanish Key, take me away. The perfect album to see the curviture of the earth to. oooo and then Miles Run the Voodoo Down.

This album makes me ask the question: How do you define jazz? I haven’t listened to much jazz, but this pushes beyond what I thought it could be. Very experimental with the flavors of rock and electric instrumentation. Also for being over 90 minutes it never felt drawn out.

Way ahead of its time. Cool chilled and also strangely challenging

Damn, this album is something else. It just goes freakin nuts in 'Miles Runs the Voodoo Down' - its like some weird, psychedelic musical odyssey. But what an album, I can't not give this 5 stars.

Clearly a masterpiece. Abstract and at times uncomfortable but very virtuous

Very interesting experimental jazz with the surprising addition of some electric instruments. The very definition of dreamlike, where the narrative thread comes and goes - often hard to follow - but there’s a subconscious logic holding the whole thing together. I expected this to be an easy 5, but the long runtime combined with that dream-logic made it more challenging than I would’ve thought. Definitely one I’ll revisit.

But a 6 if I listened to this live while sipping an Old Fashioned.

Always loved this one, since I first got into jazz. However, the more I know about jazz, the more I appreciate this album - because I can see that there's rarely been an album of this calibre in the whole sub-genre of fusion this helped launch. I love how the tracks can start off sounding kinda like twiddly improv stuff, but they are far from undisciplined. Pseudo-symphonic structures emerge across the 10-30min tracks. Every instrument is lithe with vitality, and there isn't a dull moment over the whole 90 mins. If you compare it to bebop: instead of solists stepping to the front from the ensemble, this is like a group of virtuosos jamming together, and occasionally one of them is doing something different over in the corner, which only enhances the crazy beauty of the whole. 5/5 easy.

You can say some really pretentious shit at me saying I dont get it or bla bla, but this is just not great. A lot of 20 minute really similar songs with a bunch of density and no real standout grooves or melodies. Just a lot of talented skilled playing that leads to a bunch of chaotic nothing. Still a 3 star because I do love the soundscape of the album and I can respect the playing. But this is not worth your time, a terrible intro to jazz, and a shit experience.

I think I prefer Davis’s earlier work, this style of experimental jazz didn’t seem to do it for me. It just felt like there was too much dead air and disjointedness, especially in disc 1 (which consists of two tracks each over 20 min in length I should add). Just never really landed for me, but I appreciate the effort that went into trying something different.

Just not my style. I find it choppy and abrasive.

Songs are too long and unstructured. I love Miles, but this one isn't it for me

I think this might be too jazz. This whole album left me somewhere between lost and confused, I'm not sure if any of the songs had a beginning, middle, or end. Maybe I will come back in 2 decades and see if it grows on me.

Not my cuppa. I've been told if you play one note wrong it's a mistake, play two notes wrong and it's jazz. I guess I'm more of a Kind of Blue Miles Davis guy.

Every time I hear the name Miles Davis, I think of that scene from Billy Madison: "if peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis." This is classed as experimental jazz. Great, every record that is classed as experimental is actually shit, so my hopes aren't high for this one. This is the second Miles Davis album I've reviewed (the first being Birth of the Cool, which got a 2/5). It was the beginnings of Cool Jazz, this is the beginnings of a dumpster fire. I feel like Miles Davis' music is the type where it is actually horrible, but people can't bring themselves to say that because it's Miles Davis so they pretend that it's deep or philosophical. No, it's just straight up shit. They couldn't even bring themselves to play a song structure of any kind. Kindergarten kids would have a chance at making music that is alot better than this shit. There is a part in the song Bitches Brew where it sounds like Super Mario jumping through coins. There is also the whole song Feio (should be FERO maybe... The garbage company) where some instrument (I can't pinpoint what it is) spends the whole 12 minute song making dog barking noises. There is no flow to this experimental, improvisational jazz. It's just a slew of musicians playing whatever they want, and not listening to one another. Truly painful to listen to. It actually just sounds like musicians warming their instruments up before a show. 1hr 45mins is way too long for any album, let alone this dumpster fire. Overall, this is garbage. I'll never listen again, and have no clue why it is on this list. Favourite song: John McLaughlin, simply because it is only 4 minutes, compared to every other song that is 15 minutes plus...why?!? Least favourite songs: the whole record. It's all utter garbage. There is no start, middle or end to any of these songs. It's just nonsense. 1/5 because I have to.... It'd be 0 if I could.

I’m sorry but I can’t listen to nearly 2 hours of tuneless jazz. I’m all for trying new music but there’s only so much I can take

Some people need a certain type of structure from their lives: they need songs in familiar patterns, they need their art to look like what it is “supposed to be”. Others are content or find joy in drawing their own conclusions from what is presented to them…wether it’s by filling in the blanks where there might be a void or letting an auditory or visual idea wash over them, rather than demanding specificity. If you’re coming to Bitches Brew expecting everything to be neatly laid out and familiar, well…you’re going to have a bad time. I’m not saying one is right and the other is wrong, though you can probably tell that I identify more with the latter than the former. The format of this project does an album like Bitches Brew few favors: its density and scope truly unravels with repeated listens. When you’re grinding out an album a day, some may be less inclined to embrace the challenge this type of record presents - particularly since it is, by and large, comprised of improvised sessions which were recorded and then stitched together to create a whole. Had the discs of this record been reversed, i think it might be better received by the users here. The second disc probably tracks closer to what a rock music fan might expect from a jazz/rock hybrid, where Pharoah’s Dance and Bitches Brew dive head-first into more experimental, avant-garde territory right off the bat. But is accessibility for the listener something Miles Davis would have been concerned with? I’m reminded of an anecdote I’ve heard about his 1972 album, “On the Corner” (which, if you dislike this album’s fusion, you’ll want steer clear of), where a critic/interviewer told him the following about his jazz fusion work (paraphrased): “Miles, I was with you on In a Silent Way and I can get behind Bitches Brew, but with this one (On the Corner) you’ve lost me”. To which, Davis responded (again, paraphrased): “Am I supposed to wait for you to catch up?” Maybe not the most friendly response, but the correct one, I think. Miles Davis made the music that spoke to him, regardless of the risks associated with following that path. Everyone else could come along, or not - but he wasn’t concerned with making sure everyone “got it” and we probably shouldn’t be either.

yes

This album is fucking WILD

Iconic album that I have to be in the right mood to enjoy. Today was pleasant.

I don't think I'm qualified to rate a jazz album

I remember back when I was getting into jazz to impress the girl at the record store, I listened to a lot of intro level stuff. Giant Steps, Dave Brubeck, Mingus! And then I was like hey this is critically acclaimed! And I listened to the whole thing painting a locker room in winter. And it sucked. It still sucks. Mostly because it’s so experimental it almost becomes boring? Hey you know a good jazz album? The SimCity 3000 soundtrack. Listen to that instead

L'introduction nous ramène exactement là où John Zorn nous avait laissés à la fin de son album. On le voit terroriser les New-Yorkais avec sa trompette greffée à la bouche. Soudain, en arrière-plan, apparaît une moitié du visage de Miles Davis, dissimulée derrière un abribus. Celui-ci bondit alors sur John Zorn et l'engloutit bientôt de la tête aux pieds tel un python dans une lente déglutition. Après quelques longues minutes, les orteils de Zorn disparaissent au fond de la gorge de Davis et l'estomac de ce dernier prend peu à peu la forme de notre terroriste. Notre ami commence alors l'enregistrement de l'album et le résultat ne se fait pas attendre : de véritables John-Zorneries. Après une heure et demie de sonorités atroces, on entend le ventre de Davis gargouiller avant de le voir recracher sa proie, encore en chair et en os mais recouverte d'acide.

Le pire album du générateur jusque là, fous toi ta trompette dans le cul Miles, et je pisse au cul de tous les pseudo intellectuels musicaux qui vont nous sortir que cet album est un petit bijou. Notre brave John Zorn s'est fait descendre pour moins que ça...

Not my cup of tea. Gives me anxiety.

Interminable ramblings.

First album i couldn't finish. I like some Jazz genres, but this is just way to much chaos for me. Really tried to get into this one as well, but all off it just sounds like random noise to me. For now it's a 1/5, maybe someday i'll change my mind.

I can't stand listening to this.

too chaotic for me

Cool album art. About 10 minutes in and I feel like I'm just listening to some random jam session. All over the place. Probably extremely offensive to anyone that loves this music. 20 minutes in nothing has changed. I guess it's still just the first song though, maybe song 2 will be 27 minutes of cohesiveness. Wrong. I want to go back and update my previous ratings higher so this one can go lower. I swear there were times the trumpet was used only with the intention of startling the listener. I made it, I listened to the whole thing. Strong dislike.

I find jazz boring. This is just random and noisy. I imagine people say "you just don't appreciate it" and to that I say I wouldn't want to

This is clearly a divisive album. It's definitely not for me. Unlistenable - call me a philistine, but it's a discordant cacophony. I prefer music that I enjoy.

Certainly not music you'd hear in Olive Garden, unlike the other Miles Davis album I've gotten before. However, I would of vastly preferred that over this noise. Is me slamming on a piano for ten minutes really count as a song? Sure, if you want, but why would you want to listen to it? I'm certain this album is purely being carried by the name(s) behind it, because otherwise this is awful. You're lucky if you hear even a minute of something that sounds vaguely organized, or even listenable, and the fact that there is an hour-and-a-half of this in this album just makes it all the worse. Maybe I'm just too dumb to realize how "amazing" this is, but it genuinely sounds like at best a sound check, at worst: toddlers. Makes me angrier just writing this review.

Yeah man I tried to get it years ago. Still feels the same. Stressful and random. Idk man idk

Another jazz album, another sad day for me. I don’t hate ALL jazz, but it’s safe to say experimental jazz is not for me, especially not almost 2 hours worth of it. In the words of Eleanor Shellstrop: “Ugh, I hate jazz. Every jazz song is like 40 minutes long. It’s like, we get it. You can blow on a trumpet.”

7 SONGS AND AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES???

No more Miles Davis please!

Kill me. Kill me now. An assault on my ears How is this 2 hours long. Didn5 get further than 30 mins in. 30 mins of my life I will never get back

Not sure what's worse - the fact that this is my second Miles Davis album in a week, or the fact that this is 1 hour and 45 minutes long. I really cannot do jazz. Listening to this feels like going to work at a horrible job. I keep checking the clock thinking that 2 hours have gone by, only to find out that it's just been 15 minutes and I'm still on the first song of the album. I'm desperately waiting for the day to end, and I know I can leave at any time (or in this case, turn the album off). But I'm no quitter so I stick with it, even if doing so evokes a horrible visceral reaction in me because I am so, so, so bored.

Only made it through one third of the first track. I have nothing against Miles Davis specifically but I can't possibly describe how not into jazz I am.

Wank

I struggle with entire instrumental albums at the best of times, and this was no exception. Freeform, improvised jazz is not my cup of tea, there's not enough structure to this and IT'S NEARLY TWO HOURS LONG!!!! There probably is an album that I'd be quite happy to listen to in there somewhere, if you cut out a decent chunk of the repetition and twiddling around that slows everything down, but it gets lost in the mess. 1/5.

Nah fuck that.

Committing arson would have been a better way to spend my time than making myself listen to this garbage for 2 hours.

I'm sure a lot of people will like it, but I hate it. Absolute pish.

A bunch of instruments playing, but with no relation to each other. An interminably long album.

That wasn't pleasant.

The album is 94 minutes long. Three minutes in and I was already dreading it. I do not care for jazz even though this is not really pure jazz but that does not help it. Parts of it were alright, however, I did start skipping around in the songs. I am not sure why one song needs to be 20 plus minutes long. I have no desire to ever listen to this again.

Absolutely hideous every second of this album was like sound torture. Never again!

It’s the soundtrack of getting blasted through a wormhole. What a record, nothing like it.

This is far more fun than the first Miles Davis album I listened to in this project, which was "Birth of the Cool", which I found solid but uninteresting. This is some out-there experimental jazz that I am here for. The cover art is fucking fantastic, too.

Fav songs: Bitches Brew; Sanctuary Challenging album. This isn't something you just put on to listen to for fun and relaxation. Although as it went, it seemed easier listening because I got into the groove of the album. It definitely has an opinion on whether jazz should be art or broadly marketable to everyone. Extra points for the killer album art.

Это какая-то квантовая механика музыки.

I understand why this is great. It’s artful and different and diverse which I love, but I don’t see myself reaching for it

I'm glad I listened to this so soon after In a Silent Way, as that so obviously sets the table for this album. I think when I'm really in the mood for it, I prefer this one too the somewhat lighter and shorter Silent Way, but I thinks it's brilliant either way.

5/5. I would argue this may be one of the most controversial albums I can think of. Some say its genius, others say it is an abomination. I guess I find it hard to pick one or the other. It's not necessarily "listenable" all of the time but also it's so unique and evocative that it's hard to turn away from. You can clearly tell the talent here is intentional and yet, you wonder why they started to record it at all. It feels like one long song through the whole album, like a story being told of the beginning and end of all things. It feels sort of epic and cinematic in some ways. I think upon finishing it fully again, I do think this album has more to offer than not and I have the desire to listen to it again. I do think it is worthy of its genius title. Best Song: Miles Run Down The Voodoo, B****** Brew, Spanish Key

g’wan lads!

nothing short of revolutionary

Jazzy!

revolutionary genius

The Master!

Whacky classic

Awesome! My favourite album ever!

A sublime classic. An introduction for the masses while also pleasing the hyper aware.

Could have this playing 24/7

Put the coolest dudes in a room together with a bag of weed and some hallucinogens. Get it!

Definitely a move in a new direction and as interesting as the previous music.

Wild stuff

Probably my favorite Miles Davis. Not as accessible as Kind of Blue

Y'know, I already find writing about jazz hard enough. As much as I always talk about how I'm "melody first," talking about jazz seems to require an especially tuned pair of ears that I just don't seem to possess. Modes, tonality, interplay... I'm clueless about all of that. And so far, I've only had to talk about jazz albums of a normal album length. Imagine how daunting it was looking to me when I found out I had to tackle a jazz album that's **94 minutes**. 94 minutes. No one ever told me that this album was 94 minutes — across only six tracks at that, with the first two being **over twenty minutes**. Goodness me. Here's a real "no shit" statement fer yah: that's a **lot**. A **loooot**. I mean, sure, my group has tackled much longer, from 69 LOVE SONGS to that one Ella Fitzgerald box set, but the thing is, they were comprised of a **ton** of tracks. There was a mountain of material to deal with, but at least you could deal with it on a song-to-song, two/three minutes per basis, y'know? Versus here, where entire record sides are taken up by only one or two tracks. That's a fair bit of music you hafta consider all at once. Undeniably, it's a massive hurdle for a lot of people — and if I ain't getting flashbacks to Soft Machine's THIRD, I tell yah... But the thing is, despite my initial reservations about how long on average this thing is, I don't really have a problem with songs that go on for tens of minutes. Not as long as they can keep things moving and interesting. I mean, heck, I was one of the few people in my group to give THIRD the benefit, y'know? And besides, if there's one thing I've learned about Miles Davis from the last few records my group's gotten from him, it's that I really shouldn't doubt him in those regards. 'Coz, look, these aren't just long songs. Really, they're odysseys. Vast, expansive soundscapes where, yeah, you're hardly gonna catch everything you first couple go arounds — and, yeah, the terrain's gonna be a little rough for some people, and I won't blame 'em entirely if they tap out — but if you're willing to make the journey, it's damn impressive. Like, just that, first of all, this was all improvised. There's not a single moment of "prearranged shit," as Davis called it, across these 94 minutes. It's all down to Davis's instructions, his moment-to-moment cues, and the band just that fucking tight with each other that they could play off of one another like this. I can't imagine what it's like to be in that close sync with another person, let alone however many others played on any given song. Seriously, they all have, like, two drummers and two or three keyboard players. It's insane. This would have been an absolute mess if they just didn't click with each other — and thank goodness they do! And not just that, but you consider all of the **editing** that went into this, too. From what I read, the album was recorded in short segments before being stitched together in the editing process, and, honestly, I'd never guess if I wasn't told. It's seamless, and there were apparently a lot of edits. On just the first record alone there's 34, and some of them are as small as second-long fragments. It's nuts — especially in 1969! A lot of credit needs to be given to producer Teo Macero, not just for this, but for IN A SILENT WAY as well, as it turns out. Y'know what I think music is great for, honestly? Fantasiaing. That state of mind where you put the record on, lean back, and let the music paint your imagination. Throughout the entire album I was falling in and out of Fantasiaing, and, boy, lemme tell you, the wild stuff your mind can come up with to tunes like these... The way all these wild trumpet and keyboard and saxophone solos lend themselves so easily to— gosh, honestly, it's been a long time since I was able to do this with an album, and it was great. Non-zero reason why I liked this whole thing as much as I did, seriously. This is a 5 among 5's if I've ever heard one. Whatever praise this album's gotten, it deserves it all and way more. I used "odyssey" before to describe the songs by themselves, but really, you can, could and should apply it to the whole album. It's an experience I don't feel like I've gotten from any other album before. Jus', a masterwork, front to back. I'unno if this is the last Miles Davis album on the list or not, but if it is, then, dang, I can't imagine a better way to have gone out.

Solid 5 Stars. Simple As.

I'm at a 5, but I do think this is the weakest of the Miles Davis albums we've gotten so far. This is, from a technical standpoint, *really* impressive jazz work, and the instrumentation & experimentation it goes for does feel like a natural evolution from “In A Silent Way” – when we got that album, I said that “if Bitches Brew is indeed this even better, I cannot wait for that to pop up on the list”. Well, it popped up, and even though I do like this album, I think it suffers from two things that almost dragged me down from a 5. The first is obviously the length; 93 minutes is a long ask for jazz like this – it’s double the runtime of “In A Silent Way”, and with tracks going as long as 27 minutes, I think Miles Davis himself might've been sipping that brew, because it is HARD to make jazz sound compelling for 27 minutes, even for someone as good as him. I couldn’t even listen to the album in one full sitting; I had to break it up between the first two tracks and the last 4. The second is the fact that this is a mostly improvised album; few strokes of structure along the way, but for the most part, this is him & his crew riffing. It’s not a bad approach; I love the idea of letting the music take you wherever you think it should go, but the issue comes in the structures being a little too flimsy. More bluntly, I think too many people are stepping on each other’s toes, and it doesn’t create a good hierarchy of instrumentation, in such a way where everything feels too chaotic, too disjointed, and there’s never really a “dominant” lead instrument for too long on any of the tracks. Sure, some cut through more prominently like the lead sax (or trumpet, or whatever brass instrument it was), but it constantly feels like a fight between the guitar, piano, and the brass for the lead instrument. That structure might work for some people, and I can totally understand why, but for my tastes, I gave it a lot of leeway, and I just think the album never quite found the same groove as the other 3 Miles Davis albums we’ve gotten so far. When I wrote my review on “In A Silent Way”, I said the album succeeded in its simplicity – it never went risky, and it played itself super safe. The balance between the traditional jazz & the electric guitar & the keyboards was really strong, and I think this album throws that balance out the window in a way that’s just a little too forceful for my tastes (or for my expectations). It’s not bad at all; it sounds like I’m ripping into it, but this is still a fantastic listen that’s admirable for what it’s going for, but just a little too chaotic for me. I imagine the reasons I’ve laid out are why this has the lowest rating on the website of all the Miles Davis albums we’ve gotten so far. It’s a big leap in ambition that landed on a wet spot and never quite found its footing, but still landed nevertheless -- it's a 5, but just barely for me.

I will say that I listen to a lot of Miles Davis during my work day. 'Bitches Brew' is solid. My favorite is 'On the Corner'...so I'd say this gets 4.5 stars. Rounded up...that's 5.

I gave this a go about 10 years ago and was just a bit befuddled by it. I wonder if my taste in jazz has developed in the interim enough to wrap my mind around it. I haven't been back since, but I've definitely enjoyed a fair amount of experimental music including jazz. Interesting that there's no real mention in Miles Davis reviews on here to what an enthusiastic wife-beater he seemed to be. You can't move through Clapton or Jacko reviews for references to their various transgressions, and I've mentioned stuff myself. Just a thought that occurred to me. Anyway we're here for the music. I'm enjoying the first track. Vague memories tell me I was still roughly on board at this stage last time. Love the foreboding bassline throughout the title track, and everything that swirls around and about in it. Storm Eowyn is blowing a gale outside so this is the perfect soundtrack to watching the trees blowing about outside my window. The groove in Spanish Key is relentless. John McLaughlin lost me slightly, perhaps because it's only 4 minutes or so the lack of structure is more evident. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down brings the swing, and is another irrepressible groove. And by god it's pulsating. The keys! Oh lord the keys. And that bassline as well. Just awesome. So yeah, I think my tastes have developed since 2013 or whatever lol. Incredible record.

92/100. Incredibly relaxing. The instruments are so beautifully played that it’s hard to find many jazz records better than this.