Reviews (page 8 of 12)
I definitely still struggle with long form jazz. I totally understand that these musicians are insanely talented, but the length and the asynchronicity continues to be tough for me to sit through for over 90 minutes. I hope to reach the point where I can give over to the style for these longer albums. This one is cool that it blends some rock instruments into the traditional jazz band line up.
I was all ready to dunk on this. Jazz is hard enough but Freeform jazz … anyway to hell with it, one of music’s greats doing something different and there should be more of that in life.
got boring after a while, maybe nicer if I'm in the mood for it
I usually like jazz and I did enjoy some of this album, but much of it went over my head, just aimless noise.
I love Miles Davis but this is a little too avant garde even for me. It’s a long double album. I give this 3.5.
I like cool Miles, I like hard bop Miles. I just can't get with electric/jazz-rock Miles. The arhythmic compositions, the discordant melodies and notes. I can go see a Jackson Pollock painting at a museum and appreciate its place in the art world, but I don't want to hang it in my home.
Previously rated: Birth of the Cool (3/5) Kind of Blue (3/5) ************************ Some great energetic and entertaining stuff here like Pharaoh's Dance and Spanish Key, but also a lot of just meandering around like the last few minutes of the title track and the entirety of Feio. So it averages out to, well average 3/5.
I haven’t listened to this since 1981. It was hard to get into then. The album is the fountainhead of jazz players. People say this was an early fusion album but I think it carries the avant-garde along the way. Three stars
A bit too long for me so I skipped some part but I did enjoy listening to it
This album has got to be one of the most well known and well regarded jazz albums. And while I enjoy jazz, it isn’t something I seek out much or often. Despite its place in our culture, I would not have listened to this album without this list, and its place on this list is well deserved.
It's interesting. I super enjoyed the mixing and the soundscapes Miles Davis created in the album. I did find it however too long, too manic. It struggled to get the point it's trying to make across. It's very Jazz Fusion, his answer to the rock music that was blowing up at the time. Miles Runs Voodoo Down was his answer to Jimi Hendrix. Great album and one of the greats of Jazz Fusion but man did it struggle to make a point in succinct. "If I had more time I would've written a shorter letter"
Not my favorite by Miles, but a solid listen. I've never had a coke bender, but I imagine it feels like this sounds.
On Fridays I usually have the album on in the background while working and was unable to do that with this one at first - there was so much going on that I couldn’t concentrate. It’s not bad and the creativity and talent involved is evident. But like most jazz, it doesn’t do it for me on a deep level. I fully admit I don’t know enough to appreciate this is any real context.
This is decent jazz, but it’s a lot less accessible than other jazz, even other miles davis albums
Miles Davis has a FEVER. And the only perSCRIPTION. Is more of those three bass notes!
Some amazing jazz that I listened to while doing other things, 7 outta 10
Thought it was decent and it helped me focus while I was working. Don’t think it’s something I’d listen to often.
"Too much Miles": die späteren, elektrischen Jahre.
Well, it's jazz, so a 3 is about the ceiling jazz will get with me. I can recognize the talent at play here, but doubt this will ever be something I just throw on to listen to unless I have some great jazz awakening in my future.
Interesting. Enjoyable. Nothing really stood out to me as something I would go back to and specifically listen to, but overall a good album.
I thought this was cool to listen to, and I liked one person playing an instrument in one ear and a different person playing the same instrument in the other ear, and them playing off each other. I liked this album when it was more melodic, as opposed to not.
I don't know if it was just Spotify but this album was *long*. Good album if you like experimental, improvisational jazz... I don't. I much preferred Davis' Kind Of Blue album to this one. That said, the musicianship here was top notch. Still, I cannot rate it any higher than a 3.
Not really my style
I've loved the other Miles Davis we've had. But this is a bit too much, too far. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down is cool but much the rest escaped me. Don't regret listening, but just the once will do me.
I enjoyed the first half of this album quite a bit. But there was no way I was making it through the second
I own this and feel like I should like it better.
Sonzão e tals, instrumental, algumas mais viajadas
Pretty cool stuff from Miles again. Enjoyed the more experimental/progressive nature of this one. 3.5 stars.
Understand that Miles Davis trying to get down with the psyche rock kids was revolutionary, but as a listen this album feels entirely directionless. There's that one point where the bass and the drums sync up into something resembling a conventional groove, but the rest just potters along until it's done. Always worth a re-listen once in a while, but not the genius it's often hailed to be.
Did not realize how long some of these songs were
This is one of the weirdest jazz fusion albums I’ve ever listened to…
If I had been born 20 years earlier, I would have been a big fan of this and would have had a lovely time playing this to my friends at dinner parties (I would have have them as I would have been a different person). However I wasn't and don't (have dinner parties that is, but hopefully I have friends). Although i have been aware of Miles Davis' Jazz rock, I've only just listened to this for the first time, and first impressions were very favourable. For this first time, a cold baptism of over 90 minutes of exceptionally long songs could have been over quicker than a real cold immersive baptism if I hadn't have had to drive to Leighton Buzzard and back with nothing else to listen to. So I stuck with it and am glad I did. Don't really care what the songs were called, it seemed a bit over long in places, but that is free-form Jazz for you. Did they know how long it was going to be before performing? Probably not. Loved the way the band just got on with creating something from what was probably an initial idea and just taking these songs wherever they felt going in the moment. The only track I didn't enjoy was the chicken and dog noise song at the end (that was my interpretation anyway). I'd like to listen to it again sometime in the future or maybe the odd track now and again. A low to mid 3.
Listened to this a few times and personally can't see what the fuss is about nice sounds but nothing special.
Idk man how can I ever find the confidence to really rate this. Enjoyable at times, but mostly beyond me. I don’t feel like knocking in but I definitely don’t understand it. Likert neutral 3
Probably would not sit and listen through this again, but it would be very good music for a chill party.
This is an album for people who really like jazz. Miles Davis is one of the best jazz musicians ever, but the music isn't the most accessible. It was really great for background music while I worked though. On songs, why did they try to make Feio sound like there was a dog barking randomly throughout? Best Songs: NA Worst Songs: Feio
Some parts it's "this is amazing, listen to that", other time "what the f is going on?"
такой авангард... нет впечатления от пары прослушиваний, но точно можно продолжать когда надо отвлечься (или когда надо провести биполярное антитеррористическое расследование)
definitely a mood vibe
I know he's supposed to be the man and all but F-me some of these songs drag by
An interesting album that was really good as background music that actually kind of helped me today with getting into a zone to push through a tough slog of work. The arrangements of the instruments, whilst not traditional in the least bit, were able to meld the works of jazz and electronic instruments into a cohesive album that felt familiar yet new at the same time. Best: Pharaoh's Dance Worst: Feio
when an album has songs this long, especially if they’re just instrumentals, I assume I can just play them in the background while I do things but I couldn’t with this album. Insane trumpets in each song. I need to rehear most of these songs to really enjoy them and I didn’t have time over the weekend to do so. but it’s fucking crazy this was made in 1970.
good jazz
"Free-form" is an understatement. It's thrilling but not exactly euphonious to hear virtuosos reacting to each other in real time with minimal structure. I understand that this is an early experiment in fusing rock and jazz. It's one to appreciate more than enjoy.
While the talent that goes into this album is undeniable, I personally wasn't a huge fan. Portions seemed a bit too cacophonous for me which took away from the overall sound of it in my opinion.
3,5 , I like jazz an Miles. I know this record has historical importance and I enjoy it, specially track 2 bitches brew. But maybe it is on another level which I am not yet to fully appreciate it.
I’m kind of bugged out this is the kind of jazz I don’t like. It’s too wild for me I guess, I’m more into an album like In A Silent Way. But it is amazing how fast paced they worked and how it all come together. Different strokes for different folks. 6 out of 10
Interesting very experimental tough to get into
Tough listen. Not something I feel the need to listen to again
Good jazz. Every song is an hour long
Now that’s jazz baby! I don’t really understand jazz but I pretend to because it makes me feel smart. This album made me feel like Emma Stone in La La Land, except when I open my eyes at the end of the movie I won’t see my failed dreams staring back at me. EVERYONE FEELS SORRY FOR RYAN GOSLING IN THAT MOVIE BUT HE’S THE ONE THAT REALLY ACCOMPLISHED HIS DREAM.
Get that it's important, and also, it's really weird
Bit trumpet-heavy for me.
unfortunately i don’t really like chaotic jazz ): but i appreciate the artistry even though i don’t want to listen to it lol so 3 stars
I'm conflicted with this album. Each track is jazzy, smooth, and cool to listen to. Production is tight, intricate, and very well done. Overall a fascinating listen that I enjoyed more than I thought I would. However, I feel like each song has almost zero replayability. If I want to enjoy a song from here again, I can't imagine being able to think "Ah, let me sit down and listen to a *twenty six minute* single song straight". That's insane. A great song, mind you, but I feel like if the songs were divided up into even just a little shorter, it would be something I'd want to listen to again more frequently. Overall, this album is vaguely similar to how I feel about the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition films - undeniable works of art that really have to be experienced to see just how good they are. But who the hell has 4 and a half hours to dedicate to Return of the King alone, let alone 13 hours for the whole series? While I adore those films (and this album), I feel like replaying them is reserved for special occasions when you can sit and enjoy them uninterrupted, rather than in pieces.
I think I like jazz, but this album may be a bit too jazz for me. I often found myself lost in the music, and not in a good way. At the same time, I wouldn't argue against someone who said this was masterful or game-changing. To each their own I guess. High Point: Bitches Brew Low Point: Feio Surprise Hit: Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
Album #39 Jazz is not for everybody. And Miles Davis is not for every jazz fan. I listened to this album once before and hated it. I wanted “Kind of Blue”, but this was just out there. My experience this time was very different. I don’t know if I “get it” now, or what may have changed, but I kind of liked it. Improvisational music can be difficult to listen to at times, but it’s clear that there are specific feelings that the musicians are trying to convey when playing. In addition, the idea of having multiple bassists and multiple drummers creates such interesting rhythms. I smiled when typing that because I was reminded of my one of my favorite Nu-Metal bands, Slipknot because they use multiple percussionists at times to create a deeper or more complex sound. I feel that active listening is really important for most of the songs on here, because you may miss out on the introduction to a section and wonder how you ended up there. This is definitely not my favorite album, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t like it (this time). 3*
First disc seemed a bit all over the place for me, sounds and themes were a bit messy and was a bit of a headache to listen to. Second disk is quite interesting with funk undertones and an interesting mix with jazz. 3.5 (would give a 3 but its too highly rated and I'm a sheep)
As a composition it's a great achievement this album. But I don't get it fully. When Miles blows the trumpet it's great, but album as a whole is "negative" to me. It goes in the directions I don't personally consider good sound. Maybe it's because I'm not the greatest jazz enjoyer.
Ok jazz
I think I need to be at home and not in the car to appreciate this album
Man each song is literally a full blown concert. It’s kinda crazy but incredible too where you can just sit and literally feel like you're in a full jazz club session. I liked the idea of it more than the actual jazz music.
Man, what a wild record.
actually not bad
Don’t really know what to say for this one. Though not my preferred type of jazz, there’s no denying the quality.
wdf goin on .... i hate jam music but i respect the artistry and miles davis is obv a GOAT.
gorgeous sound and atmosphere, but not quick enough to keep my attention as an instrumental-only album.
Skipped a bunch.
Surprisingly, I didn’t hate it. I can’t stand jazz but this was ok. It was mellow. It was manageable.
If you were listening to this high, youd either have an incredible time, or find a new level of paranoia
I have never heard a Miles Davis album since I'm not big into jazz. I will say all the instruments come in clear on my headphones. It felt like background music a lot of the time. Ultimately can't complain since it was nice to work to. It sits about a 3-4 star for me since it really sounds like I'm listening to someone's jam session.
I feel like I have to like this because it is Miles Davis, but I noticed that I can only appreciate this album in bite-sized chunks and not in 1 sitting.
Miles Davis is undeniably talented, and this album is well put together and each song flows seamlessly into the next. However, I'm not a huge jazz fan, so combined with the length, this was a bit of a struggle for me to get through.
A bold double album which pushes the boundaries on every level. As an artistic statement, it's reasonably successful; as a musical experience it's a bit more dubious and not very enjoyable unless you're into weirdness for the sake of it. Cool cover art. Ps it's a shame this list doesn't have some of the cool British Jazz LPs from the same period. Something like Hum Dono by Joe Harriot/Amancio D'Silva which is far more successful in terms of creating exotic jazz whilst retaining listenability.
The first couple of tracks made for good angry walking to and fro from the corner shop with headphones in. The last few tracks were on in the background whilst I worked. It was as if the musicians were consciously trying to skirt around an actual main tune whilst never hitting it. When the album ended and Spotify auto played, I got a sense of relief. Painful listening at times and interesting at others.
Miles showing off his experimental chops. A delight for those who like this sort of style.
glad I got to hear it, probably won't listen to it again anytime soon
Heavy jazz 3.5
I appreciate the musicianship, but this just wasn’t my kind of jazz.
It baffles me that someone create such an erratic sounding album, that ultimately must have some sort of structure holding it together. I don’t know if any of these songs were ever played live, but I can only assume the live arrangements would only loosely follow the studio versions. For an album that sounds completely improv, surely it must be.
Nice background music vibes.
Listened in the wrong context, while doing an enormous run. Poor rhythm for that, ended up cocking a gawky leg and stooping my strides arrythmically like a spastic emu. I didn't really get it but I think that's my fault. Jazz often makes me feel like that. Interesting and irritating in equal measure.
My First Miles Davis Album! I'm excited! Okay, so real real jazz is a little much to me. Good to know. That was a lot. I bet I would love it in concert, but the listen was not great. Not something I'm eager to repeat.
No doubt Miles is a top trumpet player... but an entire album is a bit much.
Not for me
Experimental for sure and always interesting. Occasionally the band stumbles into a groove. If that was the intent of the recording then the mission was achieved.
Hör s gerade
3.5
I don't get experimental jazz! : ) But this was nice to clean to after the end of the school year. The trumpet was great. The music felt like controlled chaos.
A weird thing from Miles here. Interesting rather than good
I always like some Miles Davis, he has a great range of albums. Although this does mean that I enjoy some of them a lot more than others. In a silent way and Miles ahead are still my favourites
I can appreciate this for ambience while working or maybe while stuck in traffic but giving this album your full attention feels like a long two hours. This album is just far too long and really should be half the run time.
Bitches Brew was, at first, like Yes' Tales From Topographic Oceans. A double album with long songs? How could this not be something I would enjoy? I like most of Davis' eras, but his intro into this experimental jazz / fusion has always been a quandary for me. It just feels like the band is noodling along and there's no sense of melody or theme throughout. Davis does that whole trumpet burst thing, but his solos are not really... impressive. I don't get a sense of where each piece is going, and it gets to a point where I am unsure as to what is the difference between each one. I'm not saying jazz has to fit into a specific box, but 2 hours of noodling doesn't seem like groundbreaking to me. I'll still put it on every once in a while, and see if I "get" what all these critics were getting when they rated it so highly. But somehow I don't think so.
I'm sorry, I still don't get jazz. I listened to this album a number of times and I know Miles Davis is a legend but it didn't really make me stand up and pay attention. Pharoah's Dance was fine, maybe the final minute or so I caught something really cool. Ditto for the title track. Spanish Key was the best track in my opinion, a lot of different blends you don't always hear (guitar and brass). Miles Runs the Voodoo Down feels like it took some risks perhaps? Sanctuary fine. If I gave the album a four, which maybe it deserves, I feel like I'd only be doing it because I know that's what smarter more jazz-informed folks would do. But it just didn't speak to me, so it gets a naive 3.
Good, but really take some mental effort to get through.
chaotic and crazy - def a good listen but I feel like I need about 10 more to really grasp this one properly. This one almost makes it to a 4 just on the boldness of the mission alone - all those players and so much improvisation - it's a wonder it holds together at all. The guitar player McLaughlin is out of this world - def need to know more about him.
Ay, cómo me embola esto. Prometí escucharlos todos de punta a punta, no me hagan esto.
Jaaaaaaaazz
Very experimental at times, but great playing
This wasn't bad. It melded well with the ambiance of my day.
Jazz
Feels like sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start
Needs a relisten. I just don't know enough about jazz
probably amazing, but I have a hard time focusing on jazz for some reason
Alright. I find it a bit too long, couldn't really focus on it. But I get how influential it is. Liked the sharp uptick sound of the trumpets. Sounds mysterious. + Bitches Brew
“If peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis.” Homeboy may be cool, but I still dislike jazz.
I can't imagine I have anything valuable to add to the conversation.
I love Miles, but have a hard time appreciating this album. Each song is 20 minutes on average, and that’s too long for my attention span. Beautiful music, but not my favorite Miles album.
Improvisational sets by a bunch of talented musicians, who all get inspiration from voices none of rhe rest of us can hear. I prefer the style of Kind of Blue over this and likely don't need to listen to this one again.
I have decided I am not a Jazz fine.
An enjoyable ambient jazz album 3/5
some of the high pitched was annoying 6.5/10
too psychedelic to me
Love some jazz
Блин, это звучит как трио Леши Бычкова! Ну почти. Вообще и правда, Лёша, клавишник группы ил, выдаёт на клавишах во время концерта что-то очень похожее. Главный вопрос: а что с длительностями?) Я вообще не понял сначала, сколько на альбоме треков: он разделён на два диска, на первом из которых 2 трека, а на втором 5... Причём обычно второй диск это большая редкость и обычно там собраны всякие расширения, бонусные треки, неудачные дубли и тд. Но здесь получилось, как мне кажется, наоборот: главный диск именно второй. В чём логика — непонятно. Полтора с лишним часа это было слушать тяжело, именно сконцентрировавшись на музыке. На фон я попытался поставить — иногда возникают слишком резкие звуки. Модный джаз: сложный, непонятный, невоспринимаемый. Из недавнего чем-то напомнило Imaginary Friends Orchestra, которые приезжали на Дни Физика, дуэт контрабаса, кларнета и драм-машинки. И там тоже были вот всякие квази-экспериментальные гармонии и тд. Сегодня это было "не моё", а вот тогда мне понравилось.
Frantic and challenging. I like the use of loops and echoes, the funky electric guitar and bass in addition to traditional jazz instruments, and the sheer overwhelming amount of ideas here, but it’s not a record I’d want to hear regularly.
Nice jazz album but maybe a bit long
Cool album, has nice energy. Can be a bit intense at times.
This is certainly one of the jazz albums of all time
So smooth. Hard to pick a favourite but Feio stands out because of that dog barking kind of sound and chit chat at the end. Very enjoyable to listen to.
I love Miles’s work from the 50s and 60s, but Bitches Brew has always been a little bit too out there for my taste.
Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
3- repeat album
I like jazz. I like Miles. I *should* love his all-star band including Boston’s own Chick Corea. Sadly, jazz fusion is a music style that has always been a worst case scenario for me.
Long songs
great jazz, but my god what a long album. i’d honestly say 6/10, too long
Not all the way my Kind o jazz. But all the Featured Artists. So many of them I love. Shorter McLaughlin Korea Zawinul....
Obviously he's amazing but this is An hour and 45 Minutes so one for the enthusiasts, I feel.
Sip some black coffee, watch the rain fall, and listen to miles Davis pog for 2 hours. Would recommend
Songs were a little too long, but still some good stuff
Not for me to judge how radical this was. For a punk/new wave lover hard to tell. But enjoyed listening to it
So relaxing, no simple tracks but complete movements. But I still prefer other Miles Davis albums.
It’s jazz. 3/5
This was one very excentric and progressive jazz, wasn't a fan of it and it was way too long
This has an amazing and totally distinctive sound. I'm not sure I'm even totally qualified to appreciate what they're doing. This isn't what I reach for in most circumstances, but I would play this again. The thing is though, it's not easy-listening background music - it's dark, intense, and strongly dissonant - you really have to be paying attention to enjoy it, it's not the sort of thing you can just leave on and bop along to. But it's also kind of meandering - the songs are consistently moody, but other than that rough guide they don't have a ton of obvious structure. So it doesn't really fit as a focused listening experience either. Generally it's just tough to find a spot for. It's also very, very long - when I'm in the mood for jazz, I'm usually in the mood for 30-40 minutes of jazz, and it's just so much easier to reach for "Birth of the Cool" or "Kind of Blue" in those moments. So this might not be the fairest review in the world, nor the one that most appreciates this record on the level it's supposed to be appreciated, but for me this is just average.
Not my favorite of Davis’ work for sure, but better than a lot of what was coming out at the time.
Pharaoh’s Dance, Spanish Key, John McLaughlin are jams. The others were a bit too discordant for me.
uhhhh... yeah. I want to like this and appreciate it like people sometimes do. But the truth is that I really like the album art more than the music. Maybe this is an 'experience' and since I 'say no to drugs' I assume I'll never truly appreciate this. I've heard samples of this in the wild ... Chi-Ali's Roadrunner song (yes, I listened to the Fabulous Chi-Ali, so what?) and I'm sure there are others out there. Full disclosure, I've tried getting through this many different times and even took a couple jazz theory classes and discussed this one. But, the only thing that is memorable is the bass line to roadrunner and the artwork. Sorry, Mr. Miles...
This is one of those that I can appreciate, but don't necessarily enjoy. I think I have read extensively about Miles Davis, but this music just doesn't do much for me.
It's definitely jazz.. Listened only to disc 1 (55 mins). Then I decided I had enough. Not bad just doesn't really do anything for me.
Wow c edt pas l'album le plus facike a ecouté... sketches of spain et kind of blue mon plus touché 3.5
3/5 experimental jazz. clearly talented musicians but more chaotic than I want out of a jazz album. also 20 min songs are too long
20 minute songs of jazz. Jazz is not my cup of tea but I'm here for diversity and I think it overall was OK
Chilled.
Olipa tykittely! Ei mikään lemppari Davis-levy, mutta eipä mies huonoja levyjä tee.
There were some parts of this album I really liked, but there were just too many, too long, too dissonant parts that were just a bit too unsettling and unpleasant for me to really say I liked this album.
It seems a pretty divisive genre, but I quite like jazz. This album is pretty out-there, freeform and experimental, basically a genre-defining artist at the top of their game. I quite enjoyed it, but it's a pretty long haul listen
This was tough to get into
It’s miles Davis but I definitely prefer background jazz
Was this interesting? Sure. Did it merit a place on the list? Yeah. Did I enjoy it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fun Background music but probs woukdnt play again
jazz that doesnt fit the norm
this album has got to be one of the most well known and well regarded jazz albums. while i enjoy jazz, it isn’t something i seek out much or often. despite its place in our culture, i would not have listened to this album without this list! and its place on this list is well deserved. i wasn’t expecting the amount of experimentation that was on here. i thought davis would create straight jazz, but it’s clear whatever this man touched turned to magic. i enjoyed hearing what he did with his jazz sounds. despite the long runtime, the hour and a half flew by! each piece was unique and exciting. nice to work to, besides.
Uh oh - I know that this is an "important album" what with it kick starting an entire new genre of music but for the love of Christ it's difficult to listen to. It's an album a muso owns and has it just laying around when people come over, but I doubt it's listened to that often. Best Tracks: Spanish Key; John McLaughlin; Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
Ægte jazz, langeee numre, lækker trompet og sax, trance
glad I got to hear it, probably won't listen to it again anytime soon
A bit too free form
The generator’s either getting smarter, or lazier; two days after In A Silent Way it spits out the follow-up. This is in a similar vein, but less peaceful and more chaotic. I like the really out-there sounds (the delay on the trumpet squalls etc in the title track). The bass also does a lot of unheralded work here - simple, hypnotic loops that steadily repeat for minutes on end while the other instruments do whatever the hell they want over the top. Together these parts create a witchy kinda groove that I can really get on board with. The second half of the album loses some of that mystery though (maybe it gets a bit close to conventional jazz or funk for my tastes). Also, it goes on for bloody ages. Still, clearly an impressive and important work. This week has been an interesting education in Miles Davis and his experimental fusion phase.
Not the easiest listen. But it's moody and at times funky
I know, like, everyone loves this album, and I get it, in my head, but I just don’t get it in my soul.
Almost too much going on for too long here. A great vibe, but feel that In A Silent Way and Jack Johnson benefit from a touch more focus while still being loose.
The generator handed me "Bitches Brew" on 28th April 2022. As I type this, it's 18th April 2023. A whole year has almost passed. One of the album's instrumentalists, the great saxophonist Wayne Shorter, has literally died in the time it's taken me to gather my thoughts on this work. And in truth, I've been putting off reviewing it for so long… because I'm scared of it. Many months after first listening to it, I have absolutely no idea what to say about its dense, sprawling 105 minutes. I'm listening to it again now, and I still don't know. It's like nothing else I've heard on this list. I've been aware of "Bitches Brew" for many years, placing it in my mind alongside the acid-soaked, psychedelic behemoths of the late 60s and early 70s. It's known for infuriating many jazz aficionados of the day, while giving Davis increased vitality and relevance in the rock sphere after dipping his toes in with "In a Silent Way." It's easy to see why: some of this really goes hard, and the parts I enjoyed were the ones which embraced rock music to the full. "Spanish Key" and "Miles Run the Voodoo Down" are total freak-outs: hard-grooving, rip-roaring, mind-melting exorcisms full of funk rhythm guitar, crazy lead parts, lashings of distortion and incredibly tight, mesmeric basslines. There's also the title track's intro, with a trumpet sounding like a traffic jam, which was revolutionary and controversial in jazz circles for its liberal use of the delay effect. Striking and effective as it may be, even better is the groove introduced at the three minute mark. Slowly, inexorably, it sustains itself while the drums and keyboards froth up into a hurricane. Just as these sections are thrilling, much of the album is head-scratching and confounding. "Pharaoh's Dance" goes nowhere and everywhere at the same time: Davis's first entrance, at almost three minutes in, feels totally enigmatic, defying expected phrasing or tonality. "Sanctuary" feels like it's set to be a gentle reprieve, but ends as chaotic as everything else. And "Feio" is crawling, foreboding, menacing… finally ending the whole album in seventeen seconds of bizarre studio patter. One day, I hope to love this. I would love to carry it around with me in my heart and my soul, to feel its beguiling chaos fill every corner of my existence. To surrender to it, to feel like as much of a genius for liking it as Miles Davis is for conceiving it. But until that day, I have nothing but boundless confusion and a faint, distant admiration. The honest truth? Above all, I still just don't know.
Ágætis hlustun í sólinni í gær. Dáldið experimental á köflum.
gigantic torso, refused to resolve
20+ minute songs....sheesh. I'll have to try again at another time.
It’s all right for a while.
Heel expirimenteel, misschien iets te
Great playing. Goes on a bit..
Bitches be brewing
I feel that you need to be in a certain place and mood to explore these jazz and musical albums. People talk about albums like this being healing and therapeutic or a journey, or a break from redundancy. I get all of that. But with the absent of a hook or a message or performance - I can just take it at a certain level. This is music that I could never conceive, and I do get a mood out of it as a listener. I would expect that musicians find much more to grab onto listening to this. My "barely able to play 6 chords on the guitar" level is left ignorant of exactly what's happening here.
Little bit too long
Kind of rock in Davis' way. Now we call it fusion, and I'm not really into it. Too heavy cuts in post-production.
solid en boring samt ef þu skilur mig
this is crazy!! haha
2022.01.26
Enjoyed his music & album
Interesting free form jazz LP with a heavier dose of effects (especially reverb) than one would expect. Some interesting takes hear, just wish there were stronger melodic threads or motifs in the longer tracks
"I zzz'ed asleep."
This is an album with patches of beauty, patches that baffle me, and discordant lunacy which I love. It's massively over long - given the complexity, you can't focus on it for long enough to enjoy it in one sitting. I found taking each 20 odd minute piece separately was a good approach. Ultimately, it's very clever, but probably beyond me. A difficult but rewarding listen.
This album is just a whirlwind of music and I have nowhere near the musical knowledge to rate this properly. I like miles Davis and enjoy this album. It does have a weird sound to it but it’s very unique. 7.1/10
not a fan of jazz
Good
Oh man, that bass clarinet! I still hold the belief that you need to be a vegan, lycra wearing cyclist, jazz drummer to fully appreciate this gear. But that bass clarinet!
This isn't my favorite Miles Davis album, but I'd be hard-pressed to rate any of his work as less than 3 stars. So, 3 stars it is!
I have this on vinyl from my dad’s old records, which is pretty awesome. The music here is just ok for me. I prefer more straight forward bop from Miles Davis. I get why this is a big deal. I like the crunchy electric guitar on some of the tracks.
I struggle to connect as it goes longer
probably should like this one more
lot of instrumental jazz. Very left of the dial
It's Miles, can't say it's bad.. but who has this kind of time? It's like 3x longer than I prefer an album to be
Third instrumental album I have listened to in a row (Out of order catch up) its fine but not my jam. Gets the round up for track names.
Not my kind of Jazz. Cool to see late stage experimentation and growth from miles davis tho. Album title and artwork are sick as hell though.
Sometimes groovy, sometimes like a dream sequence, sometimes a little chaotic (yet not in an unpleasant way). The songs are quite long and I had trouble knowing when they began or ended. Soundscapes that shine in headphones. I can appreciate it but I think I personally like a little more structure to things.
I liked this album but I'm just not a big jazz fan. I can only take it in small doses and two hours was just a lot
Alexa had to censor the "Bitches" in Bitches Brew. Woke-ass device. Anywyay - I find all of this enjoyable and at the same time it doesn't connect with me. I love almost everything about it, down to that incredible album art, but I would never say this is my favorite thing. I'm glad he did it, though.
Enjoyed miles runs the voodoo town and sanctuary. Instrumental experimental jazz
Good Background music
Novel recording techniques, atmosphere, and jazz expertise collide with my general dislike of not having any way to know where the beat is.
For me this was anxiety inducing
Too dissonant for me but I can appreciate the concept. Definitely made me feel uneasy with the first few tracks so as an album to listen to I wouldn't casually, but I enjoyed the ideas.
I've only ever listened to Kind of Blue which is much more traditional. Loved how wild this one is, i'll go back to it
Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazz
Bonkers
Een beetje chaotische jazz maar het heeft wel wat
I did not like most of the first two tracks because it sounded like too many instruments competing with the others. However, from "Spanish Key" on, this was great.
Schwere Kost, aber musikalisch stark
Its jazz. Honestly better than I expected since I don't like the genre very much but nothing I would return to very much
This is a lot to digest. Good listen if you are baked out of your mind most likely.
It's nice to listen to, but it doesn't really grab me; I think I just don't have the ear for jazz.
Nice relaxing sound, like the jazz 3/5
July 13, 2021 I am at home working in the heat. I am drifting a little and wonder if the combination of structure and expansion will help me. I am processing. I haven't slept well and the trumpet feels like it is tickling my spine and putting my brain to sleep. I want to like this but I'm not sure I do.
Salt peanuts.... salt peanuts.... Absolute marathon for just a small selection of songs. Would love to watch this live but I can’t appreciate jazz they way I probably should. If I could see this live, 10 stars. Maybe even vinyl would be a 5. But Spotify over AirPods is discrediting this and especially as it’s the same medium I listen to all the other albums, I need to listen and rate it under the same t’s and c’s
Good but a bit chaotic compared to the previous album
I mean, come on. It's a vibe. I read on Wikipedia that some of the album contained tracks that were never played in the studio, but were spliced together from tapes and loops. God bless the person who did all of that splicing in 1970.
I enjoyed this album. It’s a great album to have on in the background.
Good to have on in the background. Listened to this one while I was playing video games and it seemed to pass the time. Not the biggest fan of jazz to begin with so it wasn’t my favorite. Favorite track was Bitches Brew because of the ominous audio that was used.
I like jazz/blues, just not that much of it at once
it was veryyyyyyvery long and it just all sounded like one ling thing but nice sound
Not for me.
A bit long winded
Not something I'm normally into, but you can hear the incredible talent shine through on every track
It's jazz, the kind of thing I'd listen to in the background. It'll probably come on again when I listen to jazz and I'll think "oh this is nice but why is it 25 minutes long" and I'll not have a second thought
This was a wild ride. It was like listening to the inside of a brilliant mad scientist’s head. The only reason why it’s not rated higher is because having listened to a lot of Miles Davis this experimental jazz is a bit much for me, I prefer his earlier stuff.
Respect the musicianship but wasn’t in the right mood. Very 70’s cop movie intro feeling
O mal deste álbum é o seu tempo, é demasiado longo, tendo 1h45 minutos para algo que não sofre assim tantas mudanças de faixa para faixa. Para alguém que não gosta de Jazz se calhar esta não é a melhor incursão, no entanto em uma viagem de carro a coisa até flui bem. Não consigo destacar uma faixa, todo o álbum parece uma grande música. Nota:5/10
Is it fair to say I need more time with this album for it to settle? I recognize it as a progenitor of jazz-rock fusion and it's certainly interesting to listen to, but I also feel like its sprawl is a bit of its undoing. My favourite jazz records (which admittedly are few) feel like they have a sense of movement, resolution, etc, whereas I can't really grasp onto the moments here. I reserve the right to someday change my rating, but for now it stands at a three. I definitely appreciate the impetus to finally listen to this one, it just didn't do a lot for me at this moment in my life.
Proper jazz, long songs and all over the place. Decent, but not my favourite of his stuff. I'm still not cool enough to get Jazz. Still, appreciated the talent. 3/5
Didnt love the John McLaughlin stuff but solid tracks 3-7
refined jazz has made me really dislike this album.
.
I don't love it, but I do appreciate it. Obviously a musically important album.
Not my style
Solid 3*. All jazzy instrumental, but in a good way. Very long
great
Puedo apreciar el trabajazo que tiene esto detrás, lo revolucionario de la integración de nuevos elementos en el jazz y toda la vaina pero ¿cómo que TU DISCO DE CASI DOS HORAS SÓLO TIENE 7 CANCIONES, MILES DAVIS?
Jazz is tough. Good background music.
Funky, jazzy, but a bit too experimental
I generally like Miles Davis but this was a little too avant- garde for my tastes. I could see liking it as background for a screenplay or something.
This album is interesting in parts, boring in others, bluesy throughout. I enjoyed the front half immensely, but it did get long in the tooth.
Not the most accessible album...but I get why it was such a big deal when it came out. I listened to this in college on mushrooms and thought it was overwhelming. It ends up it wasn't just the mushrooms and it's still overwhelming. I admit I scrubbed through a little... but an interesting album I typically wouldn't listen to.
Never listen to this before, it was a great experience. I did not notice how long the songs were, the music kind of just puts you on zone.
I can appreciate that this is some mad stuff but I don’t think I had the attention for a lot of it.
Not quite my style, but i can appreciate it objectively.
It was nice background music
Enjoyable. Good background music while working.
yeehaw
No le puedo poner más porque no es mi tipo de Jazz. Reconozco el nivel increíble de creatividad (por ejemplo el sonido de el piano eléctrico de Chick Corea) e improvisación que Miles y sus músicos tuvieron en esas sesiones y sí me deja con la iniciativa de oír lo que hizo Miles y cada uno de ellos más adelante. Spanish Key es la buena.
When it's going, I'm into it, but there are too many lapses of rhythm for me. Maybe if I wasn't trying to listen while working.
Jazzy, need to be in the right mindset to enjoy it
Nothing special to me sadly. Probably revolutionary but also listened on a bike ride so I am underappreciating.
I know this is a classic and everything, but it is so arduous to go through. the fact that it is 1 hour 45 minutes already detracts from it being a perfect album.
I can admire this like how I admire quantum physics and the people who are talented enough to do it….I’m also perfectly happy not having to sit through it and experience it myself. Just ain’t for me.
Challenging but not always rewarding. I respect it more than I enjoy it.
I love jazz and Miles Davis. I have to say though - this era of his work just doesn't speak to me. It got so experimental that it's hard to really spot the music sometimes.
I've tried this in the past and not enjoyed it. I'm not a modern jazz fan, though this is somewhat better than many for parts, where it does stumble into something resembling melody and order. Then it goes off the rails into experimentation and improvisation. Highly skilled players, playing well and bringing me little that I enjoy other than the relief I feel when it gets back to something more melodic or ends. I get that the issue resides in my seat, but I honestly don't feel relaxed or edified by it.
441/1089 iconic cover art, looove the colours and art style I appreciate that Miles was outstanding in his genre etc, and i feel bad that i just fundamentally don’t *get* this music. it actually makes me feel so on edge and unnerved, and the songs are SO long too with not a lot of change (according to my unattuned ears) and i am ranking completely based on personal feelings, no “objectivity” that said, i think i’ve found my needle in the haystack with Miles Runs The Voodoo Down, which has finally caught me i think. the bass that underpins it all is what keeps it together for me, even if it could’ve been half the length 22/100
Long and winding without being horribly annoying jazz, but also not that enjoyable. 2/5
Kinda wanted to listen to the windwaker soundtrack instead of this today. Twas fine, well a little below fine because it lacked drama. Not my bag.
4 Miles Davis albums down. This is the last one on the list. Thank God!!! I have been trying with each and every Jazz album to find something, anything, that will grab me or change my perspective on this genre of music as a whole. The first 3 certainly didn’t do it, I gave all 3 of them a 3 star review. While I did not outright detest Bitches Brew, and it’s closer to a 3 than a 1, I still think this is the worst album of the 4. Reason being is that Jazz is pretty hard to get through by itself, but when you make it an hour and forty five minutes long, it becomes a form of water torture. Every song is around 20 minutes long of just free from Jazz and while it’s not terrible, it’s just not good either. I don’t hate it, but I don’t understand it, and I don’t like it at all. My favorite song if I had to pick one would be “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down”. If Jazz is all about vibes, I guess I vibed with that one the most. The opening track is just ear piercing though, as well as distracting. That’s for sure my least favorite song on the album. Now, I have a good friend who loves this album and therefore, I was at least interested to roll it. I figured I wouldn’t love it, but I can still appreciate it based on the context surrounding this album that she gave me. Apparently, this is a collab with pretty much every big name in Jazz music at the time. A legitimate who’s who of musicians. And the fact that they all came together and made a Jazz album is at the bare minimum pretty cool, even if I don’t love it. So the final Miles Davis album on the list still didn’t really do it for me. Yeah, Jazz is still just never going to be my thing, and that is more than alright with me. We weren’t born to love everything, that’s what makes us unique. I’ve spoken to death about how I don’t like random, seemingly unorganized, distracting Jazz. This album fits that bill and then some. No rhyme or reason to any of it, and it bugs me. I can see why people do enjoy it, but I’m not one of them. It’s a 2 out of 5 for sure, if it was literally 75% shorter it might have been a 3, but that playtime is just insurmountably tough and makes the album a chore to get through. Sorry Miles, I tried.
It wasn't my cup of tea, but I certainly don't regret listening to it.
Most of the time I can appreciate the lack of structure in jazz but this shit is ridiculous. The musicians were likely stoned out of their minds when recording so I suppose I have to be stoned to really enjoy it. Also if you’re trying to introduce someone to jazz don’t start with this one.
One for the Jazz purist. A jumble of sound played well but you really have to like experimental jazz to dig this.
First listened in July 2026. Not for me, I prefer Kind of Blue.
Hmm Jazz.... Honestly, this is cool, I'm vibing. But I can't really follow a real beginning-middle-end structure in jazz the same way I can in other genres. It makes me feel a little lost in all of it. Especially on this record with 20 min songs!
Rating just on my enjoy ability of this. I have to give it a two because it was just far too chaotic for me and actually made me quite anxious listening to it, but I know he is a stellar musician so this has nothing to do with his talent, this is just my enjoy ability and this was not fun for me. A trip down paranoia.
If miles Davis is cool call me pissing my pants
First album of this challenge that almost made me quit. Don’t get me wrong, I love jazz. But this seemed like pro musicians doin a jam session. No structure, no road to follow, no coordination. I wanna rate this a 1/5, but will give it a 2/5 cause I know Miles is a very good musician.
I love fusion but this particular album is hard
I don't like jazz, and it's also experimental jazz. For an ordinary person, 10+ minutes of unstructured sounds is not fun. Maybe the fans will like it
It was interesting, but it definitely wasn't for me.
I recognize that this is good, but I don’t like this type of jazz enough to enjoy it
Iets te all over the place, zal komen omdat ik nooit naar jazz luister. Zal ik nog een keer moeten beluisteren.
Miles Runs The Voodoo Down
Too fkn jazz
2.5/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/miles-davis/bitches-brew/ Potentially the highest rating I will give a zjazzzz album here (in retrospect, Birth of the Cool should have been lower). It's still very much not my thing and I strongly doubt I will ever listen to it again (at least not in full), but the album has a grooviness to it that even I cannot deny. Still, almost 2 hours of this is way too much. I absolutely get why this album is in the list, and I think it has every right to be there (even more perhaps than some albums I personally enjoy more), but I cannot say I enjoy it.
I liked some of this, but some of this I really did not like.
There won't be a jazz album on here that I'll particularly like unfortunately. To me after a while it just becomes noise. Still its a lot better than some of them on this list so far.
funky listen... kinda not for me...
ok
Not my cup of tea.
Wow, he's off the map! Haven't heard jazz like this since Marcus "The Worm" Hicks ran with Thaddeus Finks and Mookie Kramer and the Eight Balls.
Not our thing at all, good job we listened to kind of blue before this one. All the things we don't like about jazz. Also why is it called bitches brew.
I know Miles Davis is a genius. But I’m not going to be pretentious and pretend I liked this.
I feel like this is album is the quintessential showcase of why I have difficulty getting into jazz music. I spent the first half of this album (Pharoah's Dance and Bitches Brew) listening for any sort of cohesion or something to latch onto... themes that could be explored, expanded upon, strayed from, and found again. All I heard was a bunch of noise that sounded like people tuning up their instruments independently of one another. Perhaps the things they were doing were actually too sophisticated for me to hear as anything but random noise... but the individual elements felt lacking as well. Shrill trumpet notes... banging out dissonance on the piano... nothing to anchor it. Sometimes things have never been done before because they don't sound good. I never knew when I was about to be surprised by the next unpleasant noise. Sides 3 and 4 were more comprehensible. Spanish Key was my favorite track on the record... at least some of it had a tune. It also has recognizable drive and rhythm. Even though I could appreciate the later tracks more, it still wore out its welcome long before the end. Then Sanctuary returns to more of the style I didn't like on the first half of the album. I'm sure there are people who can tell me why and how I should appreciate this record, but I can almost feel the air of pretension that will accompany the lesson. Before listening to this, I misremembered the album title and did a full listen of "Kind of Blue" instead. I'm glad I made the mistake because it gave me a frame of reference for this record... and an appreciation for where Miles Davis was coming from. Kind of Blue, of course, sounds much more traditional -- but I came away from it with a lot more positive feelings. Maybe I will come to appreciate this music someday, but for now I'm relieved to see the back of it.
This album feels like the musical equivalent of a Jackson Pollack painting. It's like the beat poet that stands in the spotlight for 60 seconds, dead silent, only to step up to the mic and say "kitten" and the crowd does their little snap-applause thing because it MUST be profound. This is music for musicians, not for regular people. Critics love this album because it must be deep, it's abrasive and weird and meandering, giving them something to write books about its depth, which other musicians and music critics will read and argue about. Meanwhile, we just want something to bop with while we do our mundane jobs and relax at the end of the day with a drink. For me, this was hot garbage. The first time the album locked into something that resembled a cohesive song was "Feio", THE LAST TRACK. Come on, Miles, I know you're better than this. And you lose a point for making this a double album. It's like you gave me some extremely good soup and told me I have to drink a gallon of it in one sitting. It might actually be worse than math‑rock proggy mess, because at least math rock feels like someone is in charge. Bitches Brew feels like the studio was left unattended and the instruments unionized. I know Miles can make brilliant, structured music. Birth of the Cool proves it. This isn’t that. This feels like the opposite: a leaderless experiment where the band is playing twelve ideas at once and hoping one of them sticks. My Rating: 2/5
Kuulostaa ihan mun ADDltä. Ei yhtään mun musaa. Ekalla levyllä tosi psykedeelistä menoa, toka levy on kesympi, mutta lähtee silti ains välillä laukalle. Eka levy on psykedeelistä jazzia josts voi nyt todeta että se ei oo mun juttu.
Just not my favorite kind of music, and this one drags on a bit too much. 2/5
I never acquired a taste for freeform jazz...
good jazz i should come back and listening to it perfectly
i really don’t know what to make of this. i usually like a bit of jazz, but this is just a bit too jazzy. also no album should be 1 hour 45 minutes. i did not finish this, i am so sorry miles davis.
There was some stuff in here that was good. But its just soooo loooong and often I found the backing instruments distracting which put me off the main part. I'm sure it's all very clever, but today it just felt like a lot of noise. I didn't hate it, but the jazz I prefer has more structure and then plays around on a theme that I didn't really get from this. It's not quite a 3, maybe I'll listen again one day when I cope with the time it takes to sit through it.
no
this is not the best jazz album that I've listened to I mean it's experimental music for a reason in the middle of the album I gained hope but every time a random instrument ruins it. Too experimental not for me.
Didn't make me like jazz
Wicked album art. The rest what I feel is the worst indulgences of jazz. Bunch of musicians playing solos over one another. Though that's better than some of the sections on the last track where nothing happens! Someone will play a little note or two and then wait or ages before someone else plays a little something. Still, there's a few little enjoyable bits in there. 2 stars.
Just write a damn song.
Have you ever been lost in a seemingly endless maze while having a slightly unpleasant mushroom experience? Me neither, but this album feels like that.
I genuinely want to like this. I know it’s good and I’m bummed I just don’t get it.
Not my favourite of Miles‘ body.
Not for me
This one was rather chaotic. At first I enjoyed the first side, it was like the music you might use in a hectic montage of someone a bit worse for wear pacing dark and brooding streets. Like a drug scene or a someone slowly losing their mind? Maybe the intro of Homeland? But, and unfortunately, as the album went into it's nearly two hour run, the chaoticness failed to keep me entertained and actually just a tad annoyed. I know enough to be impressed by this and there were certian moments where I was at peace with it all. Yet, that's not what I look for in a jazz album. 2 Stars.