Miles Davis - The major musical force of the second half of the 20th century. Bigger than rock, bop, pop, hip-hop or any genre label stuck on for Miles to sneer at. Miles Davis - The Prince of Darkness - brooding and reclusive on stage, addicted at various times to heroin and cocaine. Miles Davis - The Chameleon of Modern Music - restless, always moving ahead - despite what his audience, critics or sidemen would prefer - even when they knew better.
After all, the MUSIC that this man created is what is important. Yeah, Miles the man was a pretty interesting guy. You can pick up any of several biographies on Miles - or surf the web (I've listed some of the more interesting books and web sites below), but here you'll find discussion of the music. The music of Miles Davis demands respect that transcends the man - just as the man transcended the music. It worked that way for Miles.
The major recordings of Miles Davis will be examined here - in an order and selection that will work for some - and not for others. If you haven't heard the music of Miles Davis, maybe I can steer you in a direction that will work for you - but maybe not, 'cause this music goes its own way - just like Miles did.
2. And now for the fury. This was the one - "Bitches Brew" - the one that blew them all away, no matter what had gone on before. "Bitches Brew" - the only Miles Davis album to break Billboard's Top 40 chart (reaching the number 35 spot for four weeks in 1970). "Bitches Brew" - finding its way onto rock radio stations as if it belonged there (and it did and it didn't - it was actually too good for the playlists). The first time that I heard this music was an edited version of "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," played on a local underground radio station after Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun" - Miles would have loved to have known about that play list pairing!!.
