Miles Davis - The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions

[SATCHMO]

Miles Davis - The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions



Disc one
"Pharaoh's Dance" (Joe Zawinul) – 20:06
"Bitches Brew" (Miles Davis) – 26:58
"Spanish Key" (Davis) – 17:34
"John McLaughlin" (Davis) – 4:22

Disc two
"Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" (Davis) – 14:01
"Sanctuary" (Wayne Shorter) – 10:56
"Great Expectations" (Davis - Zawinul) – 13:45
"Orange Lady" (Zawinul) – 13:50
"Yaphet" (Davis) – 9:39
"Corrado" (Davis) – 13:11

Disc three
"Trevere" (Davis) – 5:55
"The Big Green Serpent" (Davis) – 3:35
"The Little Blue Frog" (alternate take) (Davis) – 12:13
"The Little Blue Frog" (Davis) – 9:09
"Lonely Fire" (Davis) – 21:09
"Guinnevere" (David Crosby) – 21:07

Disc four
"Feio" (Shorter) – 11:49
"Double Image" (Zawinul) – 8:25
"Recollections" (Zawinul) – 18:54
"Take It or Leave It" (Zawinul) – 2:13
"Medley: Gemini / Double Image" (Zawinul) – 5:52

Normally I don't pay much attention to album reissues. Most of the time I see it as a way for a record company to market the same album twice by throwing in some alternate takes or whatever else they can sweep up from the cutting room floor. I did however happen upon this album on Spotify while looking for another Miles Davis album, (Miles Ahead, I never did get to it that night), and I was pretty much floored by the amount of great music that never made it onto what has been one of my favorite albums for quite sometime now.

The reissue was released in 1998 as a box set (back when box sets were marketable), so it's not exactly new, but it certainly flew under my radar (I know for a fact that I've purchased another copy of the album since then). Most of the bonus material is on the ethereal, soundscape side and you can hear Miles in various parts coaching the musicians and giving them cues. Maybe some of you are already familiar with the reissue and I'd be curious to know if some of you are, but for those that aren't here are some highlights:

The Big Green Serpent



The Little Blue Frog



Double Image

[Frownland]

I think that jazz reissues are different than say, an Iron Maiden reissue, mostly because of improvisation and such in different takes that could lead entirely different tracks. I've listened to it a couple of times and it's a great reissue. I think that Guinnevere is one of Miles' best tracks, mostly because of the sitar blending so well with the music. Miles really did have the cream of the crop of musicians at his disposal, makes for some great albums.