Best Miles Davis Album 1949-1974

In a Silent Way gets my vote.

I think Herbie Hancock poll was done by Tuomas?

Yeah, can't remember what won though.

In a Silent Way for me too.

We can do live albums later if anyone wishes. ( I would've included but I didn't notice until it was too late that wikipedia had them listed on their own. and It doesn't seem worth the while deleting this and adding the live albums.
So Agharta fans DO YOUR OWN POLL!
x-post
Since there's 300 steely dan polls another herbie hancock poll wouldn't do any harm!

Voted for "Sketches Of Spain" because everyone and their grandmother and dog will vote for "Kind Of Blue" (which is equally great). I also like "A Silent Way" and "Porgy And Bess".

POLL: The best Herbie Hancock album (closes May 11th). for Tuomas. I think another poll may be in order, that one got too few votes.

haha yeah I was gonna say AGHARTA

barring that I'll be boring and go with Bitches Brew

Knowing ILX, I think there's no way Kind of Blue will win.

Shakey mate feel free to do the live poll.
x-post

Remember the lurkers, Tuomas. You know how the lurkers tend to vote?

I assume Bitches Brew will be the one that'll get the most lurker votes.

In a Silent Way for me tonight.

xp

Oh, those dreadful lurkers--have they no shame?

Get Up With It, such dark majesty.

You just never know how these polls will go anymore. But like chuck says elsewhere, it's the chat about the albums that's the best part.

tough poll

Get Up With It, maybe, or Steamin', or Nefertiti, or...

A lot of the electric albums are fairly interchangeable in quality, given the overlapping in sessions and the extensive editing involved, its difficult to pinpoint one in particular that is somehow a more cohesive or engaging album (particularly when the music itself is not interested all that much in being cohesive). I think it will be more interesting to see the split between the pre- and post-electric Miles votes - by all accounts the electric stuff is light years more popular/influential than the acoustic stuff at this point. The musical lexicon of acoustic jazz has almost completely vanished from the public consciousness... the other day I was wondering how many kids picking up drums these days even bother to learn how to play a basic swing beat, for ex.

I voted for Smiles and I feel good about it.

Tied for 2nd: Jack Johnson, Workin', KoB, Filles

I don't know, Shakey...when I was in high school, jazz band was the only way you got to play drum set in school, so that's what got me into it. I can't imagine it's that different today.

hey I'm just wondering (and judging from anecdotal evidence of auditioning drummers a couple years ago)

If this And the Best Herbie Hancock (As Leader) Album Poll of 1960s/70s/80s era. are tough to choose from , wait til the Coltrane and Mingus polls.

sure, i think you're right in general, but at least public education is still doing one thing decently

its something I've been pondering over the last couple years, how rhythmic templates underpinning popular music change - the swing rhythm that was at the root of so much popular music up through the early 60s is now almost completely gone. You just don't hear it. Ballads aren't written with it, dance tunes don't use it, musicians don't know how to play it. It's weird.

... this is an entirely separate issue from Miles, obvy...

my favorite recordings of his are the 1965 plugged nickel shows; for me, the studio records of that band just never approached the danger of the live records. so, that said, i'm voting for jack johnson. and it wasn't an easy choice.

... this is an entirely separate issue from Miles, obvy...

There's at least a dozen that could be easily argued. My personal favorite is Sketches of Spain, right now at least.

* argued for

If only non jazz acts could have as many top quality albums in their discography as the jazz cats.
Pisses me off when there's either no jazz albums or just a token album in best album of all time lists.

but the Beatles invented the album dontcha know

of course, i forgot that.

Jack Johnson but it could have gone either of many ways for me

Another for In a Silent Way

Kind of Blue is really unique sounding. At this point I have probably listened to it, In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew the most. Other than He Loved Him Madly, the fusion stuff with Michael Henderson as bassist is one big beautiful tune, so which one can you vote for? I like them all.

I'm voting for All Blues and So What.

The Davis record I just got a few years ago that I have been burning up and I think is killer is It's About that Time: Live at the Fillmore East. Jack DeJohnette's drumming on that record is insane and it is great to hear them work that Bitches Brew material.

Milestones. Best hard bop record ever made.

There are others I probably like about as much, but that was the one I first connected with and it remains one of my favorite straight jazz albums ever. I guess I was an odd kid, but I connected way more in high school with Milestones and Monk's Music and My Favorite Things than I did with, well, really any other music, and that was before I even tried out for high school jazz band on guitar. I came to like the electric stuff later, toward the end of college.

As for what Shakey said - maybe kids should just learn to swing because it's awesome. It's true that acoustic jazz is not likely to have another heyday, but I think it will continue to thrive in its small way. I have noticed that most ILM types seem to relate way more to free jazz and fusion than to straight-ahead, maybe because they tend to come out of rock and punk backgrounds. I've always found it weird that I can find music so exciting that other people seem to find blah, but I guess that can be said about anyone's taste.

If only non jazz acts could have as many top quality albums in their discography as the jazz cats.
Pisses me off when there's either no jazz albums or just a token album in best album of all time lists.

There are considerably more Miles Davis and John Coltrane albums in those lists than albums by Bach, Mozart or Beethoven.
Oh, but I forgot they don't count because they didn't have rhythm....

Maybe because they didn't have albums...

Didn't prevent "The Four Seasons" from popping up high in Guardian's "Best albums of the millennium" list. Credited to Vivaldi.

Mozart was more of a singles band anyway.

What's the reason for stoppin' at '74, and leavin' off Aghartha and Pangea? Both those albums are nuts...

voted porgy & bess, could have gone w/ KoB or miles smiles and find the fusion stuff in gen. overrated tho love 'jack johnson'

This was a sorta fun thread:

Did Miles Davis release any bad albums before 1975?

What's the reason for stoppin' at '74, and leavin' off Aghartha and Pangea? Both those albums are nuts...

workin'

I'd normally vote for In a Silent Way or Get Up With It, but I heard Nefertiti most recently, so...

a 20 way tie for the winner in this poll then?

Went with Relaxin', but Silent Way was a close second.

What's the reason for stoppin' at '74, and leavin' off Aghartha and Pangea? Both those albums are nuts...

Personally I might have wound up voting for "Tutu", which was an excellent album.

christ this is tough!!! right now i'm torn between Silent Way and Get Up With It, and those two seem to be the ones i've tended to play the most recently. but Kind of Blue really is that good, it's completely perfect. six months ago I would have voted Jack Johnson.

miles is like an ongoing project for me, music i continually go back to and try to wrap my head around it. right now it's all about electric miles for me, but someday i'd like to spend a lot of time on the 60s quintet to try to grasp what's going on there.

Winner will most likely be Silent Way, Bitches Brew or KOB.

Johnson

Volume One of the Blue Note records. "Yesterdays" completely knocks me out every single time.

I wonder how the pre Kind Of Blue albums will fare in this poll.

This is impossible. It's like you're telling me to pick between essentially like 6 different artists.

I'm sure the 60s quintet stuff will get overlooked in general on this poll but yeah Mark it is definitely worth digging into - really strange compositionally and melodically, very unique.

This is impossible. It's like you're telling me to pick between essentially like 6 different artists.
That's the challenge!

KoB will not get as many votes as it 'should' in that ppl are unwilling to vote for it because its so 'well duh'

I think you might be right, but then lurkers don't think like that. Plus the likes of Bitches Brew and now even Jack Johnson has had loads of recent critical acclaim so they could do just as well from the lurker vote too.

between JJ and in a silent way for me, and i just cant decide right now!

60s quintet basically remapped how modern acoustic jazz is played, for one thing!

True, but the live records of that band are more exciting documents of that remapping than the studio records (which always struck me as relatively muted). It'll be interesting to see how the various groups fare in the live albums poll.

Yeah ok, I'll do the live albums poll when this ones done.

i voted for Bags' Groove, mainly just because I've been listening to that one the most lately. everybody shines on the title track. Could've easily voted for a dozen others though. Miles Davis! What a guy!

True, but the live records of that band are more exciting documents of that remapping than the studio records (which always struck me as relatively muted).

Fuck yes. Plugged Nickel sessions smoke.

yes

COOKIN W/THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET

(really a tie between cookin/workin/steamin/relaxin; like one album in four installments)

On The Corner ... because - years after having been floored by it for the first time - it still floors me. It's almost a physical entity, that record. Nothing in Miles' or anyone else's discography
sounds remotely like it.

Porgy & Bess. I used to play this at my office and ended up discussing with co-workers/directing them to Amazon. Also, I love the Gil Evans stuff anyway.

True, but the live records of that band are more exciting documents of that remapping than the studio records (which always struck me as relatively muted).

i dont agree with this at all. studio records largely were live recordings from this era and i would contend the difference is negligible, except the quality of the sound recording is worse.

i went with bitches brew, it is one of the albums i want to listen to the most frequently. in a silent way would have been second. i think both are far better than kind of blue.

i dont agree with this at all. studio records largely were live recordings from this era and i would contend the difference is negligible, except the quality of the sound recording is worse.

I'm not sure what you mean...the studio recordings of the mid-60s quintet were recorded...um...in a studio. They were most likely recorded "live," that is, without overdubs or too much editing. But there was no audience present, other than the studio staff. Their live repertoire rarely incorporated any of their studio compositions (there's a handful of exceptions, like "Footprints").

I don't dislike the studio records at all, but what I love about the live records -- especially the Plugged Nickel box -- is the precariousness of it all, the heightened sense of risk-taking. Tempos were taken faster than in the studio, solos were investigated more thoroughly, and the interaction was more probing.

voted for Filles de Kilimanjaro because i listen to it the most, but it was really a toss up between In a Silent Way, Get Up With It, Ascenseur pour l'Échafaud, Porgy and Bess, On the Corner, and probably a few others.... Hell, it would be hard for me even to pick the ten best.

Filles de Kilimanjaro deserves more love anyways...

A lot of these are going to get underrepped, but I I've had too many odysseys with In A Silent Way not to vote for it. Tho if we were comparing boxsets I'd probably give the nod to BB.

it may be an obvious choice, but it should be said that Kind of Blue IS in fact an amazing album, no matter how much it's been hyped as such. and it is pretty unique in Miles discography -- something about the sound is pretty magical.

Get Up With It for the win.

A lot of the electric albums are fairly interchangeable in quality, given the overlapping in sessions and the extensive editing involved, its difficult to pinpoint one in particular that is somehow a more cohesive or engaging album (particularly when the music itself is not interested all that much in being cohesive).

I've become cozy enough with electric Miles to make quite legible distinctions between releases. No doubt Phil Freeman (and others) could make even finer distinctions. They may not be cohesive (keyword: may) but they've engaged me for years.

Plugged Nickel is too fast. That shit is nuts.

Bitches, but this is like getting a menu with all my favorite dishes and having someone tell me to pick one.

Bitches ain't shit.

(Actually, it's great. I just wanted to say that. I voted for Sketches.)

I could have just as easily gone with Silent or Corner, but OPO.

where is the VOTE FOR MILES option

I'm not sure what you mean...the studio recordings of the mid-60s quintet were recorded...um...in a studio. They were most likely recorded "live," that is, without overdubs or too much editing. But there was no audience present, other than the studio staff. Their live repertoire rarely incorporated any of their studio compositions (there's a handful of exceptions, like "Footprints").

yeah i might be overstating it, obv there is a difference in a different environment but the essence of the recording is still 'live,' whether yr playing it for studio hands or a bunch of dudes drinking at a bar and i think its pretty ridiculous to imply that the live recordings were 'all better' or something when there really isn't that much to differentiate them. or rather, when certain aspects (i.e. maybe the players were trying some new + more daring shit) are balanced out by others (recording technology for nightclubs at the time was WACK)

i don't know, i think there is a pretty big difference. some of the tunes on the records are really complex, and they got to rehearse and do multiple takes. live, on the other hand, they stuck to the older Miles tunes and standards (and just played them really fucking fast and deconstructoid). that said, i like the studio records better, they're more musical and more interesting to my ears.

Round About Midnight, mostly because a lot of the early stuff (pre-59) seems under-appreciated, but also because I've heard it a hundred times at parties and in coffee shops, and still put it on for an afternoon groove.

One of the things I love on Plugged Nickel (and I guess other live stuff too) that I don't hear as much on the studio is Miles taking those extra-long pauses in the middle of his solos and letting the rhythm section fill everything in.

I'm voting for W(or|al)kin'

COOKIN W/THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET

(really a tie between cookin/workin/steamin/relaxin; like one album in four installments)
yup

workin' is my fave, so great

My choice changes daily but today it's On The Corner (and I MUST get that new box set)...

Man, looking at this list just reminds me of all the good stuff out there. Voted for "On the Corner" even though it makes me feel a bit like a johnny Come Lately hipster, but honestly of the half-dozen Miles albums I own, it's the only one I listen to. (Though the poll has inspired me to dig some stuff out, I think.)

Hurrah for that!

how did i not see this poll. awesome.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

This is going to be pretty close I think with lots of votes across the board (as it probably should be). I do wonder if A Kind Of Blue will get the lurker vote though.

Has anyone actually voted A Kind Of Blue?

Workin' for me.

Workin' for the weekend.

Workin' seems to have as many votes as In A Silent Way so far and more than Bitches Brew and A Kind Of Blue

I think I'm more wondering what albums wont get voted for. There's so many great albums in that list that certainly deserve one vote.

Tell that to the jazz drummers thread.

I'm the lurker vote, and I'm voting Porgy and Bess, as it's one of my favourite records ever. And also perfect.

Although I only own seven of these, and have only heard 11, so I may be missing out.

Has anyone actually voted A Kind Of Blue?

-- Herman G. Neuname, Tuesday, December 11, 2007 12:18 AM (18 hours ago) Bookmark Link

I did. Not because I like it more than In a Silent Way or On the Corner or Porgy and Bess or about four or five others (is nobody voting for Birth of the Cool?) But because being the cliche choice it is it's not going to get nearly the votes it deserves on ILM.

Yeah, that's why I was asking. There's about a dozen albums or more that deserve 20 votes each!
I'd hate AKOB in this and Head Hunters in the Herbie Hancock poll to get left out as clichéd choice (though H H did win the previous poll.)

I'm surprised at the lack of mentions for Birth Of The Cool too, It may not be one of my favourites but it is a landmark album.

(unless it gets the lurker votes and wins haha)

Birth of the Cool is great. altho Darn That Dream's vocal always irritated me.

i might vote for "miles smiles" or "ESP". musical equivalent of an eames lounge chair.

Every album will get 1 vote each! (Hurrah!)

I voted Miles Smiles just cause I spent a semester studying it and dug really deep into everybody's solos, really feel like I *get* it more than anything else on the list.

I still want to know if some of the stuff like Live in Tokyo is worth getting. Anyone?

Live in Tokyo is wonderful, yeah. in a silent way gets my vote and is my desert island Miles if i *had* to pick one....but there are really a dozen i could pick

Tokyo's a strange one. The band actually seems to take fewer risks with Sam Rivers on board (though in this context, "fewer risks" is a relative term). Definitely worth it...better if you can spring for the Seven Steps box, which also has the phenomenal Antibes date.

I need to check that one out then too.

Cool, thanks dudes.

I don't even know that it's close to being best but Ascenseur pour l'Échafaud has the dearest memories attached to it for me.

shocker :)

Brit ILXor inside baseball?

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Surprised On The Corner finished above others but a really good amount of votes. Steamin' deserved a vote but everything else did quite well considering.
This is the perfect example where having votes ranked 1-10 would've been rewarding.

Motherfucker had a lot of good albums

results not all that surprising

A discography The Beatles could only dream of!!

Water Babies is pretty interesting.

somehow Live Evil is still underrated. I voted OtC, but it's only been in the last few years that LE wasn't my pick.

Surprised On The Corner finished above others

dont be, ultimate rock crit dork choice

dude

im not saying its bad per se

(at least in that post)

I had assumed that In A Silent Way was the ultimate rock crit dork choice - which is supported by the fact that I voted for it and that it won.

In A Silent Way is the "I've outsmarted the rock crit dork hivemind, oh wait, no I haven't" choice.

i dont know if 'in silent way' is musically rock crit dork enough. too much jazz

I very nearly didn't outsmart the rock crit dork hivemind myself.

I did!

"i dont know if 'in silent way' is musically rock crit dork enough. too much jazz"

I can sort of see this, but its relative structure makes it seem much more accessible than Bitches Brew or On the Corner, and that's speaking as someone who hardly knows any jazz.

If someone was coming from, say, a krautrock or post-rock angle (which is how i imagine a lot of rock crit dorks like myself probably come to these records) it's the one that make the most sense, I think...

Yeah Tim otm. I've always listened to In a Silent Way the same way I've listened to, say, Can.

I really need to check out Filles De Kilimanjaro perhaps.

"I can sort of see this, but its relative structure makes it seem much more accessible than Bitches Brew or On the Corner, and that's speaking as someone who hardly knows any jazz.

If someone was coming from, say, a krautrock or post-rock angle (which is how i imagine a lot of rock crit dorks like myself probably come to these records) it's the one that make the most sense, I think...

-- Tim F"

i think "in a silent way" is just way less "offensive" in that it is never in your face like OtC or BB are almost constantly. it allows people to be able to appreciate it in almost the way that ambient or background music can be appreciated rather than on the level of good jazz music. i think that is part of its strength though, that you dont need to be a big jazz head to "get it".

As opposed to OtC and BB, which can only be appreciated on the level of good jazz music? Hell, that statement would be totally wonky even if applied to his pre-electric stuff.

Argh, never mind. You are pipecock.

"As opposed to OtC and BB, which can only be appreciated on the level of good jazz music? Hell, that statement would be totally wonky even if applied to his pre-electric stuff.

-- The Reverend"

uh, no. that was 2 distinct different statements:

1. IASW is less in your face than BB or OtC

2. IASW is effective because it easily appeals to non-jazz people.

surely it can't be that difficult to read?

1. Of course.

2.

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Oh I guess the ascii was a bit too large. It's one of those head-in-hands type deals.

filles de kilimanjaro is awesome, it was my favorite for awhile

the top 5 aren't a surprise. but 4 people for Miles Ahead, wow!

I put "It's About That Time" on a comp for a Mennonite friend whose popular tastes run to hillbilly music and sacred harp singing, and his only comment on that track was "You like music that doesn't go anywhere, don't you?" (Still, he was knocked out by Ornette's "Lonely Woman.")

apropos of nothing...

i actually kind of dislike miles ahead, worst of the gil evans (doesnt say much) and worst of the period (still) and really the miles release i pull out least (says more)

If someone was coming from, say, a krautrock or post-rock angle (which is how i imagine a lot of rock crit dorks like myself probably come to these records) it's the one that make the most sense, I think...

-- Tim F"

i think "in a silent way" is just way less "offensive" in that it is never in your face like OtC or BB are almost constantly. it allows people to be able to appreciate it in almost the way that ambient or background music can be appreciated rather than on the level of good jazz music. i think that is part of its strength though, that you dont need to be a big jazz head to "get it".

-- pipecock

But wouldn't someone coming from a krautrock and a post-rock angle respond to On The Corner much more viscerally than In A Silent Way? I suppose it depends on which aspect of krautrock you're starting from. "Aumgn" fans would certainly dig the latter. But the former's groove repetitions speak to "Oh Yeah" fans. And "Black Satin" was included on that amazing Jazz Satellites comp to rake in the post-rock (certainly not jazz) dollar. Besides, isn't any kind of rock supposed to be in your face and "offensive?"

Also, big jazz heads didn't get On The Corner and many still don't, e.g. whoever said that "playing tennis without a net" comment on Ken Burns' Jazz.

I came from electronic music when I first heard IaSW, and the ambient approach on it made a lot more sense to me than BB or OtC.

The Antibes concert mentioned as part of the Seven Steps box above is available separately (though in slightly shortened form, one or two tracks missing) as Miles In Europe. It is, indeed, pretty hot. The George Coleman version of what became the Shorter-Hancock-Carter-Williams band is underrated.

So much Miles I have and yet so much more I still need to hear.

Water Babies is great! Dual Mr. Anthony Tillmon Williams Process is one of my favorite Miles tracks.

Also In a Silent Way is more accessible even for trad. jazz heads than Bitches Brew or On the Corner. Bitches Brew is just a harsh album at first.

I voted for Get Up With It, though In a Silent Way was second for me. Surprised and happy to see GUWI get so many votes, as many as KoB!

The mid-60s quintet stuff didn't fair too well, eh (save for Miles Smiles)? Wonder why.

Coltrane wasn't on them and he hadn't gone rock yet? ;)

btw if anyone can find me a good John Coltrane as leader discography complete with year of release I'll do a poll.

I'm kinda surprised nobody voted for The New Miles Davis Quintet. The reverb on Coltrane's first solo on the first cut on that disc alone makes it a winner.

Also, big jazz heads didn't get On The Corner and many still don't, e.g. whoever said that "playing tennis without a net" comment on Ken Burns' Jazz.

That was the otherwise perceptive Gerald Early. He seems like he is very desperately trying to convince himself of the alleged shortcomings of Miles' electric work.

Let's hope he's otherwise perceptive, because that's a stupid comment.

Oh, you know what, I was confusing Miles Ahead with Miles in the Sky. MitS has that funky track w/George Benson and some of the sickest Tony Williams stuff, but the rest is kinda ehh.

The George Coleman version of what became the Shorter-Hancock-Carter-Williams band is underrated.

-- unperson, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:37 (2 hours ago) Link

Four + More!!!

OTM. Sometimes I prefer Coleman to Shorter in that band.

Live in Europe with Coleman is great, too. I don't prefer him to Shorter, but he's really underrated.

"Black Satin" was included on that amazing Jazz Satellites comp to rake in the post-rock (certainly not jazz) dollar.

Actually, that was "Rated X" off Get Up With It.

The other day someone compared "Black Satin" to some Thievery Corporation song and I almost punched them in the mouth.

BIG HOOS aka the regulator

i expected big hoos jokes to have gotten old by now but they have not

Actually, that was "Rated X" off Get Up With It.

Ah right! Thanx for the correction. But the argument still stands.

i expected big hoos jokes to have gotten old by now but they have not

-- deej, Wednesday, December 12, 2007 10:50 PM (Wednesday, December 12, 2007 10:50 PM) Bookmark Link

^^^HOOS (I know, I'm pressing my luck here.)

Shall I do the live poll?

Miles Davis : The Live Albums Poll

I'd do a John Coltrane (As Leader) poll if someone could point me in the direction of a good discography, complete with year of release.

Shakey, do you ever check your email?

I did a Charles Mingus - The Albums Poll! meanwhile

John Coltrane (as Leader) Albums Poll

Anyone got the On The Corner box that came out?

Yes. You need it.

Seconded. It is amazing. I've only managed to listen to the whole thing twice though and to do that I had to banish the girl from the apartment for two days.

Yeah, I do need it.

Release of the year, no question.

Shakey, do you ever check your email?

haha uhm I check it when people tell me I should check it! sorry

I really want that OTC box but me = poor

haha no worries! I dug up some sort of list to make a Coltrane poll. Doesn't seem so far that it was worth my while, hardly any chat on the thread!
ILM prefers Miles over Coltrane it seems!

And yeah, I cant afford that box either, maybe if I get Christmas money.

I dig the Coltrane I have but have been really frustrated with how little of his stuff is readily available on vinyl. Especially compared to Miles (or even Sun Ra!) what's out there is really limited. very lame. I have never even heard the majority of Coltrane's post-Love Supreme work, and am not so interested in the bop stuff.

How much does the original vinyl sell for on ebay?

beats me, I don't bother with ebay

At my local shop they have a lot of his post-Supreme stuff for like $20 apiece. It's how I got my copies of Meditations, Ascension & Interstellar Space.

Should clarify that's the "180 gram HEAVY FRESH RE-PRESSING" stuff, the orig tends to go for like $25-40 in scratchy-but-listenable condish.

hey I'm okay with re-pressing's I just never see them! There was a jazz shop in North Beach I frequented for years and the only thing that ever turned up was "Sun Ship"... Amoeba's Coltrane selection has been for shit the time's I've looked.

check Dustygroove, they have like one or two things and that's it.

If I could get them in a local shop for £10 I'd snap them up. Sadly there's no record shops left in my town anymore. I'd need to hop into Glasgow on the bus or train, but A) no one would have the vinyl B) if they did it would be more like £20 a pop.
FOPP used to have the heavyweight champion of the world box set i think but it was like £200 and that was when it 1st opened in the city centre.

Tower Records was the best place for jazz and vinyl in Glasgow.

The On The Corner Box Set is £45 on amazon. Bit too expensive for me right now :(

xpost. There's the occasional thing in Mongorail or Volcanic tongue but aye, not particularly great (they had some Miles Davis vinyl boxset in VT last time I went but I was ultra-skint so I've made myself forget what it was).

I think £45 is the going rate for the OTC boxset, it was £45 where I bought it and anywhere else I'd seen it.

I've never been in VT, just mail-ordered , but I certainly wont find anything cheap!

I should have a look in FOPP incase they stock more vinyl now. That's where I usually buy my cd's anyway since Borders is a bit crap now.

FOPP used to sell some Miles Davis books actually, What's the best one(s) to get? I'm already going to get the one by Phil (mentioned in the live thread) already.

Anyone?

Well, there's always this, obviously:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Miles-Autobiography-Picador-Books-Davis/dp/0330313827/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197973664&sr=1-1

Down here in London the OTC box set is going for about £60 in all the shops (including Covent Garden Fopp). I'm coming up to Glasgow for the holidays so I'd be interested to know where you found it for £45 Jim.

Amazon probably

I might wait for a sale

One went for £35 on ebay yesterday.

Unsurprisingly cant find anything any cheaper, Im going to wait for the sales.

Someone one ILX recommended this book to me. It's quite good as well. I've been meaning to pick up the Freeman one.

http://www.amazon.com/Miles-Beyond-Electric-Explorations-1967-1991/dp/0823083608/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198339157&sr=1-11

Down here in London the OTC box set is going for about £60 in all the shops (including Covent Garden Fopp). I'm coming up to Glasgow for the holidays so I'd be interested to know where you found it for £45 Jim.
I got it out of Avalanche records in Glasgow but it was the only copy. Got a £5 discount cause my pal works there so I couldn't really say no. But aye you can get it for £45 from Amazon, though with the christmas post this probably isn't the best time to order.

Its £61 in Zavvi. I will get it from Amazon sometime.
I did however buy today the In A Silent Way box for £24 in Monorail.
I also got from FOPP, the Paul Tingen book "Miles Beyond - The Electric Explorations Of Miles Davis 1967-1991" for £3.

Complete Miles Davis Box Set - 70 CD's for £140
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51aUKE31wwL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Limited edition boxset of 52 albums on 70 CDs in mini replica vinyl jackets and an exclusive bonus DVD – Miles Davis Quintet: Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Tony Williams / Live In Europe ’67 (the only footage of this legendary group commercially released). There's also a 250 page color book with essays, rare photographs and memorabilia, previously unreleased/rare audio on Quiet Nights, At Plugged Nickel Chicago, In Paris Festival International De Jazz and We Want Miles and the first-time ever complete audio release of 8/29/70 Isle Of Wight festival performance.

this is a good thread, good poll

you know, i probably listen to miles more often and consistently than any other musician in my collection, but i don't think i've ever listened to bitches brew completely even one time. it was even probably the 2nd or 3rd miles album i bought, have had it years. what is it about that album?

i probably prefer the acoustic stuff but it's not even like i dislike the electric stuff - i voted for GUWI here (tho i'd prob vote milestones, ascenseur, or miles smiles if i were to vote now) and i love IASW, JJ, & OTC. just something about BB that i don't get at all. despite trying frequently i never make it 10 minutes into a track before it put on something else

BB is definitely a special breed. second disc of Get up with it on the other hand, what a monster funk jam that is

I missed this poll entirely, but "yea!" to the No. 1 selection.

ahh here it is. had to google it. wonder how this result will compare with the big poll

Best Miles Davis Album 1981-1992

so i can find it easier in future

for the big poll, i just wonder how "classic" miles will do compared to "electric" miles? Pretty damn different to most jazz polls i imagine, but that's ilm in a nutshell.

lol with that said I hope filles makes it

i really have no idea what will be in it until seandalai tabulates. i wouldnt be surprised if electric era jazz in general dominates but who knows with big polls.

maybe miles will have 20 albums in the top 50 haha

Oh I thought there was a miles poll planned. So many polls. In that case, I retract and say I hope filled doesn't make it because there are at least 75 jazz albums that better it.

oh there may well be

but im talking about
VOTING AND CAMPAIGNING THREAD FOR ILM POST 1945 BEST JAZZ ALBUMS POLL (Voting closes August 27)

Yeah I gave been putting off making a ballot for that but might throw one together semi-haphazardly b4 the deadline

I need some ET fingers to work this iPhone, damn

all ballots for that gratefully received!

I know its 4 years late, but how the fuck did nobody vote for Big Fun?

Beats me. Did it get in the post-war jazz poll? is that really a year since we did it?

Its not on the even on the list.

deej musta got it banned for being too spiritual hat jazz

i just picked up Get Up With It for a few bucks the other day. I was really excited.

It's not even on the list. Excuse me!

are there other miles davis polls? even doing one that cuts off at 1974 is too overwhelming. should be separate polls for separate eras.

yeah i did a few miles polls

Miles Davis : The Live Albums Poll

phil did Best Miles Davis Album 1981-1992

it is even on the list

It should be separate polls for separate eras when you are dealing with Miles. Can't really argue with Dark Magus, thats my personal favourite of the live albums.

wasn't big fun an odd-n-sods release as opposed to an album proper ?

I think most of it was from the Bitche's Brew sessions. My favorite song from this era ("Recollections") isn't on the official Big Fun release, but it is on the two cd reissue and the complete Bitches Brew box set.

Bitch's? shiiiit.

Been a long day.

Well it was odds-n-sods but for me it is an album proper. Why should it matter how it is put together? It is the same players and taken from the same era. It is a work of rare beauty, I prefer it to Bitches Brew or Jack Johnson.

miles davis is so good!

It is a work of rare beauty,
I concur

for posterity here is the jazz poll results link
JAZZ IS LIKE HEROIN TO ME ! ! ! ~~~~ ILM POST-1945 JAZZ ALBUMS POLL - THE RESULTS COUNTDOWN (now counting top 25!)

I have learned a lot about Spiritual Hats tonight. They don't sell them on Amazon.

ask la lechera where to buy them!

These are the worst poll results in the history of ILM polls

On The Corner? You ridiculous hipsters.

4 measly votes for Round About Midnight, 1 for Fille de Kilimanjaro? Get Up With It over both ESP and Bags' Groove?? Heresy!!

I blame the poll starter. Must have been a hipster!

Have you seen the post 1945 jazz albums poll? Its all spiritual hat hipster jazz!

JAZZ IS LIKE HEROIN TO ME ! ! ! ~~~~ ILM POST-1945 JAZZ ALBUMS POLL - THE RESULTS COUNTDOWN (now counting top 25!)

"Black Satin" was included on that amazing Jazz Satellites comp to rake in the post-rock (certainly not jazz) dollar.

Actually, that was "Rated X" off Get Up With It.

It's on the Ocean Of Sound comp.

Just replying to a post from 2007.

Not sure where else to post this but I'm reading his autobiography now. Amazing. Chapter Three is 1944-45 when he moved to New York and was running around and sitting in with, learning from, and seeing *everyone*. Mindblowing! That chapter alone could've been expanded into its own book.

It's a great book! And the first word is "listen."

did anyone ever do a "motherfucker" counter for that book? i know it sounds silly, but i'd be genuinely curious to know just how many times it's used.

also, yeah: amazing stories all throughout, but especially in those early chapters.

XP...and the last word is "Later".

A friend told me that some editions omit the part about Steve Miller. That would be kind of hilarious, if true (presuming said omission happened due to Steve feeling disrespected and hiring only one or two sorry-ass lawyers to get that part removed).

lol

Wow am also rereading it at the moment -- am a chapter ahead of you when he's hanging with Bird and Diz -- and it's even more remarkable than I remember. Third time's a charm!
Had to reread after seeing the recent "Birth Of The Cool" docu and feeling it was an impossible thing to have tried covering his life in two hours.

I don't understand why the new documentary wasn't a multipart miniseries. There's a lot to cover...so cover it.

My thought as well

Happy to have a book club here. I'm blown away. Love that it's written in his voice. Like, I can hear him verbatim saying everything (incl the paragraph-length aside about St. Louis barbecue). Also am just mindfucked by the fact that he's not even 20 yet and the amount of determination and effort and experience already. I mean, he's just getting started.

Music is a motherfucker!

Can't reiterate enough what an amazing read the autobiography is. Tried to follow along with the discography as much as possible, but esp surprised at how much I loved Aura after he mentioned it repeatedly. I'd never have heard it but I know I'd have dismissed it for the production/synths/sheer 80s-ness. Sounded great after spending so much time with his voice in my head.

Anyway, one of the best books I've ever read -- blunt and inspiring and maddening and honest. When I got to the end, I went back to the start and re-read the prologue.

this is a poll I'd be interested in re-running. I'd venture to guess that there would be considerably more votes for the 2nd classic quintet.

kind of blue i think would buoy back up a bit (or maybe I just hope that)

I relistened to Silent Way recently and found it a bit dull compared to a lot of his other records. Good but def not in my top 10 let alone #1.

I guess I'll never recapture the feeling of listening to it high as a kite at 3am after a college party

try listening to it while flying a kite, on a college quad

IASW is great but it's def overrated around here, not sure why

Most people don't like a lot of chords is what I boil it down to

IASW isn't overrated, come on now.

I really swing wildly between my feelings for IASW. I'd been tempted to write it off as overrated myself in the recent past, but I just listened to the Complete Sessions box again and the way that set builds up to the original album at the end just made me fall in love with it all over again. It's a powerful album.

IaSW not overrated at all, that's contrarian crazy talk

I'll tell you what's underrated as fuck, though: Jack Johnson (and the Sessions)

IASW cannot be overrated. That is an incontrovertible fact.

It's more important/innovative/statement than a lot of his records, but there are several one-vote and no-vote getters on this list that I'd rather listen to.

it is great, but I've never really heard it approached with that certain level of rapturous praise outside of ILM. Back in the day it felt like Bitches Brew was the go-to electric Miles album that every college stoner had, the one Rolling Stone big upped regularly, it was the best seller, etc. And then On the Corner came into vogue in the 90s (thx Vernon Reid, Motorbooty etc) And then somewhere along the line IASW crept up as the "one for real headz", it's rep has changed over the years.

"Overrated" might not have been the word, but just rated by too many as Davis' single best record, which I'm not always sure I'd agree with. Definitely top 3 for sure.

IASW is only 0.3 points away from the best-rated Miles album on RYM, KOB.

I don't think ILM is alone in its adoration.

And then somewhere along the line IASW crept up as the "one for real headz",

of course real headz know its get up w/ it

Yeah if I wanted to be a hipster about it I'd also go with GUWI.

respec' knucklez marcos

Also because it's an incredible record.

xp

lol xp

IASW / Bitches / Jack Johnson / On the Corner / Big Fun / GUWI is a fucking ridiculous run. And he was in his mid/late 40s.

Saying that I'd be a hispter myself and go with Porgy or Ascenseur if I was voting today.

it is great, but I've never really heard it approached with that certain level of rapturous praise outside of ILM. Back in the day it felt like Bitches Brew was the go-to electric Miles album that every college stoner had, the one Rolling Stone big upped regularly, it was the best seller, etc. And then On the Corner came into vogue in the 90s (thx Vernon Reid, Motorbooty etc) And then somewhere along the line IASW crept up as the "one for real headz", it's rep has changed over the years.

Not to diss ILM en masse but I figured this must've been due to some rapturous review/feature on IASW in Pitchfork

that seems unlikely tbh

from the electric, pre-80s, period id say bitches brew is the normy choice/most overrated but also along with IASW and OTC it is my fave.

for as long as i've been listening to Miles Davis (since the mid-'90s), everything i read would point to IASW as one of his peak classic works, this is not a new opinion.

Right but it was down the list a tad. KOB, BB were his top 2 in everything I read back then (mid 90s). Sketches of Spain might've even gotten more attention than IASW.

IASW was there w/Jack Johnson and Round About Midnight and SOS and the quintet albums from the '50s, afaicr

I obv have a diff recollection regarding it's rep, but objectively IASW was not as popular as KOB or BB. Like Shakey said, if someone had a token jazz album in their collection, it would be KOB or BB rather than IASW.

Sales are generally a good indication of popular reach of albums:

Bitches Brew gained momentum and became Davis's highest charting album on the U.S. Billboard 200 with peak at No. 35 and also his fastest selling at the time when it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1976 for selling 500,000 copies. In 1971, it won a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.

Kind of Blue Though precise figures have been disputed, Kind of Blue is often cited as the best-selling jazz record of all time. In 2008, it was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of at least four million copies.

By contrast In A Silent Way never sold nearly as much, had a much more muted/conflicted critical reaction upon release (granted, Lester Bangs loved it, which may partly explain its critical reappraisal by a new generation of critics beginning in the 90s).

I think its predating Bitches Brew might have given it an air of "firsties" for critics ("oh you like the best-seller, well really he did all that even BETTER on the first album that almost nobody listened to")

I admit this is all strawman speculation for the most part

I think part of it is that the album makes the most sense as a gateway point from/to certain other styles (krautrock and lots of more hypnotic electronic music) that also rose to relative critical prominence during the nineties

oh definitely

When I ranked Davis albums for Stereogum, keeping IASW out of the top ten (it was #12) pissed off even more commenters than putting On The Corner at #1.

I thought BB was the bestselling one because it was sort of properly timed and promoted as "Hey hippies, here's the breakthrough jazz freakout album for YOU!" Like he was playing all those Fillmore and festival shows with rock acts etc. at the time.

I think Bitches Brew is a much more difficult and forbidding listen to modern ears not already used to jazz.

If I was trying to introduce someone with vaguely pitchforkish eclectic taste but no knowledge of jazz I would go IASW, GUWI, TTJJ, OTC and only then BB.

*introduce to electric era Miles

agree

more difficult and forbidding listen

in what way? I didn't know much about jazz when I first heard it in 1992 or so, that's for sure.

I thought BB was the bestselling one because it was sort of properly timed and promoted as "Hey hippies, here's the breakthrough jazz freakout album for YOU!" Like he was playing all those Fillmore and festival shows with rock acts etc. at the time.

This is pretty much exactly right. Davis started playing at the Fillmores etc. in 1969, and BB came out in March 1970.

no argument there

and I think that's a point that gets lost a lot in discussions about most popular albums, often they are most popular because of right time/right place

The hippies were already primed for a jazz-rock crossover anyway; Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago and the Electric Flag were coming at it from the rock side, and Charles Lloyd (with Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums) was playing the Fillmore in 1967 and 1968 and had at least one platinum album. Davis eventually stole both Jarrett and DeJohnette from him.

shakey if you were hearing it on the cd available in the early 90s then its a miracle if you could dig it, that thing sounded like shit compared to the remaster from the late 90s

was driving around town today and came across a cool Bitches Brew mural I had never seen before

if you were hearing it on the cd available in the early 90s

nah I bought a cheap vinyl copy (which I still have) from Logos in downtown Santa Cruz, put it on the stereo, clamped on the headphones, got super-stoned and drew a convoluted picture of pyramids and snakes and sun motifs that I later gave to my girlfriend.

true story!

I thought BB was the bestselling one because it was sort of properly timed and promoted as "Hey hippies, here's the breakthrough jazz freakout album for YOU!" Like he was playing all those Fillmore and festival shows with rock acts etc. at the time.

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Friday, 18 October 2019 20:19 (one hour ago) link

this was v much in part the effort of the label, at least thats the impression given by the admittedly hagiographic clive davis bio on netflix right now

like imagine a label convinced idk nas to make a soundcloud rap album lol

hahaha

of course miles made a lot more of that opportunity than nas is likely to in 2019 but you know what i mean

hagiographic clive davis bio on netflix r

threw up in my mouth a little when I saw this in the queue tbh

The Clive doc isn’t utterly unentertaining, as these things go, but it’s no different than all the other music exec docs:

“I could pick hits! I didn’t always pick hits, but I mostly picked hits!”

Diddy: “(exec) always picked hits.”

"and then we took a meeting"

I think Bitches Brew is a much more difficult and forbidding listen to modern ears not already used to jazz.

I don't really think of BB as jazz

When I ranked Davis albums for Stereogum, keeping IASW out of the top ten (it was #12) pissed off even more commenters than putting On The Corner at #1.

― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Friday, October 18, 2019 3:24 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I recall enjoying this list despite the rankings, which were imo ludicrous. No offense - I thought the writing was terrific. But can't see how any non-trolling person who's heard more than five Miles albums from literally any part of his discography would ever put OTC at #1. I don't even know how anyone tells the songs on that record apart.

any non-trolling person

Reads like trolling tbh.

SO why aren't we discussing Sorcerer or Nefertiti?

"Pee Wee"? "Prince of Darkness"? And Miles in the Sky has "Stuff," c'mon now.

I always thought Miles in the Sky and Filles de Kilimanjaro were very underrated. Also, it's ridiculous that both of these, Nefertiti, and Miles Smiles were released in the same year. I like this period, the sorta sweet spot between two very distinct eras...

It's so easy to lapse into hyperbole when you talk about this dude, but jesus what a towering goddamn body of work.

not exactly the same year since Miles Smiles is early '67 and Filles de Kilimanjaro is late '68, but I agree that those first two you mention are underrated

But can't see how any non-trolling person who's heard more than five Miles albums from literally any part of his discography would ever put OTC at #1. I don't even know how anyone tells the songs on that record apart.

― Paul Ponzi, Saturday, October 19, 2019 9:26 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

i try to abandon incredulity in the face of any aspect of peoples' tastes so i dont mean to echo your own here but i dont know man, the release itself is not my personal #1 but if you enjoy miles' electric work in any respect i struggle to think how you could hear the music spread across the complete OTC sessions that produced OTC, BF and GUWI and think that people who really dig that music and that band are 'trolling'

like dude maybe step back and consider that this band miles assembled is killer and the funk is harder than anything in the universe of funk, maybe people might like that? lol

Like, if someone ranked The Musings of Miles at #1 I'd be a tad bemused but On the Corner is an inaugural album for so many genres and subgenres, it's not hard to see what makes it a credible contender.

"On the Corner" would definitely win this poll if run again. Don't like it much personally tbh.

I don't even know how anyone tells the songs on that record apart.

i'm sure you can work it out

since when does it matter

the correct album won this

where has the last 12 years gone since I ran this poll

between digital & LPs I have a lot of miles- when I play mp3s, streaming etc I listen to the stuff off the various Complete Sessions boxes- all the stuff that had gone uncollected prior. But is it my favorite or his best? Not necessarily but it's all interesting. When I put on records, I listen to Ascensur/Jazz Track, Miles Smiles, & Big Fun the most. I suspect my trajectory with Miles was like many people- Started with BB & Silent Way, then stayed in the heavy funk era for a long time. Over the ensuing years I have played the 2nd quintet stuff much more and am finally back in the 50s in the early Columbia years. No real point, just that I find it remarkable how much the music has to offer, and my changing perceptions of it over time. There isn't anything I find where I think "oh this wasn't all that after all". If anything, occasional replays of the 80s material have made me more generous toward some (not all) of it...

JAZZ IS LIKE HEROIN TO ME ! ! ! ~~~~ ILM POST-1945 JAZZ ALBUMS POLL - THE RESULTS COUNTDOWN (now counting top 25!)

In A Silent Way won that ^

Porgy and Bess is a fucking beautiful album and just about as close to perfection as he has reached at other times in a recording studio over the decades. Not that much of a controp either - 5 people back then agreed.

no votes for Big Fun is ridic!

There *is* something a little weird about OTC at number one — not that it’s not legit for someone to have as their fav miles album but it’s so representative of a very specific style of his music vs being especially representative ... I think the reason something like KoB is so often listed at no 1 is because it’s seen is bridging different styles and eras of his while being very singularly itself. OTC at number one is so dismissive of the mass of miles fans who valued the intricacies of his bebop, cool, hardbop, and post bop records it’s hard not to take it as a pretty extreme ideological statement about what “really matters” in his career — and to see that as deferential to a rock & funk generation that came later

*vs being especially representative of his whole career, I mean

In other words, nothing wrong it as personal preference but for a publication it’s saying something very uh bold about the values & preferences of its writers

There *is* something a little weird about OTC at number one — not that it’s not legit for someone to have as their fav miles album but it’s so representative of a very specific style of his music vs being especially representative

... I think the reason something like KoB is so often listed at no 1 is because it’s seen is bridging different styles and eras of his while being very singularly itself.

OTC at number one is so dismissive of the mass of miles fans who valued the intricacies of his bebop, cool, hardbop, and post bop records it’s hard not to take it as a pretty extreme ideological statement about what “really matters” in his career — and to see that as deferential to a rock & funk generation that came later

What puts In A Silent Way over the top for this period is its length and cohesion. Bitches Brew is more, I don't know, "advanced" than In A Silent Way? And sprawling. It has more to offer. But spending all that time wandering through it, it's a pretty big lift. Pharaoh's Dance requires set and setting. Shhh/Peaceful doesn't. Maybe that's because I've listened to it more and because my synapses are already primed for it. I don't know. But the idea of a canon being self-reinforcing makes sense to me, my favorite records are the ones I've listened to the most.

OTC as a pick is just extending the line of ceaseless-boundary-pushing out as far as it goes relative to a preference for 'works', decisive steps, etc. (there are reasons to pick other albums from the back end of his 70s run but maybe that one covers more criteria better). much later and you're picking fine but underrated albums that almost no one lauds as groundbreaking. earlier and someone could always object, ok but that's not nearly so XXX as OTC.

Maybe it’s less “dismissive of the mass of Miles fans,” and more that that particular mass of Miles fans is generally dismissive of electric Miles.

nah. i think there are things abt miles that the electric miles fans tend to be not interested in or dismissive of, looking to appreciate miles songs in toto bc they dont really care as much abt the soloist as auteur, more concerned w/ album creator as auteur ... i def think there's a pretty distinct difference between how rock oriented fans approach miles' catalog vs artists who came up w/ his stuff as fans of jazz

OTC as a pick is just extending the line of ceaseless-boundary-pushing out as far as it goes relative to a preference for 'works', decisive steps, etc. (there are reasons to pick other albums from the back end of his 70s run but maybe that one covers more criteria better). much later and you're picking fine but underrated albums that almost no one lauds as groundbreaking. earlier and someone could always object, ok but that's not nearly so XXX as OTC.

― j., Saturday, October 19, 2019 4:30 PM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

dont disagree w this but i think that kind of reinforces what im saying abt it not being especially representative of his career on the whole ... like ppl dont generally expect coltrane fans to see 'interestellar space' as the best trane album, not that they *cant* feel that way but its making a pretty extreme statement

coltrane does have a similar rep for that but that story in his case also has a TOO FAR, TOO FAAAAR qualifier

Unchallenging opinion: OTC is my least favourite from this period.

I wish I could have afforded the OTC box set

porgy and bess is incredible

Honestly I don't even feel like "best Miles Davis album" is a question particularly flattering to a lot of his works. I'm not just talking about the not-album Birth of the Cool, but Miles put a lot of his best work on albums that aren't coherent or cohesive. I fucking love the song "Circle in the Round" and have since I first heard it through the Either/Orchestra but while most of the other people who have heard it love it, how many of us are there?

otm

'Ware the OTC box, Oor Neehy! At least to my ears, it starts intriguingly and soon gets less and less related by anything but the calendar: that's how quickly his music was changing, and you would be better off with the original releases (I always thought Live-Evil was way better than BB). Also beware of the early Columbia CDs, maybe especially initial Miles Ahead and Kind of Blue---Gary Giddens used to get so pissed off!
Worthy comps:Big Fun, Cirle In The Round, and my fave rave,The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions
I dig most Miles in all eras, and don't sleep on Sketches of Spain either.

Oor Neechy, that is, sorry

heh i started this thread dow. I have the complete columbia albums CDs box set, a few box sets and CDs on prestige. I have loads of miles.

the OTC boxgoes for silly money now I think so way out of my price range

I like Live-Evil but I never heard it until after the Cellar Door box so the album is a bit spoiled for me.

I'm one of those who found On the Corner interesting, but it only really clicked for me after hearing the full, un-Ted-Maceroed edits on the box set. Frankly I think they work far better as musical constructions there. On the Corner is a collage album, and it's a tremendous curiosity, but the real meat of the music, in terms of fully developed pieces with beginnings, middles and ends is there on Disc 1 of the On the Corner Sessions.

Live-Evil is one of the 1st CDs I bought in the mid 90s. £1.99 from Missing Records in Glasgow in one of their sales

all polls are bad especially polls that fail to include dark magus

Dark Magus is my favorite of the mid 70s live double slabs

to point out such a glaring omission might just be the spark in the powder barrel to kick off another bad poll... and so it goes on!

I love Agharta and Dark Magus.

i will not rest until all the polls on ilm are deleted for omitting dark magus

Its great to see mark being so pro-poll

I forget that is D Liebman on sax on Dark Magus. He's still doing lots of fine music on a regular basis.

I also forget what a cool album Agharta was as well.