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Live-Evil

Miles Davis - Live-Evil Audio CD

A fair review of the Miles Davis "Live-Evil" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Miles Davis reviews here, or go back to the Miles Davis tabs.

Band: Miles Davis
Title: Live-Evil
Rating:

Release Date: 1997-07-29
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Sivad 2: Little Church 3: Medley: Gemini/Double Image 4: What I Say 5: Nem Um Talvez 6: Selim 7: Funky Tonk 8: Inamorata and Narration by Conrad Roberts

Jazz from another dimension

The (large) lineup features some of the finest musicians in the business including Ron Carter and Dave Holland (bass); Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul and Keith Jarrett (keyboards); Jack DeJohnette and Billy Cobham (drums); John McLaughlin (electric guitar); and Airto Moreira (percussion). Recorded at various venues in 1970, along with one studio track, this 1971 release features the electric incarnation of the Miles Davis group in all of its glory; warts and all. McLaughlin is wild and his heavily distorted "Hendrixian" flourishes on the electric guitar really push the tunes into another dimension. The sax players (Gary Bartz and Steve Grossman) are great and really rip. The playing of Miles is inspired throughout, although I wish there was more of him. Of the musicians, I do have slight problems with third bassist Mike Henderson, who plays on a bulk of the album. He just can't seem to keep up with the other guys. Fortunately, he does lay down a solid groove, which is very important - somebody needs to ground this crazy stuff.

In terms of the tunes, they range from quiet and eerie tracks such as Little Church, Nem Um Talvez, and the lone studio track Selim to lengthy improvisational jams in the 15-30 minute range. The jams are pretty cool and bring together aspects of jazz, (a lot of) loud rock, funk, and even a tiny smidge of the avant-garde. The ensemble work on these lengthy workouts is what I like to call "organized chaos" - the band members are all over the place but it works. One last thing - the jams have been edited down and the editing work is crude at best.

It has been a long time since I owned this on LP (and the memories have faded somewhat), but found that the CD package was pretty good. It includes the original gatefold spread that showed images of Miles speaking, along with the lineup listing and insightful liner notes by sax player Gary Bartz. The sound quality is as good as I remember it being.

All in all, this is a fine album of highly electric and funky jazz rock by Miles. Recommended along with the searing Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970) 2 CD set, which was released in 2001. The March 1970 set is actually superior to this album (as cool as it is).

classic
In most cases, that is true, but not with Live Evil. All this fun with the , "complete" Miles box sets in the past few years may have you thinking the corresponding albums are obsolete.

This 1971 set was culled from tapes Teo Marceo edited from the Celler Door concerts the year before. Most of it! But that most makes the differance. Miles did some studio expemiments that were not included here. And the editing made the tracks on here acid funk masterpieces, not just condenced cuts of the massive jams on the Celler Door set.

One is not better than the other, but where the box set is about 45 minute dives into Hendrix meets jazz, Live Evil is songs made from these snippits.

So you really do need both in this rare case, and with this, music of the absolute highest calabre, you do not want to miss a beat. .

Myriad brilliant moments, but generally unconvincing as an album as a whole
Miles Davis fans have often had mixed feelings about the Frankenstein monster that is LIVE-EVIL, and the release of The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 boxset was greeted with applause by those who wanted to hear the recording session in its entirety, and free of Teo Macero's studio editing. As a record label, what do you do when one of your boldest artists has just recorded several days of some of the most innovative, forward-looking music of his career? In making this 1972 double LP, Columbia decided to junk all but the last day, which some band members called the weakest, and then mix it with studio sessions recorded months earlier by a different lineup, additionally cutting and splicing everything up.

I'd have to join the chorus that proclaims LIVE-EVIL a weak album. As interesting as some of its moments are, it feels like a patchwork in a way that BREW, though it used its fair share of splicing, never did. There's some interesting use of new technology here, such as Davis' use of wah-wah pedal with his trumpet and Chick Corea's expanded electric piano timbres. Airto Moreira contributes Brazilian percussion and whistles, which gives a whole new variety to Miles' sound. Nonetheless, things just don't grow into a larger convincing whole. The one big exception is the track "What I Say", the only performance from these sessions provided in its entirety and without studio trickery. This is easily one of the greatest tracks on a Miles Davis release, and the solos within from Davis, John McLaughlin and Jack Dejohnette here are awesome achievements.

LIVE-EVIL might be enjoyable listening if you are saving your pennies for the The Cellar Door sessions boxset, but it is quite flawed and I'm still scratching my head wondering what Columbia was thinking.

EVIL FUSION LIVE MUSIC
ESPECIALLY FUNKY TONK AND INAMORATA- BASS PLAYER MICHAEL HENDERSON THUMPING BASS LINES ARE JUST INCREDABLE-AND THE REST OF THE ABLE BODIED CREW ARE NO LESS EXCITING-FROM 1968 TO 1975 MILES ELECTRIC PERIOD WAS KING-I HAVE ALOT OF HIS LATE 1950'S-ALL 1960'S,1970 AND EARLY 1980 MUSIC-I PERIODICALLY PUT THIS DISC ON AND IT MAKES ME REALIZE. THIS IS DANGEROUS MUSIC -THE FUNK AND JAZZ EXPLOSION ON THESE DISC-IS LIKE A MONSTER COMING IN FROM THE COLD. HOW FRESH IT SOUNDS TODAY AS IT DID WHEN IT WAS ORIGINALLY RELEASED.

Intense and insane....
This is one of my favorites, with the wicked intro track Sivad (Davis spelled backwards for anyone interested in that sort of thing), a wild rave up that turns into a slow burn blues/funk jam. This is another double live album by Davis who put out so much quality work between 1965-1975 (and before that, too) that it's like discovering a gold mine that just keeps giving and giving. After some cool studio tracks (Little Church and a medley of Gemini and Double Image), another monster live track ensues, What I Say. The bass line is simple, yet the jam that Miles and the boys lay over it is immense. Jarrett's electric piano solo and DeJohnette's drum solo are undisputed highlights here. The album closes out with two immense, monster jams Funky Tonk and Inamorata. This album is a really good example of Miles's fusion period, one of his most intense and insane albums. It's a precursor to Dark Magus and the later jazz/funk fusion albums, which are just as good as this kitty. .

You can see a complete list of all Miles Davis discography, or go back to the Miles Davis tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.