Miles Davis - The Complete On The Corner Sessions

After a few years of rampant genre bending no one knew what the hell to expect from a Miles Davis album by 1973. In just under five years he had outgrown significant musical contributions to bebop, ambient music, fusion and fairly straight ahead rock. When no one has any idea what to expect and you still manage to surprise them then that is a mark of greatness. For On The Corner Miles was working towards directions that took an influence from the complex polyrhythm’s of world music, particularly from Africa and Latin America; the driving pulse of funk and soul were also significant changes to the heavy rock sound of the Jack Johnson sessions and the production is, like every album since In A Silent Way, Stockhausenesque musique concrete. The result is one of the first examples of the music which would eventually become classified as hip-hop.

Much like the Bitches Brew set the title is something of a misnomer. This set covers material not just from On the Corner, but also the albums compiled later, for example Get Up With It and Big Fun. As opposed to the Bitches Brew set this is probably more appropriate here. The tracks, even though recorded over a longer period of time have a certain concurrent feel to them not evident in the Brew Sessions. That and the sessions for He Loved Him Madly, his tribute to Duke Ellington, would be a box set on their own given each take could have lasted for up to an hour. It’s also interesting to hear how prominent Miles’ keyboard playing was in this period. He drives the organ of Rated-X and Calypso Frelimo but it still sounds like Miles.

The best tracks in the mammoth set are He Loved Him Madly, one of the most densely atmospheric recordings he’s ever done. Rated-X is another standout, as is Black Satin and the early takes of Turnaround Phrase which ended up being the single greatest and most versatile live piece Miles ever had by virtue of only ever putting it on live recordings, never studio (until this set, obviously).

He Loved Him Madly (Part 1)
Black Satin
Rated-X