Just go through one session with just about all of it. I love Miles, I have pretty much everything available and most of the grey area stuff up to the 80s where I jump off. 70s Miles is where I began and I love everything from that era especially. And I *adore* McLaughlin. Even so, this album never quite hit me as much as many of the others from that era. For some reason, the band Miles had at the time didn’t quite get off the ground. At least it seems like that was Miles’ own estimation too, since this lineup (Jarrett, Bartz, DeJohnette, Henderson and Moreira) never recorded in the studio. McLaughlin was only a guest on occasion. It seems that after Miles failed to convince McLaughlin to join his band on a permanent basis (it’s well documented that he tried to persuade him on several occasions), and after the recording of A Tribute to Jack Johnson in April and the release of Bitches Brew in January(?) 1970, he was searching for a direction through most of 1970 and 1971. It wasn’t until the funk exercises of 1972 that he hit upon something entirely new again after that perfect «trilogy» of In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. So for me, Live/Evil has always been a bit of a transitional album, and not one I reach for all that often.
With that out of the way, I am happy to say that this must be the definitive edition of this album. The packaging is stellar as always. The sound and mastering faultless. And the quadraphonic mix is superlative, easily as good as Bitches Brew. Intimate yet spacious, just like we want it. I would rate it a 10 for sound and a 10 for the mix, and a 7 for the content. Disc 2 especially goes a bit too far into skronk territory (I like me some skronk, but it was never something Miles did particularly well...and try as I might, I never quite «got» Keith Jarrett).
Overall an 8, since content is always the most important, but it’s a must-own for the mix and fidelity alone. Plus, it’s Miles bleedin’ Davis in surround!!
Now, bring on the Santana quads...
With that out of the way, I am happy to say that this must be the definitive edition of this album. The packaging is stellar as always. The sound and mastering faultless. And the quadraphonic mix is superlative, easily as good as Bitches Brew. Intimate yet spacious, just like we want it. I would rate it a 10 for sound and a 10 for the mix, and a 7 for the content. Disc 2 especially goes a bit too far into skronk territory (I like me some skronk, but it was never something Miles did particularly well...and try as I might, I never quite «got» Keith Jarrett).
Overall an 8, since content is always the most important, but it’s a must-own for the mix and fidelity alone. Plus, it’s Miles bleedin’ Davis in surround!!
Now, bring on the Santana quads...