Miles' "On the Corner"

I adore it as well. The “Rated X” open alone is worth the proverbial price of admission.

Just discussed this with a friend, I would really like to hear actual sessions from this album (as opposed to other tracks – tho they are generally quite good during this era). There was so much post-production and editing going on with those sessions that supposedly Herbie Hancock heard a track he was on from OTC and didn’t even recognize it. Whether or not that was actually true, I think it would be illuminating to hear, for instance, what the studio take(s) of something like “Rated X” or “He Loved Him Madly” actually sounded like in the studio.

As for the former, I think it was Jack Chambers who first floated that Teo Macero pasted a Miles organ part over a rhythm section from a completely different piece. I’m slightly doubtful of that story as In Concert reveals Miles conducting that track more or less as it appeared on OTC. But, you know, session tapes would clear that up.

Aren't the un-messed with tracks on the "Comnplete On The Corner" box?

yeah, some of them are.

at this point, i honestly wouldn't be surprised if columbia just started releasing all of the unused studio stuff, like they did here.

whoa, wtf, never seen that!

lol Miles / New Riders reminds me of the time I saw William Parker & Hamid Drake open for Akron/Family. Maybe not quite as stark, but the deep, cleansing spiritual vibe and incredible rhythm of the openers was so amazing that I couldn't even stand being in the room for Akron/Family's just ok freakfolk whatever afterwards and had to leave

"only attending for the opener" are some of my favorite show memories, so i always love hearing similar stories.

That Freedom Jazz Dance set is sadly (but maybe not surprisingly) underwhelming. Obviously, being a fly on the wall in a Miles session will never be uninteresting, but there’s nothing approaching a revelation, and it’s the one posthumous release where you think, yeah, Teo Macero was right when he said Miles would never have allowed any of this stuff to be released had he lived.

Yeah, I didn't understand why that was a volume in the Bootleg Series and not a super deluxe edition of the album in question.

That Freedom Jazz Dance set is sadly (but maybe not surprisingly) underwhelming.

honestly, it made me lose interest in the bootleg series to the point that i just now looked and found out that volume six was live stuff with the coltrane-era band and that it has already been available for two years. my reaction? meh.

On April 30th, bought (or at least, paid for) the newly-discovered dead stock (presumably) copies of several of the "metal spine" boxes I missed back in the day, including 'On the Corner' from the official Miles Davis web shop. Now it's just a funny passtime where I periodically check the order summary to verify that the order has been neither cancelled nor status updated (no way, "shipped"). Maybe they'll get around to refunding me the several-hundred dollars or shipping next year...

Oh shit, have you not gotten yours? I have a friend that got a bunch of them. I didn’t pop for OTC yet but am still thinking about it.

As for outtakes, I don’t know about that Freedom Jazz Dance Bootleg Series set, but a bunch of the Bitches Brew outtakes that hit YT a few years back were pretty revelatory:

https://youtu.be/84QDf5vCOgU

I didn’t pop for OTC yet but am still thinking about it.

It doesn't seem to be listed anymore, I get a "Product currently not available." for it. Most others are still there though.

honestly, it made me lose interest in the bootleg series to the point that i just now looked and found out that volume six was live stuff with the coltrane-era band and that it has already been available for two years. my reaction? meh.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, July 21, 2020 9:39 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

The first three sets (1967 and 1969 live stuff with DVDs, the Fillmore box) were so great. Then there was that stupid Newport set, about half of which was previously-released, followed by Freedom Jazz Dance. No wonder people stopped caring about future releases. But the 1960 box with Coltrane is brilliant.

The freedom jazz dance set does not make for fun listening imo. I was surprised at how much I did not enjoy this glimpse behind the curtain as it were.

After reading Miles' autobio, where he mentioned that the band seemed frustrated that they never played the stuff they were recording at gigs, I too felt that it was a real missed opportunity. For all his pushing his musicians, he seemed to feel that playing the standard repertoire every night was the safer bet.

the band seemed frustrated that they never played the stuff they were recording at gigs

"Footprints," "Gingerbread Boy," "Masqualero," "Riot," and "Agitation" were all regularly played in 1967 (though those five might've been the only contemporary pieces they performed live).

That said, the band stretched out waaayyy more on the live standards than they did on the studio recordings of new pieces. The Plugged Nickel performances of warhorses like "Walkin'" or "Four" are much more daring than anything on E.S.P. or Miles Smiles.

The Palo Alto show is fucking great & noisy & weird!

They really need to do an In Concert/Dark Magus/Pangaea/Argarta-era live box

― The Mandymoorian (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, July 20, 2020 12:34 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

This, though considering Sony/Columbia still hasn't managed to issue Pangaea or Argarta as properly mastered CDs in the domestic US, I am not holding my breath

That said, the band stretched out waaayyy more on the live standards than they did on the studio recordings of new pieces.

yeah, i mean, that stuff is well-nigh unrecognizable a lot of the time.

I actually enjoyed that Freedom Jazz Dance set, but I think I like hearing bands rehearse and uncut session recordings more than other people. it's definitely the bootleg series i return to the least. The Newport set was kind of a lame concept but it does have plenty of killer stuff on it.

Thanks for the recs on the live versions of of the Shorter-penned material. I've never had the Plugged Nickel set, but clearly I need to dig into it via streaming. Masqualero is a favorite of mine so I'm eager to check that out.

If you haven't been following it yet, I highly recommend The Heat Warps, a project that is "exploring every available Miles Davis concert recording from 1969 through 1975 in chronological order". It just recently got into 1970, a lot of good material to come.

― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, July 20, 2020 1:55 PM (one year ago) bookmarkflaglink

I've been catching up on the shows posted on The Heat Warps, currently flipping out over this footage of the On the Corner band from NYC, January 1973 (afaik the only circulating footage of this line-up). From the mega-rare 1974 documentary Prince of Darkness. It feels beamed in from another dimension--washed-out 16mm film with occasional trippy kaleidoscope effects; Miles higher than a kite with trademark big sunglasses, afro, and rare mustache; dark, manic voodoo funk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYsCJuPFLMw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BfHOtKDcHU

Fifty years old as of Tuesday. Still sounds incredible to these ears. One of my bigger Miles related disappointments remains missing out on the complete sessions box. You'd think there would be good money in his estate keeping those boxes in print, even if later versions forego the fancy box like the original version.

it’s definitely a weird time for CDs in general

listened to this record driving home late last night — an optimal experience! still sounds so dense and dangerous and weird.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fe1ENe-aMAAOOOY?format=jpg&name=small

xpost - Oh definitely, but it seems to me like bigger box sets like this still seem to sell rather well, at least for legacy artists like this.

I wrote about it for my weekly email newsletter.

Fantastic article, you highlighted a lot of the little details that have enthralled me. And the story about the car crash, damn!

yeah that was great, thanks

50 years ago this eve, Miles began a 6-night stay at Marvelous Marv's in Denver, CO - a venue that would become Ebbet's Field the following year.

"On the Corner" was released during the residency and though no tapes circulate, all accounts suggest the band boogied hard. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/Z3peVj2C9N

— Jeremy Erwin (@theheatwarps) October 10, 2022

hink he means "legendary"? Milesologists think it did happen:

In a 2020 interview, Mtume spoke of a mythical 3-hour set the band played during this run, with Miles collapsing in the elevator post-gig (that portion begins around 12-minutes in). 2/4https://t.co/bbNgxBeTjA

— Jeremy Erwin (@theheatwarps) October 10, 2022

also from that thread:

Yep. Here’s the full lineup:

Miles Davis (trumpet)⁰Carlos Garnett (soprano sax)⁰Reggie Lucas (guitar)⁰Khalil Balakrishna (electric sitar)⁰Cedric Lawson (organ)⁰Michael Henderson (electric bass)⁰Al Foster (drums)⁰Mtume (conga, percussion)⁰Badal Roy (tabla)

— Jeremy Erwin (@theheatwarps) October 10, 2022

super good, unperson. thanks!

I don't remember a lot of the box having much to do with the album or sessions for it---mainly an unnecessary reminder of how fast he was moving in those days---but worth hearing, sure, as long as you're not expecting any OTC revelations.

I wrote about it for my weekly email newsletter.

― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, October 13, 2022 11:24 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Fantastic article, you highlighted a lot of the little details that have enthralled me. And the story about the car crash, damn!

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, October 13, 2022 2:22 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

until Robocop verifies it happened, i can't believe it.

Speaking of how fast Miles was moving, as awesome as the Dark Magus/Agartha two-guitar thing was, I'm a big fan of the rather less-documented OTC-era version of this band. AFAIK, In Concert at the Philharmonic is among the only real documents where we hear what On the Corner might've sounded like live. The version of "Rated X" that kicks off the record--with its ever-so-slow build and introduction of different elements and the bass groove not entering until about six minutes in--has always felt to me more like a proper extension than its studio counterpart (which is insane and amazing).

I believe I've seen clips of a video of this band, but, yeah, if there's some three hour bootleg of this lineup kicking around, sign me the fuck up.

https://theheatwarps.com/category/1972/

for your live electric miles needs