I actually quite liked this band. I thought, in addition to solid rock songs, they had a great atmosphere. Kill Rhythm and I Confess were a great start, though the second half of the album really opened this up for me. The star of the show for me was Fripp, which played hard on atmosphere and really delivered. I think I vaguely heard of this band many a year ago, and glad I eventually made my way here.
Just a heads up that I planned two side quests in this thread. One after the next album that journeys into some jazz we missed (and another Miles run), and then another earlier in 1994 that will go into 60s and 70s psychedelic and blues rock to set the stage for some studio jam band albums (which kind of finally broke in ‘94). Stay tuned.
So the prior post about the side quests, which had largely been sitting on a list waiting for an opportunity to burst out, was inspired by this album - a little bit jazzy, a little bit pop and rock, and just felt like a weight lifted really after the heaviness of the last few albums. The instrumental Orleans Stomp changed the complexion of the room immediately, and the title track, Delivery Man, Black Stick, and particularly Better Than Love showed their range and brightness that was just welcome.
The Essential Track: Better Than Love
Up Next: Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit - Mirrors of Embarrassment
I added it here because of The Cruel Sea. It’s also a bit of a good jump off for jazz and a prelude of the jam band scene that seemed to fully break around ‘94.
Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit - Mirrors of Embarrassment
As noted above, this was added at the last minute as sort of a table setter: both as a atmospheric shift towards a jazzier sound and as a lynchpin of what would be in the process of breaking mainstream in ‘94 with some jammier bands. And this lineup has a who’s who of jam band futures on it. Otiel Burbridge, Jimmy Herring, Bela Fleck, Chuck Leavell (more of a present or past name) - a super group of virtuosos that don’t hide their talents here. It cuts almost seamlessly between jazz, rock, and bluegrass as if there were no lines and it’s a fun listen for that. The vocals add an almost New Orleans feel to it, and it fits quite perfectly. A gem of an album.
The Essential Track: Shoeless Joe
Up Next: Lee Konitz feat. Miles Davis - Conception
More of a compilation of early works on 78s, this shows some really early works from Miles Davis, working with Konitz, Sonny Rollins, and Stan Getz. It’s a good listen, though its disjointed flow makes it less than one of my favorites - but getting all this talent early on in one release is pretty cool in the end. I don’t know that I really had a favorite so I guess I am picking at random with Intoit.
This album appears smack between Round About Midnight and Cookin’… and has such fresh energy to it. I mean every track here is fantastic, and sees Miles soon before he would transition into the more thoughtful Kind of Blue - and it has ballads and high octane energy in all sorts of spots. I again have a hard time picking out a track but because I loved all of them here.
Got in a fair amount of Miles today. On this one, he’s working with Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk, among others. Both takes of the title track are amazing, though take 1 has I think the Monk improv after the vibraphone, which is a real highlight missing from take 2. On the second side, Oleo is phenomenal with Miles and Rollins interplay. The multiple takes again make it feel more compilation than album, but the music is just spot on.
This is a film soundtrack, and it’s quite evident from the start of this album. The moods are very particular here, often either sultry and romantic or bustling. You really get a chance to catch Miles’s range in this era in that respect. I preferred the more bustling sound, no surprises there, but I really enjoyed all of this to be fair. Diner Au Motel is phenomenal.
This one feels much more like home base for Miles, particularly in the lead up to Kind of Blue. It’s still a ridiculous set of musicians here, especially Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. The three of them really shine here on ‘Round Midnight, but again this is another really killer Miles album worth hearing front to back.
The Essential Track: ‘Round Midnight
Up Next: Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth
I am really not sure when I researched Jazz albums when I initially constructed this list that this was omitted, but good news is we have here a great opening to go back. This is a wonderful album that feels like the first two tracks are the absolute must here. Stolen Moments and Hoe Down are quite essential here, and the rest never lets down even though it doesn’t hit for me quite the same as those initial two tracks. The players on the cover probably say a good deal about what you are getting here, and Hoe Down would find infinite variations and covers by other artists into the future. I don’t even remember where I found this but glad I did.
