Miles Davis - Complete Montreux (20CD box)

[Claude]

Poll question: Did you buy the Miles Davis - Complete Montreux 20CD set?

(Sorry, the question disappeared from the poll when I posted the message)

The 20CD box The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux came out during fall of last year and the overwelming reaction at the BNBB was that it contained too much music, to many versions of the same compositions and simply was too expensive. Starting at $250, it is now sometimes discounted at $150.

I know many Miles fans, but noone of them has actually bought this box. I would have been interested in some of the concerts included if they were available seperately (only the 1991 concert with Quincy Jones has been officially available before). There are also some more interesting box sets in sight (Blackhawk, Jack Johnson), so there is currently no shortage of Miles reissues which could have motivated me to get this box.

So, six months after the release, how many of you bought this set, and how do you evaluate it? You can also post if you haven't listened to it

Some reviews:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&u...l=Avzn20roai48z

http://home.att.net/~lankina/jazz/Reviews/R0211g.html

http://www.culturekiosque.com/jazz/best/rhecd9.html

http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/d/...emontreux.shtml

http://www.jazzitude.com/milesdavis_complete1.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4478023,00.html

Edited 16 May 2003 by Claude

[jazzbo]

I haven't bought it. Though I've really had to sort of hold myself back. I just wish I had it. . . it's not my most favorite period of Miles. . . it's too expensive in that case. . . but I'm still curious. .. and yellow.

[Rooster_Ties]

I'd love to hear/have the early concert (I think from 1973) from this box, but the rest is more 80's Miles than I really need.

There was a time, when I was back in college when I was still a rabid Miles fan ('90-'92) --- that I bought every videotape concert of Miles that I could find (there were some ads in the back of Goldmine, and one guy had a couple hundred jazz videos that he was selling copies of for $20 a pop).

There wasn't much Miles on video from the 60's and 70's, so I started getting tapes of Miles in the 80's. Somewhere (buried in a box) I probably have video tapes with just as much live 80's Miles as this box set has, maybe more. Same degree of tune repitition. Every concert seemed to have a "Time After Time" and "Human Nature". There's a concert from Poland in about '88, two compete shows (afternoon and evening), 160 minutes total, and he plays "TAT" and "HN" twice, each!!!! - meaning each one once on each concert. (I know, the music wasn't ever meant to be released that way.)

It's not bad music (or at least not entirely), but my tastes have gone different directions since then. I've got that one live Miles disc (the legit one on Warner Bros, "Live Around The World" I think it's called), and that's enough live Miles in 80's for me.

( Maybe, just maybe, would I consider buying it if I could get one used for $100, but even then - I'd think twice about it, and probably spend the $100 on other stuff. )

[Aggie87]

Just a hunch, but I'll bet that they'll release a few of the "better" concerts from this box as individual releases, sometime soon. Similar to how they release the other Miles boxes, and then re-release the individual albums from the box shortly thereafter.

So I wouldn't go and cave in to get the box just yet, unless you gotta have it all!

[JohnS]

I fought shy of this, I don't particularly enjoy Miles at this time, it's a lot of money and it's hard to find the time to play a big set like this and do it justice in any case. But I know one person who has the box. I'm not too sure what he thinks of it but I've heard the eight discs with John Scofield and I these are very listenable. Still not sure I'd want to spend the money.

[RDK]

I have to admit to downloading a few of the discs to sample this set, but it's just not a period of Miles that i really dig. I might buy a single live set just 'cause I love "Jean Pierre" so much, but otherwise i'd pass on this one.

[Tjazz]

I see a used box set for sale at the local used store for $100.

[Guest Mnytime]

I don't know if it sells well retail but it is constantly up for sale on Ebay and selling for around $160-170 for anyone interested.

I myself passed on it since this period of Miles really is not interesting enough to spend that much on it.

Edited 25 May 2003 by Mnytime

[chris olivarez]

Maybe when I win the lottery.

[sidewinder]

With so many good Mosaics around at the moment, this one comes well down the list, just behind the 'Four Freshmen' box ..

:rsmile:

[David]

My question is... Who has bought this?

[king ubu]

I actually got it - but - 1) only because I found it new (just after its release) for 140$ and - 2) I have to admit I have only listened to the '74 concert in its entirety and then only sampled the later concerts. This has nothing to do with me not liking Miles' 80ies music, but rather with lack of time and too many new CDs lying around half listened to. Then, how could you possibly find time to listen to 4 discs (which would be the afternoon & evening concerts from one year/day) in a row? (same problem with the Plugged Nickel)

However, what I heard of the music, I have liked quite a lot. Some of the versions of TAT are nothing short of sublime, imho. And there are some differences from the Warner "Around the World" disc, as that one has music only from around 1989, while the Montreux has stuff from 1983 onwards.

I reckon it is only for completists.

ubu

[Guest Mnytime]

Okay, now I have two of these that where given by friends who really need to talk more often.

The first thing I have to say is that I am not sure why it took 20CDs. There is aprox 1142 minutes included. They could have put this out on 15-16 discs I am guessing. It seems like they seperated every performance on it's own disc.

I have only heard the first disc, which is only about 37 minutes. The playing sound fine. Though I think the remastering is a bit high on the treble.

[jazzbo]

Gosh, you were given TWO copies? My friends would never think to give me something costing one tenth this set! I'm traveling in the wrong circle.

Well, maybe I'll find a used copy cheap some day. This thing is still tempting me, but I can't see laying out the green (which is sparse lately) required. So I guess the really accurate response for me is not "too much music" but "too expensive." I voted for that combo, but it's really the second half I feel is correct.

[Guest Mnytime]

Lon:

Early birthday presents. Though I am not exactly sure I like what giving them a full month in advance is hinting at.

[jazzbo]

No kidding, mine is two months plus away, and my wife was talking about buying me a pair of shoes next week. . . aren't we getting old fast enough? (And SHOES?)

[bertrand]

Lon,

But you really need a pair of new shoes...

Bertrand.

[Guest Mnytime]

Currently listening to the 3rd disc and I can report that so far only the first disc has had that high treble issue.

By the way, didn't realize that the current Bass player for The Stones recorded with Miles. Didn't think he was that old. Not that I checked on his age at any time.

I still don't understand why they put this out on 20CDs? Thus making it more expensive and less likely to sell.

[jazzbo]

Bert,

No I don't. Really.

[Out2Lunch]

How about a birthday cake in the shape of a shoe?

Edited 26 May 2003 by Out2Lunch

[jazzbo]

No cake of any kind for me please. I'll just ask my wife to treat me to dinner at the Clay Pit and indulge in a beltbusting meal of chicken korma and their lentil soup.

[Guest Mnytime]

No kidding, mine is two months plus away, and my wife was talking about buying me a pair of shoes next week. . . aren't we getting old fast enough? (And SHOES?)

Yea, but what type of shoes? There are shoes that cost more than the two boxes combined.

[jazzbo]

Nah . . . the shoes she is thinking of just cost about one box set. She would NEVER buy me the box set.

[JSngry]

[JSngry]

As for the box, a buddy of mine bought it, and then for grins (this is the kind of creative soul he is) ripped it to his hard drive, put the whole set into a jukebox program, set it to random play, and then reburned the output, after which he put THOSE results through another program to make smooth crossfades between tracks and to perform other audio niceties. The result is a set of about 12 or so CDs of Miles concerts from Montreux, none of which occurred as represented on his remix discs - the different bands from the different years appear side by side seamlessly, and truthfully, it succeeds splendidly in a way that the documetary approach of the actual box might not (haven't heard it yet in its "natural" state, so I can't say). Heard like this, I have no qualms about the music whatsoever!

I'd buy it for the right price (which these days would be, like, "free or less"). I like what Miles was up to in these years - having a pretty much unabashed pop show of a band. If its not "cutting edge" in any way, its still the Miles esthetic at work, and there were no slouches in those later bands, that much is for sure. And Kenny Garrett CONSISTENTLY smokes.