Miles Runs Dat Voodoo Down – Again!

Life's a bitch: Sony Legacy returns to the Bitches Brew well once more with a Legacy Edition and a massive Collector's Edition. Assorted bonus goodies abound. Should you open up your wallet again? Our resident Miles freak ponders all that, and more. Check out the video below as well.

By Hal Bienstock

Like Elvis Costello's first three albums and just about anything by Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew seems to get reissued every five years or so. There are two reasons for that. The first is obvious - money. The second is that, like Elvis' and Jimi's albums, it ranks among the greatest and most inspired of the rock era, more than deserving of renewed attention every half decade.

Let's begin with the obvious. If you're a fan of jazz, rock, R&B or hip-hop and don't have Bitches Brew, you need it, and this reissue is as good a reason as any to buy it. That said, most serious music fans probably have a copy somewhere in their collection by now, and hardcore fans likely already shelled out $50 a few years ago for the 4-CD Complete Bitches Brew Sessions, which covers all the groundbreaking music recorded by Miles and this group of musicians between August 1969 and February 1970 as they reinvented jazz by melding it with funk and rock.

This latest reissue comes in the form of a two CD set containing the original album and six bonus tracks, as well as a DVD of a previously unreleased performance from Copenhagen in November of 1969. (A larger 40^th Anniversary Collector's Edition, due out September 14, also contains a 48-page book, audiophile vinyl and a live CD from August 1970). The bonus tracks include alternate versions of "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" and "John McLaughlin", both of which have been previously released, as well as single edits of several other tracks. In other words, interesting stuff, but nothing essential.

So, the selling point is really the DVD. Musically, it's fantastic, taking place about three months after Bitches Brew was recorded, when the band was at the peak of its powers. It's a great listen, but unfortunately, it's not much to speak of visually. Production values are non-existent, so once you've seen it, it's not something you're likely to watch repeatedly, unless of course, you're a musician hoping to learn something.

Miles fanatics will probably have no choice but to bite their lips and buy the collector's edition. But if you're happy with an earlier reissue, you may want to hold off until the next upgrade.