Miles Davis ‎– Get Up With It

A deranged mix of calypso, funk, Stockhausen, easy listening and blues! Has slowly become my favourite Miles album. While I prefer individual tracks on albums like On The Corner and Big Fun this just gives you so much texture and madness it has crept to the top of the pile. It does have two stinkers, Red China Blues which is bland blusey easy listening and I think may have been done for a film. I don't like Honky Tonk that much, it starts with a cool keyboard riff, that you may recognise as being shoe horned into the first track on Live Evil in one of Teo Macero's infamous editing jobs, but then descends into a tedious boogie. On to the good stuff He Loved Him Madly is a massive 30 minute ambient trance, very slow moving and almost atonal
it just sits there like the sentient planet in Solaris. Decades could pass as it plays, your beard reaches your toes and your hair goes grey but still it drones on. Maiysha starts with the cheesiest keyboard melody from Miles and a easy listening bossa nova groove, this was a long time standard of his live shows and the first part always sets my teeth on edge, however then things pick up and after a mournful Miles solo Pete Cosey tears out a huge twang bar solo and proceeds to beat the tune to within an inch of it's life. This is the fist instance of Cosey's famous noise style that bore full fruit on the live albums Agharta and Pangaea. The final half hits a nice rolling groove occasionally interrupted by Mile's quixotic "arm on the keys" organ chords. Talking of organ chords Rated X is one of my all time fav tracks and Mile's doesn't even play trumpet on it. Instead he sets up a super bad ass wah wah groove and then blasts atonal synth chords over the top. A massive fuck you and a massive hit is anyone bothers to sample it I reckon!

Calypso Frelimo starts with a dark dense groove that sounds like sounds from an equatorial forest at night before another semi easy listening organ melody comes in. Thankfully this is quickly dispensed with and the charging drums of Al Foster drag us back into the mulch. Al Foster should get a massive shout out, who else can hold down such heavy grooves for so long at such intensity? The master of the ride cymbal he combines hard rock with hard funk and is the engine room behind all of Miles' greatest funk jams. Miles' really get down on the wah wah on this song and Reggie Lucas shows his mastery of the rhythm guitar, splashing dense shards of sun light into the thick textures. Cosey comes in with a great funk riff and we suddenly slow down almost into He Loved Him Madly territory as Michael Henderson lays down a spooky bass riff. Henderson is another bass mutha, his bass lines are sometimes a bit under mixed by modern standards but he creates such space within the music that they hit like a ton of bricks. The band then charge home on a red hot wah wah groove to the end. A whole legion of post punk bands must have been inspired by this track such as 23 Skidoo, PIL, This Heat and The Pop Group.

Mtume and Billy Preston bring us back to earth but both are two of Miles' funkiest creations. Mtume names after the percussionist really rocks along with a monstrous groove that sounds like Rated X played at 45. Full on voodoo ceremony! A mournful guitar riff interrupts the track before Miles takes charge with some searing wah blasts. It is odd that one of the great jazz players is almost a bit part in many of these tracks but he was going for a much more ensemble feeling to these pieces. To be honest there are not many solos, Miles will often blast a few notes to guide the band but everything is about texture and groove. Sometimes it is hard to tell which instrument plays what as everything is played through various wah wah and flanger pedals. Billy Preston features an earlier version of his band than the other tunes with an additional keyboardist before MIles took over these duties. This is a slower more considered groove than Mtume, more laid back and exploratory with a prominent popping bass line from Henderson and a lot more space in the mix. Miles is right in the pocket in this one and he is the star on this track as everyone else lays back to let him stay the focus.

Great sunglasses on the cover as well so you should lay your hands on it!

Maningrey at London School of Sound

Japanese 2002 reissue on SACD is not listed.

Rated X Has got to be the most twisted mental acid wah wah funk track of all time. An absolute monster!! Hard Acid Voodoo Funk at it's finest. This entire 2x12 is laced, a complete acid trip from A-Z. It's filled with very moody dark heavy ambient textures including: echo flutes, space organ, African percussion, congas / bongos, wah wah guitar, and Miles' heart wrenching muted echo solos. A very special journey that can take you to the saddest places, then lift your psyche to a higher level. Highly recommended with caution.