Search - Miles Davis :: Cool & Collected

Great music in the wrong context

R. Riis | NY | 09/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There's no denying that these are outstanding and representative performances and that this CD is a fine introduction to an essential musical icon. However, while this collection encompasses a greater stylistic range than, say, "Miles Davis Greatest Hits", it still only scratches the surface. For pure listening enjoyment that range can make this CD a less satisfying experience than any of the original albums from which these tracks are taken. And remixing Miles (the last track) is like "touching up" a painting by Picasso. Rating : 5 stars if you've never heard Miles Davis and just want a taste, 3 stars if you're already a fan."

Cool Music, Poorly Collected

Dennis G. Voss Jr. | Lexington, KY USA | 07/24/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I love the music that Miles Davis created, from his early "Birth of the Cool" recordings all the way to some of his better 1980s work (e.g., "Aura). I don't think highly of this collection, though. It's a spotty and not terribly representative selection of the man's music.



I'm not just complaining because of the difficulties faced in cramming a career onto one CD. I'm complaining about the poor distribution of music over that career. First, the CD contains nothing from the excellent recordings Miles issued with Capitol, Blue Note, and Prestige from 1949 until the mid-1950s. That may be understandable, given that Columbia produced this compilation. But they do not survey his CBS recordings well either. The first eight tracks all come from the late 1950s. There's only one track from his many "orchestrated" albums, and aside from one remixed song there's nothing from 1966 to 1984 (skipping his entire "electric period" as well as the most advanced work of his second great acoustic quintet).



About the best I can say is that, if you wanted to focus on the "cool" side of the music and leave aside anything else, it's hits the high points. It's a good CD to play if you have guests over for dinner who don't much like jazz, but who might appreciate some of the best out there if it doesn't get "too busy.""

Cool? Yes. Collected? Barely a Drop in the Proverbial Bucket

Thomas D. Ryan | New York | 10/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Regarding "Cool and Collected," I must first say that it is very aptly named. It is indeed quite cool, and it also incredibly collected. I happen to love the music of Miles Davis, so it would be virtually impossible for me to speak negatively of a CD collection that compiles a handful of his best-known performances. For the same reason, it is almost impossible to blindly endorse a product that reduces such diversity to a single disk. Observing the changes of Davis' career over the decades has been one of the most musically rewarding experiences I could expect from any musician. His diversity is immensely important to understanding his style - his `coolness' - and the only way to really understand why Miles is so important as a trendsetter, a leader and performer of huge significance is to understand the various aspects of his career.

On an extraordinarily superficial level, this CD is quite cool. If you really want to understand the depths of its coolness, though, you have to dig a lot deeper. Each and every recording on "Cool and Collected" is excellent; naturally, though, some are more significant than others. "So What" is both accessible and challenging. It deserves a rating of 7 stars in a 5-star system, and "Stella By Starlight" represents the smallest taste of live Miles, with some of the best musicians in the world. His version of "Human Nature" can still spark a debate about its intrinsic value, but regardless of your take, it is still decidedly `cool'. But is it cooler to own this collection or to own both "Kind of Blue," "Live at the Plugged Nickel" and "You're Under Arrest" instead? Is it cool being unfamiliar with "In a Silent Way" or "Bitches Brew"?

My point is that there is no shortcut to being `cool.' To qualify, you have to pay a few dues, and invest a part of your time to understand the nature of something that is universally accepted as `cool'. If you are a neophyte and need a starting place to discover the music of Miles Davis, then this is a cool place to start, but its value will diminish once you really understand the incredibly diverse nature of Miles Davis. A- Tom Ryan"