Customer Reviews

Miles to Go: The Lost Years

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There's hero worship and then there's idolatry. Miles was and still is one of my musical heroes - an almost personal relationship exists with your heroes, even though I never met the man. Even though this book for the most part operates on the level of blind adoration of Miles, those who have been touched by his music, and therefore his personality, are bound to get [drawn] in. So I found myself enjoying all the stories. It's like what Joe Zawinul said about Miles: the greatest conversation piece in 20 years . . . Fortunately, the author doesn't delve too deeply into giving "insight" into the music - there are perhaps others who could do that better, namely some of the musicians who played with Miles. But the author has offered up what I feel to be a sincere and heartful account of his time with Miles, coming from a person whose perspective is not usually heard from - the roadie!

...but the writing is a bit too conversational for my taste--almost as if the text were transcribed from a tape, as opposed to composed on the page.

However, the other reviewers who object to the author's writing about himself (as well as about the musician who is his subject) are missing the point. This is a personal memoir, not a biography. As such, it is not researched--it is recollected. I found the stories fascinating, and while it is true that there is more of Murphy than Miles here, it is understandable--the author is sharing an intimacy here, and it would be wrong to reveal his subject without revealing himself as well. What we see, ultimately, is Murphy in the context of Miles, as well as Miles in the context of Murphy.

The picture Murphy presents of life on the road with one of the gods of American music is riveting--I couldn't put this book down. And while I can't vouch for its veracity, it is certainly an anodyne to the usual bad-boy image of the musician. At least in his relationship with the author, Miles comes across as a warm, likeable, and intelligent man, with a terrible dependency on reinventing himself and his music--artistically restless utterly unable to rest on his laurels.

As a jazz fan who never cared much for the later Miles, it was nice to learn that, even if you don't care for Miles' music of that period, it was never (as critics have suggested) a crass attempt to cash in on to commercially successfull music. He loved rock and rock musicians and felt there was a genuine place for a band such as his.

Kudos to Chris Murphy for sharing these reminiscences

I didn't quite know what to expect from this book, since the jacket copy called it "brutally honest (and bound to be controversial)," and I feared a somewhat raw expose. But instead I found this memoir a nostalgic and tender reminiscence of Miles Davis by Chris Murphy, who worked closely with him for many years. While not a total whitewash, it should go a long way toward balancing the "Prince of Darkness" image that so many other writers (and Miles himself) seemed to relish. The book is touching, funny and informative, and while Murphy does discuss incidents in his own life as well, it detracts little from the portrait of Miles he draws. Miles' then-wife, Cicely Tyson, comes off as a harridan, but Miles is always depicted with great affection. This is not the kind of book that Davis fans would refer back to, but it's certainly worth a read as yet another facet of a true artist who never ceases to fascinate lovers of great music.

Like the previous reviewer stated, this book is a MEMOIR, not a biography. It gives a portrait of Miles through the eyes of a man who knew him intimately for years. It balances the good and the bad(did the negative reviewers who wanted more of the "bad" Miles skip over the part where he attacks and beats on Finney?? Hardly a "whitewash")

It's a fun and absorbing read. I couldn't put it down.

I found this book interesting but too much information was given about the author and his own personal life. I thought this book was supposed to be about Miles Davis. Wrong. The author throws in his own biography while talking about Miles and Murphy's
is not interesting. Quite frankly, I could have done without hearing about this.

The author was a Miles Davis roadie in the latter years when the trumpeter spent a lot of time holed up in his dark NYC apartment between gigs. As such, it's a rare glimpse of the human side of the aging Davis, long after his most important periods had passed. The portrait of Miles' long-suffering with his actress-girlfriend Cicely Tyson is humorously revealing. Murphy appreciates the late period music and gives it a nice contextual setting. Worth reading if you are a Miles Davis collector.

I came across this book quite by chance on Amazon and have to say it is a revelation.

Having read all the biographies about Miles and his 1989 autobiography, I learnt more about the man in "Miles to go" than all the previous books put together.

For those expecting a view of Miles's whole life forget it! Instead what you have are Chris Murphy's experience of living and working with Miles as his Roadie from 1973 to 1976 and 1981 to 1983. In addition, there is a transcripted conversation by Chris Murphy with Ron Lorman and Mark Alison who both workrd with Miles on the road during the 1980's.

There are so many insights and anecdotal stories of being on the road which are brand new, what comes across so strongly is the private Miles was such a great and funny guy. We at last have a rounded picture of the man and I like him so much more as a human being as opposed to just Miles the consumate musician.

There is one story about Miles at the time of the 1975 Agharta and Pangaea live recordings which was so touching. Chris explains the pain and pathos in his trumpet solos on these sessions were a real reflection of the actual body pain he was experiencing whilst playing. The conversation that followed when Miles came off stage was this; Chris said, "Miles, that had all the pain in the world in it." Miles turned to Chris and smiled and said, "It's supposed to." Now that is Miles living and performing in the moment.

We owe Chris Murphy a debt of thanks for putting his recollections in print.

BUY, BUY, BUY!

I enjoyed reading this book. It is filled with recollections by Miles' former roadie that are generally quite colorful, sometimes funny, occasionally surprising, and disturbing, but always unique in their perspective. This book made me feel like I was sitting in my living room talking with someone who knew and loved Miles Davis.

The author's stories about his experiences were told in a structured, but very conversational style. The author included a modest amount of personal information about himself and his experiences that while only peripherally related to Miles Davis, provided useful context that helped to amplify the story and legitimize the authors unique perspective.

I highly recommend this book. The reader will come away with information and a perspective on Miles Davis not available anywhere else.

terrific book for anyone who loves miles. shows a much different picture than miles own book, where he seemed to want you to hate him, for some reason. chris writes like he was sitting next to you on a barstool, over a brew, telling you about his adventures in weirdville. i suggest putting on a pile of miles cd's, and reading this straight through.

I was hoping to get some insight to Miles' great live band from '73-'75. Instead, we're treated to the author's sexist view of women, his total idolization of Miles and seemingly barely-remembered anecdotes of life with Miles on and off the road. Interspersed are stories of life on the road with David Allen Coe (nope, Miles wasn't playing trumpet in his band), visits with Johnny Cash (ditto), stories of personal drug use and abuse and the bedding of various women. When Murphy calls Orleans (remember those guys? They [stunk]) a "great band" it's time to break out the hula hoops. Sorry, but I'm glad I checked it our from the library rather than blowing 17-plus dollars on this poorly-written book.