Customer Reviews

Running the Voodoo Down: The Electric Music of Miles Davis

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"Running the Voodoo Down" is an interesting exploration into Miles' electric period, its formative years in the late 60's, full blossoming in the 70's and its ultimate wash out in his return from retirement in the 80's. However, it is not as effective as "Miles Beyond" by Paul Tingen which was obviously researched with great detail. For example, "Running the Voodoo Down" states that there were no studio sessions from 1973 while "Miles Beyond" mentions them (even though they have never been released to the general public officially or otherwise) and discusses briefly from an interview with a Miles alumnist what they might have sounded like as well as the interview with Chick Corea that discusses the very first electric concert in 1968. These are minor details but details such as this are what makes a work of musical history. By now, everyone is giving long overdue praise to Miles' electric period but its the detailed facts and unknown stories and descriptions of what was going on beyond the scenes that wets people's appetite for the next Miles archival reissue and lets bands give due for their influences. Also "Miles Beyond" was written like a work of archaeology whereas "Running the Voodoo Down" is filled with overly hyperbolistic rock critic cliches. For the casual listener or the phillistine who puts aside anything from "In a Silent Way" and beyond as derivative of rock and not really jazz, it is essential. For the true jazz fanatic, it is mostly a familiar story.

Contentious, provocative and idiosyncratic, Phil Freeman's Running the Voodoo Down is an attempt to come to terms with the most difficult and misunderstood work of Miles Davis' career. He applies his knowledge of hard bop, heavy metal and funk, drawing unlikely connections and making this dense, often impenetrable music accessible. Every page has a risible assertion, and you may find yourself enraged with Freeman even as you pull out Agharta and On the Corner to see if he's actually on to something. He almost always is.

The music Miles Davis made in the period this book grapples with was unpredictable, contentious, sometimes maddening, often exciting, and on occasion, the most thrilling thing on Earth. The book itself is a fit match for its subject. Faced with a body of work that's inspired more than one sensible critic to throw up his hands, Freeman just rolls up his sleeves and digs in, addressing the material with just the right balance of scepticism and enthusiasm. Those new to Miles Davis will get their eyes and ears opened wide; old-timers will be reminded what it's like to encounter some much-needed fresh thinking on an old favorite .

In his very first sentence, Philip Freeman establishes that, "Everyone has their own Miles." For many of Davis's most ardent admirers, the only Miles that matters is the earlier, acoustic era that produced such landmark recordings as Kind Of Blue and 'Round About Midnight. Freeman is here to dispute that sentiment and make a convincing case in favor of the latter, more electrically-informed half of Davis's oeuvre, coming to the fore with 1969's massively influential Bitches Brew and lasting until Davis's 1991 death. Running The Voodoo Down wisely avoids posturing itself as yet another Davis bio: Freeman has instead constructed an extended critical essay that dissects the key recordings, the influences on and of the musicians involved and the cultural/societal/artistic spirit in which the work was created. Running The Voodoo Down isn't about the mysterious, mercurial Miles personality, but rather the ever-hungry musical Miles. And although some will never be convinced that even the best of the electric Davis is on a par with Sketches Of Spain or Birth Of The Cool, the book succeeds in provoking the reader to want to revisit and reconsider the value of the often overlooked later period.

This is an excellent work. The author deals with Miles' contentious electric period with intelligence and respect.

He also places Miles' work in the context of what else was going on in music at the time.

However, for any reprints, can I suggest a correction to the passage where the author mentions Rolling Stone's 20th anniversary, when the magazine listed the 100 best albums of the previous 20 years...

'Bitches' made the cut, but I'm pretty positive 'Kind Of Blue' didn't. While the latter would certainly made a Top 100 albums of ALL TIME (possibly even number one) it was, after all, released in the 1950s.

"Running the Voodoo Down: The Electric Music of Miles Davis" is both concise and well-written. It is largely written in chronological order. The book reads easily because it is broken up thematically chapter-by-chapter, and each chapter reads more like a well-written magazine piece than like a book chapter.

Still, Philip Freeman does an excellent job tying it all together. And he has no more reason to do so other than his love for this period of Miles Davis' music. This is sufficient and jazz and popular musical writers are who are going to form the future's history and place Miles in the upper echelon of all-time musical greats--right where he belongs.

All-in-all an extremely well-written account, I was never bored with it. And the thematic material was wide-ranging enough that it never seems redundant or overly opinionated. Freeman supports his opinions with experience, citing various other artists before and since who he feels have informed his listening tastes.

If you have become bitten by the Miles Electric period "Bug" as have I and many other listeners, "Running the Voodoo Down" is highly recommended.

I don't review a lot of items, but this book -- which I've now read a couple of times -- impresses me as one of the few books about music that I've ever enjoyed. (It certainly helps that I've liked Miles's 70's music for some time.) The book doesn't seem to proceed in any noticeable progression (e.g., not chronological), but it is very well written, very readable, and chock full of knowledge about a subject the author knows very well, and about an artist whom he reveres but nonetheless is willing to critique when appropriate. If you like Miles Davis or like 70's era jam music (Santana, Allman Bros.) you should read this book.

Excellent companion to Miles Beyond by Paul Tingen - get 'em both!