Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
87 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Prototype for Trance and Techno, April 16, 2004
People tend to focus on certain albums of Miles' discography as their "line in the sand". Because the trumpeter's career was dramatically divided into distinct periods and even micro-periods there are a number of places where certain listeners can say, "this far but no farther." I know people whose love of Miles ended with Night at the Blackhawk, or Miles Smiles, or Bitches Brew. My own ended with The Man With the Horn. But perhaps one of the most controversial love-it-or-leave-it albums in Miles' discography is On the Corner. Looked upon as a sell-out in the 70s, even by those who loved the electric bands, this album has been vilified ever since. However, a careful re-examination thirty years later reveals an album that was radically ahead of it's time, though not perhaps even a jazz album anymore.On the Corner was one of the last albums Miles did with his rotating, multi-layered electric bands of the early 70s. The albums after this would delve into avant-rock-funk of the Agharta period, before Davis took his complete hiatus and suffered his mid 70-s breakdown. Assembled for this disc is a typical conglomeration of the jazz-rock stars of the 70s, including Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock on electric pianos, John McLaughlin on guitar, three drummers including both the marvelous Jack Dejohnette and Billy Hart. Along with these luminaries were Dave Liebman and Sonny Fortune on saxes, fat funk grooves by Michael Henderson, Colin Walcott on electric sitar and Badal Roy on tablas. This lineup is probably the most complexly layered group Miles had in the electric period, and the inclusion of Indian instruments gave the album a world music groove that was years ahead of its time. Most of the criticism that has been lobbed at this album has to do with the fact that, in many people's estimation it's not a "jazz album". What is meant by this is not always clear, and an old refrain that is leveled at just about every album considered a departure from the "tradition". There seems to be some complaint that On the Corner is devoid of improvisation. This is not true. In fact the album is one long improvisatory jam. What it doesn't have is a clear head-solos-head structure. Rather, the rhythm section provides a dense polyrhythmic carpet over which the horns solo in an extended manner. Also, Miles continued his trend toward significant post-production work in the mixing of the album. As a result, much of the improvisation by the band is used as source material for further creative manipulation, through electronics, and through other post-production effects. The result is a mix which is trance-like, hypnotic and a precursor to the trance and techno albums of Aphex Twins and others from the 90s. To jazzers, this post-production work signaled a retreat by Davis from the studio-as-club-date attitude of most traditional jazz sessions. But to my mind, this shows that Miles and company had really thought through the nature of electronic music. Rather than just playing on electric instruments and adding some bleeps, bloops and funk grooves to what was basically a 1960s jazz album, Miles added electronics idiomatically, creating a new art form in the process. Miles' jazz fusion of this period cannot be compared to his work in the 50s or 60s. It's a completely different animal that functions by different rules. This is not an album that you can speak about in cuts. There are pre-composed pieces, and probably some pieces that were composed after the fact, by splicing together tracks and grooves and giving them shape. But each separate piece tends to blend into the next, prefiguring the DJ jams of the 90s. The result is funky and infectious, but also hypnotic. On the Corner may be demonized by traditionalists, but Miles was saying something here, and it's something that still bears listening to, after thirty years. Miles' music of this period is not dated badly at all and still has implications for younger musicians. Approach this as a sonic experience and not as a jazz album and you will be pleasantly surprised.
|
|
|
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ON THE CORNER--An Even Greater Riot Goin' On!, August 2, 2000
A landmark recording that even several decades later is a struggle for many fans--jazz and pop--to get a grip on. Miles Davis finds a precarious balance between the vital rhythm-oriented advances of the James Brown-originated funk idiom and Stockhausen's manipulation-of-sound concepts...and still manages to bring his jazz-based perspective along for the ride. High in the top ten all-time jazz-reactionary myopic criticisms: that ON THE CORNER is a sellout to commercialism! If anything--and there's much more to it than this--Davis took the then up-and-coming, hot-selling funk idiom, stripped it of all surface characteristics that could be easily absorbed in one sitting, then rebuilt the style via his own post-modernist approach...and somehow the intoxicating James Brown-via-Sly Stone THERE'S A RIOT GOIN' ON groove survived intact. The results are marked by deep polyrhythmic grooves that are decidedly left-of-center. Over this solid bottom a variety of keyboards, guitars, sitars, and the like engage in basically free associative textures, anchored by Michael Henderson's less-is-more bass figures (who else can make a repetitive "duh-dut" bassline sound as if adding even one more note would be overkill?). Holding this all together is what many critics seem to miss, that being significant solo passages particularly by Davis, heard on no less than three extended--and assertive--segments, with the electrified wah-wah pedal used not as a gimmick but for its vocal-like qualities. Also, various guitarists, reeds, and percussion offer compelling statements that alternatively ride over and react within the dense backdrop. As if all this weren't enough of a challenge, the "tunes" lack identifiable melodies except for BLACK SATIN. Then again, are the bass lines the melodies? Or the percussion patterns? Or what? If you like seeing a string of "what is jazz" paradigms shattered with one stunning blow, ON THE CORNER is your heavyweight champion of the world. This album DEFINITELY has a purpose!
|
|
|
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe by 2012..., September 14, 2004
In 1973, Miles Davis was fuming. He had released On the Corner a year before to negative reviews and an apathetic public; and now, his sideman Herbie's fusion record Headhunter's was on its way to becoming the bestselling jazz album of all time. In his autobiography, he whines about how Columbia doomed the record by not promoting it correctly. Personally, I don't think Miles has a leg to stand on. Even if Columbia had put massive amounts of money behind it there's no way it could've stuck in 1972. Columbia had only one hope: Hire a team of brilliant scientists who would build a time machine, and drop this album on the public 40 years in the future. That's right, 10 years from now. We STILL aren't ready for On The Corner...
There are so many dismissive complaints leveled at this album- it's repetitive! there's barely any melody! It's not even Jazz! You hardly every even HEAR miles! I have no counter argument; these are all facts. However, there have been a few things that have been missed by its critics:
Miles had a vision with this record. This wasn't just a street record, this was intended to be THE street record. The ultimate black-power world-encompassing fusion call-to-arms. He intended to reach his black audience- the world's black audience. When you hit play on this record, you are on EVERY dang corner in the world: Los Angeles, Dakar, Nairobi, New Orleans, Havana... This is THE fusion album.
The album is thoroughly immersive. I can't think of a denser album, or an album that rewards repeat journeys better than this. At first it's entirely impenetrable and almost hostile to the listener, but once you find a way in there's a world of details and fascinating characters to discover. Take the first 30 seconds; when you hit "play" you seem to have been dropped into the middle of a muddled fusion stew. It almost seems sloppy; but listen close and you'll realize you do have a proper introduction- the first 30 seconds are an inversion of the following minute, Miles in front, Liebman in back. Then at 30 seconds, the wall of drums hits, and you get the exact same scene again, only inverted- Miles has been thrown to the back and Liebman is right in front of your speakers. Very clever; Stockhausen would be proud of this tape manipulation. It tells the listener: here, time folds in on itself; Miles will NOT be the star; you'll have to pay REALLY close attention...You've entered a parallel world...
And, finally, the best argument for the enduring genius of this album- there is nothing that sounds like On the Corner in the canon of recorded music before or since. Nothing so bewilderingly experimental yet funky, or that fuses different cultural musics into such a seamless whole. The density and layering of this album is relentless, the solos enigmatic. It exists outside of classification. That is quite a recommendation- To this day, On the Corner stands completely alone. Give it a chance- it can take you places that no other album has gone!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
- the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
