I'm a pretty big Miles Davis fan, at least up until the mid-60s, where he loses me somewhere along the way during the tenure of the 'second great quintet.' I think the last thing I have that I like & think of in the same realm as his earlier, 'jazzier' stuff, is E.S.P. Mad Rhetorik turned me onto In A Silent Way, which I wasn't previously familiar with & which I enjoy a lot (especially as compared to, say, *****es Brew), but mostly from 1965 or so on there's just very little that I've heard that I really like. I did just get in a copy of the rerelease of the Jack Johnson thing, and I haven't listened to that in a good 10 years or so when I borrowed it from a friend, but I haven't gotten to it yet.

It's always seemed to me like there's a major hole in Miles' career following, say, Kind Of Blue & Sketches Of Spain, until the first recordings with the second quintet. I have Someday My Prince Will Come & have always thought it's real good, but Quiet Nights is kind of lightweight, and I just haven't heard much from the early 60s by him. I do have the Carnegie Hall concert, but that's never really done it for me, either. And I know there are other recordings, but I don't have them & have never really heard them. Until now.

Just got a copy of the 7-disc box set, Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings, 1963-64. Wow. This really fills in kind of a black hole. There are some amazing studio recordings, and live stuff that's mostly better than the Carnegie Hall concert, more up my alley than the Plugged Nickel stuff, and nearly as good as the Stella By Starlight/'58 Sessions stuff. These recordings were made after the demise of the first quintet, which I guess happened after Someday My Prince Will Come, and the members of the second quintet come on board as the recordings progress in chronological order. If you like Miles' jazz, this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:be68mpc09f8o


The other nifty little item I just got is the Rhino box of 80s underground music, back when 'alternative' actually meant something. Left Of The Dial. I know this has been discussed on the board here, but so what. I haven't even listened to the whole thing yet, but while there are of course the minor grumblings any idiot like me would have about this exclusion & that inclusion, this is a fine thing indeed. Mostly well-chosen, as a matter of fact. Not sure why there's not one Ramones track, but what can you do.