trickykid

@Muffin...if you're sure, I agree with you, because my memory is all over the place. I could swear it was by BIRD, but I might be wrong.

The discs of the II QUINTETTO are beautiful, beautiful... it's well known that during those years the musicians "helped" Davis's dimmed compositional flair with numerous pieces. In this album, Shorter takes the lead, and Hancock carves out a role for himself as well. Stunning - as always - is Tony Williams's drumming. It is said that during the period of this album, Davis's band would let loose in concert, indulging in true FREE digressions. On the record, however, the music is much more disciplined. But it's undeniable that they had their ears wide open to what at the time was THE NEW THING!

Dear MuffinMan, you're absolutely right. That phrase was said by CHARLIE PARKER quite a few years ago... and it's still relevant today.
Regarding SCARUFFI: I don't deny the intelligence of some of his comments, which, on the other hand, are not essential and can sometimes be debatable, if not downright disagreeable. His opinions should be read for what they are: CRITICISMS. And not taken as gospel; no one is the mouthpiece of truth, etc... They serve to form an opinion, just like any article, writing, etc. Of course, there are people who deify certain individuals or magazines (BLOW-UP, RUMORE, IL MUCCHIO, etc.)... but those shouldn't be taken into account. MAGAZINES, MANUALS, and Books should serve as a GUIDE for the average listener who seeks clarity through these tools, interpretative keys, information, etc. about their passions.

BETTY MABRY's role in MILES at the end of the '60s is fundamental, just like the "young" musicians he was playing with at the time. It was she, indeed much younger than her husband, who introduced him to the Rock youth culture. After this album, Davis abandoned his traditional style in favor of the look of the rock stars he admired (SLY & THE FAMILY STONE, JIMI HENDRIX - with whom he shared a hairdresser!), reviving the sound of his trumpet in an electric key. MILES' love for BLACK music and his tendency to absorb the new cultural-musical stimuli of the time and to vampire the ideas of his young collaborators allowed him to create the essential masterpieces already mentioned (IN A SILENT and BITCHES BREW). After IN A SILENT, Miles wanted the inscription DIRECTIONS IN MUSIC BY MILES DAVIS to appear on his albums, almost to emphasize that all those talents in his band were still directed by him; he was the demiurge, the creator, and the conductor of that extraordinary orchestra. But it is also true that without many brilliant ideas or even pieces composed by his collaborators (SHORTER, HANCOCK, McLAUGHIN, and ZAWINUL above all), his music would have been different. Works that, although traceable to his genius, were still "collective." (Recommended reading: Salvatore, LO SCIAMANO ELETTRICO, STAMPA ALTERNATIVA, specifically on the Davis period from '68 to the '70s; as well as the always essential AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ed. MINIMUM FAX).

Absolutely *** !! MILES pre-IN A SILENT WAY was, in concrete terms, transported by the SECOND (legendary) quintet (SHORTER, CARTER, WILIAMS, HANCKOCK) from modal jazz to electric-experimental. Here, once again, we are far from the albums IN A SILENT and BITCHES BREW, but we begin to glimpse that shamanic continent made of FENDER pianos, big horns, rock rhythms, electric guitar, and electrified trumpet. In my opinion, this album is the best among those produced by the II QUINTET (Sorcer, Nefertiti, etc.) and the definitive-summary of that experience (after the band will be restructured and the brilliant and fundamental production of TEO MACERO will arrive: that is, the unreachable IN A SILENT and BITCHES can be recorded).

An amazing album, among the must-haves from the Beatles, along with the WHITE ALBUM, REVOLVER, and SGT. PEPPER. *****, no ifs or buts. The swan song of the BEATLES, their best album.

In my excitement, I made a mistake... "the sound of SGT. PEPPER clearly emerges as a watered-down version of psychedelia"... you can find all the psychedelia in BARRETT or in other groups - unfortunately considered minor, but certainly not in the BEATLES, who disguised themselves in colorful satin costumes to dream of a phantom (and psychedelic) INDIA...
N.B.
Even the STONES tried to ride the psychedelic wave, but with far more modest results (see, THEIR SATANIC and BETWEEN THE BOTTOM). In short, at the time, the FLOYD (and other psychedelic groups) were blowing everyone away and were THE BIG NEWS, where the usual savvy folks jumped in, with very different outcomes (it's clear that the BEATLES managed to capitalize on this psychedelic wave - which remained a parenthesis in their sound along with the song TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS, the one true precursor; while the STONES came out with broken bones...).

@ZARATHUSTRA - Sgt. PEPPER did not anticipate psychedelia and the sound of the PINK FLOYD at all; rather, it rode the wave of the then-growing artistic trend known as SWIMMING LONDON. Apart from the fact that both SGT PEPPER and THE PIPER are from the same year (1967), keep in mind that the famous LIGHT SHOWS by PINK FLOYD were already taking place since 1966 at well-known underground culture clubs in London (U.F.O. club and others). Not only that, but THE PIPER was preceded - as you certainly know - by the legendary 3 SINGLES (ARNOLD LAYNE, etc.), and add to this the circumstance that the FLOYD were working in the SAME STUDIO as the BEATLES! That is, while in one room they were recording the songs of this new band on everyone's lips (the FLOYD), the BEATLES were practically working next door!!! The sound of THE PIPER clearly reveals a watered-down version of psychedelia. So let's give Caesar what is Caesar's....

I agree with you ZANNAB (and of course with GRANTNICHOLAS and anyone else who says that...): personally, I prefer listening to KID A and AMNESIAC over this album here. In fact, if I have to make a PERSONAL ranking, for me KID A is superior to AMNESIAC, which I prefer over OK COMPUTER. In short, I haven't listened to OK COMPUTER in years, nor do I feel much inclination to; but I cannot deny its intrinsic value. As for HAIL... I agree with you: the attempt to make the EXPERIMENTS acquired from the twin albums KID A / AMNESIAC more POP, in my opinion, is an unsuccessful experiment. From this perspective, YORKE did better with his solo album ERASER.

Well, since ARNOLDLAYNE is rightfully wielding the red pen to highlight my spelling mistake (Pink Floyd, obviously), I take the opportunity to clarify that the PINKFLOYDIAN influences of RADIOHEAD should be traced more to the 70s period of the PINK than to the BARRETTIAN masterpieces (own or inspired by...namely the first two, magnificent, albums of the FLOYD).