Panthalassa: The Music Of Miles Davis 1969-1974

Amazon.com
There are more tributes to Miles Davis's acoustic jazz groups of the 1950s and 1960s than one can easily count. But there are precious few explorations of his outlaw electric jazz period, dating from 1969 to 1974. Himself a studio outlaw of sorts, bassist and producer Bill Laswell goes a good distance rectifying the lack of attention paid to Davis's growling, funky electric period. He remixes and "translates" the dramatic slowness of In a Silent Way and smoothes over the abrasive jump cuts and edits that have made On the Corner a blazing listen for over 25 years. Laswell builds ambient-dub spreads on Davis's electro-fusion architecture, and he makes heavy funk out of the Davis band's mix of low-end bassiness and high-end soprano sax and electric piano. Look out for more paeans to the previously maligned electric period in Miles Davis's career. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description
Recompiled and Remixed by Bill Laswell, this Release Takes Some of the Most Electrifying Miles Davis Tracks and Makes them Even More Electrifying Laswell Style. This Japanese Release Will Contain Exclusive Bonus Tracks. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Panthalassa: The Music Of Miles Davis 1969-1974

Tracks:

In A Silent Way/Shhh/Peaceful/It's About That Time
Black Satin/What If/Agharta Prelude Dub
Rated X/Billy Preston
He Loved Him Madly

Amazon.com

There are more tributes to Miles Davis's acoustic jazz groups of the 1950s and 1960s than one can easily count. But there are precious few explorations of his outlaw electric jazz period, dating from 1969 to 1974. Himself a studio outlaw of sorts, bassist and producer Bill Laswell goes a good distance rectifying the lack of attention paid to Davis's growling, funky electric period. He remixes and "translates" the dramatic slowness of In a Silent Way and smoothes over the abrasive jump cuts and edits that have made On the Corner a blazing listen for over 25 years. Laswell builds ambient-dub spreads on Davis's electro-fusion architecture, and he makes heavy funk out of the Davis band's mix of low-end bassiness and high-end soprano sax and electric piano. Look out for more paeans to the previously maligned electric period in Miles Davis's career. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Details

Recompiled and Remixed by Bill Laswell, this Release Takes Some of the Most Electrifying Miles Davis Tracks and Makes them Even More Electrifying Laswell Style. This Japanese Release Will Contain Exclusive Bonus Tracks.

Customer Reviews:

Miles' Music Recomposed - Excellent Work by Laswell.......2007-06-06

I don't know why any one who likes Miles' music from this period would not like this CD or have a problem with it conceptually. I have a HUGE library of Miles' music and have read many books about the man, his music and the process used to create much of the music found on Miles' Columbia (Sony) releases. Look, when this music was recorded, tape ran continuously in the studio. Teo Macero, Miles' producer would then "compose" or "sculpt" finished pieces by editing the material together. This is precisely how EVERYTHING from In a Silent Way up to On the Corner was done. Generally, Miles' had very little to do with the work Teo was doing in creating the finished product - Despite the "Directions in Music by Miles Davis" proclamation found on the records released in the late 60's and early 70's. Essentially, Laswell is just doing the same thing Teo did with those original tracks. Yeah yeah, he adds a little background ambience with a synth or perhaps tape loops to pull the pieces in the suites together. Big deal. Teo did the same sort of thing slap in the middle of In A Silent Way and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. And let's not even get started on what Teo did to the live Cellar Door material on Live-Evil and Miles at Fillmore. Talk about heavy-handed!

Listen: Nevermind the so-called purists and nay-sayers. If they understood the process used to create the original works, they wouldn't be complaining. This CD is terrific! Especially the second suite with Black Satin, What If, and Agharta Dub - ah, and Rated-X gets a new treatment that I feel is actually BETTER than the mix we got on Get Up With It. The band's "stop-starts" where the band is repeatedly edited out and replaced with that evil-sounding organ aren't nearly as heavy handed as those Teo created in that piece. If you are a fan of this period of Miles' music, fear not. Don't worry about purchasing something you already have, Laswell's edits are completely different than Teo's so you ARE going to hear something new... sort of.

I think somethings missing.......2007-03-09

Well I dont know, this album was just not doing it for me. The complete absence of music was maybe it....maybe. It was like background music, and Miles forgot to play his trumpet over it. Theres not much on here except airy and repititous nothingness. Sorry guys.

Mr. no original talent does it again.......2007-01-15

Do yourself a favor and get the real thing! A real travesty!

Nothing New In The Mix.......2006-07-17

It was a novel idea to take the choice original tracks from the electric phase of Miles Davis and put a new spin on the music with the emerging studio technology. The problem is the "new" cuts do nothing to enhance the legacy left by Davis as a pioneer in the creation of fusion.

Davis was not a musician to look back on what he played in the studio or on stage. There is no doubt that Bill Laswell was heavily influenced by the Davis of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

And this is where there is a great divide...Panthalassa is nothing more than a mix-tape that says more about Laswell than the musical context in which the pieces were originally produced. Essentially, there could have been numerous artists given the opportunity to put their signature on the music and there still would be the dilemma of diminishing the vision of Miles.

I strongly urge those interested in this rich period of Davis's creativity to purchase the studio and live material produced at that time before delving into Panthalassa.

Deep and intriguing.................................2006-02-11

If you appreciate Miles' electric period stuff, than you will really love this re-translation, Combining works from "In a Silent Way", "On the corner", "Agharta" and "Get up with it" and re-remixing them into a cohesive whole may sound a bit Haphazard but it works so well. Embracing all of Miles eclectical forms, Laswell really let's Miles and his band shine and he brings empasis and structure to "He loved him Madly", from "Get up with it" , that captures Miles in a seriously beautiful melancholy that is evident from his lyrical, colorful playing and the ominous dissonance that pervades the track. This cd hasn't left my rotation for 10 years and I never stop turning people on to it. You will miss out if you don't check it out! One of my absolute best cd's.

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