Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Dark Force:



For people who have a spark of curiosity about the legendary music of Miles Davis, knowing where to begin the search can be a frustrating issue. With a back catalogue as vast as a small continent, figuring out where to start and where to go can be tricky; especially considering the many phases of Miles' long and adventurous career. He spawned many followers and imitators and made many enemies along the way. a larger than life figure who would dominate the jazz scene for decades and whose music still holds power and brilliance even to this day.

AGHARTA is a savage snarling primal beast of an album who has dipped his entire body in some kind of hallucinogenic potion and is dealing out tarot cards while ringing up the devil on a direct line. Seriously, some of this music on AGHARTA is so intense that it is frightening. It's beyond the ideas played out in BITCHES BREW and it's certainly nowhere near the funk of James Brown or Funkadelic. It's like the party in funk music has been overshadowed by a dark strange force that has got your ears in a stranglehold. The music on these nights has ripped open a little hole in the fabric of the serenity and little pockets of hell are seeping out.

The direction in music on this night in Osaka, Japan on February 1st, 1975 is dirty and hungry and just doesn't give a damn what you think! The drums flow like a river of blood and only stop to let the organ make a few stabs into the air, the it's back to the onslaught. When it's time for their solo the guitars creep up like distant radio waves transmitted from an outer space swamp. The bass slides around and stalks you like a panther, and the trumpet seems to scream and pitch out a fierce cry that rallies the troops to continue. When you've finally gotten to the last 20 minutes of Agharta, you find yourself floating restlessly in that undersea world pictured on the back cover. You've somehow survived the night, but you'll never be the same again.


*This is a classic EPIC album! One of my all time favorites! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!*

8 comments:

ksn said...

this may well have been the most intriguing write-up of any music on any blog i've read all year. with an intro like that, this is moth to flame, pretty much irresitable. thx from nyc,
ksn

jAy @ jApAn said...

thanks ksn! let me know what you think after you've had time to absorb this beast. cheers.

Brother Nature said...

I'm only 5 minutes into the Disc 2 track and I now know what I'll be listening to on my all day drive tomorrow.
Seriously insane!

And I was just telling someone how little I know about Miles Davis' catalog... I'll now start at 1975 and move in both directions from there!
Thank you sir

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

an excellent posting. but from what i understand, all of agharta was recorded in the afternoon, with miles' evening performance being packaged separately as "pangaea." would you happen to have that sister album as well?

Jack Celliers said...

Being a genius, Miles Davies had his ups and downs, but this sounds great. And as you said: a very good way to have a first grasp at MD's music.

Anonymous said...

if you dig this album

go for these next


pangaea
dark magus
big fun
get up with it
in concert:live at philarmonic hall
on the corner
a tribute to jack johnson

rkipp said...

Thanks very much for this!