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Miles Davis Complete Sessions Box Sets being Reissued

Engels said:
The collector in me fancies the whole metal spine series (I have 3 so far) and the trumpet case thing would have been mine but didnt offer a UK shipment price when it came out as I recall.
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I’ve done just that. Now I’m pretty certain these are the original collectable issues and the price is so good I went back and ordered the other five even though I’ve got the reissued versions. It’s some of my favourite music on the planet, plus my old ones will give me some great record shop stock once they turn up, so why not?
 
Tony L said:
I’ve done just that. Now I’m pretty certain these are the original collectable issues and the price is so good I went back and ordered the other five even though I’ve got the reissued versions. It’s some of my favourite music on the planet, plus my old ones will give me some great record shop stock once they turn up, so why not?
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For some reason it’s only just occurred to me that my Bitches Brew is an original (dated 1998 on page 148 of the booklet) if you want to compare notes! You would have to tell me how to find a matrix number, though.
 
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My OTC box is still nowhere to be seen, lost in the system somewhere due to a PayPal addressing issue. So, envious. Might order another one while I still can.

Here's something even more indulgent. I ordered an excerpt of the IASW sessions on vinyl, even though I already have the CD box, and the CDs sound excellent. I just really like records.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Z316YP9/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

Amazon link for the site finances, but you can get it cheaper elsewhere.
 
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Seanm said:
Might order another one while I still can.
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I’d be inclined to do that. As stated I’m all but convinced these are the original issues, so if your initial order does turn up and you end up with two you’ll not have any issue flipping it in a year or two once these are long gone, and likely at a good profit.
 
Seanm said:
My OTC box is still nowhere to be seen, lost in the system somewhere due to a PayPal addressing issue. So, envious. Might order another one while I still can.

Here's something even more indulgent. I ordered an excerpt of the IASW sessions on vinyl, even though I already have the CD box, and the CDs sound excellent. I just really like records.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Z316YP9/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

Amazon link for the site finances, but you can get it cheaper elsewhere.
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Had a look at that and ended up buying this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TCAM9EO/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

Having said that, I'm not massively familiar with his work and although I've listened to a lot of his stuff of all the ones on the Miles Davis store site, if I had to buy one of the sessions, which should it be????
 
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scotty38 said:
Had a look at that and ended up buying this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TCAM9EO/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

Having said that, I'm not massively familiar with his work and although I've listened to a lot of his stuff of all the ones on the Miles Davis store site, if I had to buy one of the sessions, which should it be????
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Me I’d go for In a Silent Way, as it’s the most distinct from the LP that came out of it while being an absolutely coherent, essential listen in its own right, with little sense of repetition. Having said that I’ve yet to hear OTC in full, and a lot will depend on your favourite Miles style.
 
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scotty38 said:
Having said that, I'm not massively familiar with his work and although I've listened to a lot of his stuff of all the ones on the Miles Davis store site, if I had to buy one of the sessions, which should it be????
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I’d buy the core works first. The Complete Sessions boxes are really for those who know and love the albums as originally released. The problem for the beginner is they are all ‘core works’, he made 70-80 albums, maybe more! He changed style so much that it is hard to recommend a starting point. The 40th Anniversary Bitches Brew is very good and will certainly give an indication as to whether that electric period (In A Silent Way through to Agharta/Pangea) is an area you want to deep-dive. For me it is, I just love that whole dark and visceral funk fusion thing he did.
 
Thanks both will have another look then. I have Bitches Brew already plus a few others just couldn't resist the 40th when I saw it pop up. I guess the reason for wanting to get one or two of the complete sessions was just down to the fact they may not be available in the not too distant future.
 
Just ordered the Complete Seven Steps & Complete Bitches Brew Sessions. I wasn't going to go for the Complete Seven Steps but it's too good an opportunity and I'll only have regrets later when they become super rare. I'll now have the complete set of sessions :)
 
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Well I ordered On The Corner and In a Silent Way. Listened to them again a fair bit this afternoon on Qobuz so here we go.....
 
Marchbanks said:
For some reason it’s only just occurred to me that my Bitches Brew is an original (dated 1998 on page 148 of the booklet) if you want to compare notes! You would have to tell me how to find a matrix number, though.
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Ok, matrix number is the stuff in the centre of the silver side of the disc. For my Bitches Brew disc one it is DIDP-095888 K4 1C 14.

This may not be conclusive as I’ve no idea if there was a European pressing of this issue. Mine will be the US one. Some of the later reissues certainly exist in different forms depending where they are from. The mastering is all unchanged though.
 
I'm trying to show some restraint here - especially as I'm bingeing on Tone Poets at the moment and value my marriage...

I have a few of the steel spine boxes ( Cellar Door, OTC, Seven Steps) and have to confess that, much like the Bootleg series ( I've all of these) I rarely play them - and I play some Miles pretty much every day, mainly vinyl or the final versions of the records on CD. I do play the long box 63-68 Quintet regularly - that, and the long box Complete Prestige sessions, is my go to box for any long car journey. The boxes are beautiful things but there's almost too much music on them. The unedited session tend to make me appreciate the genius of Teo Macero as much as the genius of Miles.

I am tempted by the steel spine 63-68 box but it is the same CDs as I've already got and the CDs are sometimes buggers to get out of the steel spine boxes and impossible when I'm driving.

I'm aware, while typing this, that some may think "he plays CDs in the car?" I've not yet got round to updating my old VW so it plays music from my phone!
 
Tony L said:
Ok, matrix number is the stuff in the centre of the silver side of the disc. For my Bitches Brew disc one it is DIDP-095888 K4 1C 14.
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Mine is DIDP-095888 G4 1B 01 then further round and too small to read without a magnifying glass, IFPI L424. It could have come from the US or Europe, I don’t remember. On the back page of the booklet there are a couple of US contact phone numbers, but I’m sure that doesn’t prove anything.
 
Interesting. I certainly think yours is a US too (EU don’t seem to use the DIDP prefix), so that certainly suggests there was is than one pressing. I couldn’t make out the IFPI number, other than, bizarrely, it had two that looked differenf (one in the matrix, one stamped further towards the centre). I don’t understand that as it is a pressing plant identifier/piracy prevention, so one would expect there only to be the one!

All this is inconclusive, I just don’t know enough about CD identification beyond a few very well known and collectable disks to interpret it accurately.
 
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Tony,

It is typical to have 2 IFPI numbers. The one in the silver data layer indicates the master while the one on the plastic layer indicates the printing plant, I believe. The DIDP is something else, probably indicates the edition or print run.

BTW my copy which I got decades ago show different IFPI and DIDP numbers from you guys.

Tony L said:
Interesting. I certainly think yours is a US too (EU don’t seem to use the DIDP prefix), so that certainly suggests there was is than one pressing. I couldn’t make out the IFPI number, other than, bizarrely, it had two that looked differenf (one in the matrix, one stamped further towards the centre). I don’t understand that as it is a pressing plant identifier/piracy prevention, so one would expect there only to be the one!

All this is inconclusive, I just don’t know enough about CD identification beyond a few very well known and collectable disks to interpret it accurately.
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