advertisement


Miles Davis Complete Sessions Box Sets being Reissued

Tony L said:
My main issue with both is neither include the original mix of the album. The two-track master tape apparently fell apart, hence the remix from the multitrack, but a very good earlier digital copy of the original mix does exist. This is thankfully present in the huge 71 CD ‘Complete Columbia Albums’ (IIRC it’s in the much smaller ‘Perfect Miles Davis Collection’ box too) and I think is taken from an early Japanese CD issue, it is very good, a little more grungy and opaque, but that is exactly what this album should be. The remix is very good and I understand why some even prefer it, but for me it cleans it up a little too much. BB is a lovely fuzzy grungy thing! They really should have included the original in one of the two dedicated boxes at least.
Click to expand...
I have the Japanese Mastersound version which I think is the one you are referring to Tony. Yes, quite a difference between this and the one on 'The Complete'. Worth hearing though. I think the Mastersound wins for the reasons you state.
 
Tony L said:
No. The mastering of the actual album (actually a remix) is the same, but the other content is different. The ‘Complete Bitches Brew’ box is somewhat controversial as basically it isn’t, it is more some vaguely similar sessions from around that general time-frame, which are all great material, but they aren’t directly connected to BB. It is not like In A Silent Way, Jack Johnson, OTC in that it appears to have been played live rather than assembled from multiple sessions in a cut ‘n’ shut Stockhausen style by Teo Macero, so it’s a different type of box set really. The Anniversary Edition is rather more on-topic as it has some live material and a concert DVD, though, as ever, the correct answer is that you want both if you really love the album.

My main issue with both is neither include the original mix of the album. The two-track master tape apparently fell apart, hence the remix from the multitrack, but a very good earlier digital copy of the original mix does exist. This is thankfully present in the huge 71 CD ‘Complete Columbia Albums’ (IIRC it’s in the much smaller ‘Perfect Miles Davis Collection’ box too) and I think is taken from an early Japanese CD issue, it is very good, a little more grungy and opaque, but that is exactly what this album should be. The remix is very good and I understand why some even prefer it, but for me it cleans it up a little too much. BB is a lovely fuzzy grungy thing! They really should have included the original in one of the two dedicated boxes at least.
Click to expand...

Do you happen to know what year the the best BB is? I know it’s on my hard-drive, but I’m wondering if it’s also on Qobuz. There’s one thats hi-res Columbia Legacy 1970, a vanilla one of 1992, the deluxe version from 2010, as well as the complete BB!
 
Marchbanks said:
My copies of On The Corner and Seven Steps were ordered on June 8, when both were ‘In Stock.’ Since then my order has yo-yoed between ‘In Progress’ and an ever-advancing dispatch date. I asked three weeks ago what ‘In Progress’ meant and swiftly (ie a fortnight later) was told my order was currently ‘in fulfillment in the warehouse’ which conjured up some very strange images. But they say it will be dispatched soon. Maybe. I think they have studied at the Made By Knock school of customer service. (A little joke for those who have waited months for coffee grinders.)
Click to expand...
I finally received a generic email today reaching out to me because my purchasing experience still remained unfulfilled or some such pettifogging nonsense.
 
lordsummit said:
Do you happen to know what year the the best BB is? I know it’s on my hard-drive, but I’m wondering if it’s also on Qobuz. There’s one thats hi-res Columbia Legacy 1970, a vanilla one of 1992, the deluxe version from 2010, as well as the complete BB!
Click to expand...

The one I have is in the Complete Columbia Albums Collection, so will be track listings and timings of disk 33; (39/40) here on Discogs. It sounds a little more organic and mushy in a really good way than the remix, plus there are slight differences in the delay/echo settings at some points as this was done live at mixdown on the original mix. My guess would be they used tape delay originally and a digital emulation on the remix, though they may have used tape for authenticity, I don’t know. The remix is really good, I'm not knocking it as it does bring some clarity and insight, but I do personally prefer the original. There is also a quadrophonic vinyl mix, which is different again and I do actually have, but I can obviously only play it in stereo (note to self: need more Tannoys).
 
Tony L said:
The one I have is in the Complete Columbia Albums Collection, so will be track listings and timings of disk 33; (39/40) here on Discogs. It sounds a little more organic and mushy in a really good way than the remix, plus there are slight differences in the delay/echo settings at some points as this was done live at mixdown on the original mix. My guess would be they used tape delay originally and a digital emulation on the remix, though they may have used tape for authenticity, I don’t know. The remix is really good, I'm not knocking it as it does bring some clarity and insight, but I do personally prefer the original. There is also a quadrophonic vinyl mix, which is different again and I do actually have, but I can obviously only play it in stereo (note to self: need more Tannoys).
Click to expand...

More Tannoys definitely. Close up one of the doorways, knock through the two rooms, it’d be more than possible.

Looks like the Qobuz hi-res is the same as the box-set, happy days. The Legacy mix on Qobuz is a bit dark and dingy, it sounds a bit compressed to me. I then trusted my ears and compared the hi-res to the complete box-set, it would seem to be the same master for sure.
 
Reappraised my opinion, the hi-res is different. The timings are the same, but it’s much less dynamically constrained. It’s considerably quieter than the complete version, and less fat sounding. Easier to pull apart. Interestingly the track timings are the same. Not sure which I prefer, although I tend to get drawn into the hi-res version more, the full weird funkiness of the piece is on show. I find the complete version a little obscured. Very interesting.
 
Seeker_UK said:
I presume this version is the remix with digital reverb?

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew 40th Anniversary Collectors Edition.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TCAM9EO/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

At £16 for 4 discs seems good value
Click to expand...

Yes, that’s the remix, as is the earlier Complete Bitches Brew box. I may be wrong but I think the only way to get the good mastering of the original mix is the big Complete Columbia Albums box and its Perfect Miles Collection subset. I don’t know what drops through the door if you just order the current bog standard CD from Amazon. I’ve no idea what MoFi used either, though their Miles Davis reissue series seems universally liked.

PS That 40th box is certainly well worth a punt, it is very good and the DVD is great. There was at one stage a big lavish version with some vinyl in it, though I’ve no idea what version was on the records.
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Tony L said:
Yes, that’s the remix, as is the earlier Complete Bitches Brew box. I may be wrong but I think the only way to get the good mastering of the original mix is the big Complete Columbia Albums box and its Perfect Miles Collection subset
Click to expand...

See my post #105. Steve Hoffman's crew think that the '96 black-face Sony Mastersound 'Mini LP' is as good as it gets for Red Book original mix. I have to agree, it's the one I have and it's ace.
R-1679080-1328390324.jpeg.jpg
R-1679080-1467320157-1093.jpeg.jpg

Sadly long OOP but cheap to get hold of.
 
I’m pretty certain that is the digital source for the Complete Columbia Albums version, albeit with a couple of additional tracks added. It was established on the huge, huge thread on the box set when it was first issued (and when I bought it).
 
mikechadwick said:
I ordered Seven Steps & Bitches Brew on 10th June and they shipped on 8th July by "expedited" delivery. With a bit of luck they might turn up in a week or so.
Click to expand...
Have they arrived yet? My boxes left America nearly three weeks ago and that’s where APC lose interest in tracking them, so I have no idea where they are. I hope they are in a warehouse decontaminating rather than being scrutinised by a beady-eyed customs official tapping on his calculator.
 
If you take the international tracking number on the APC site, the one that starts with two letters and ends in US, you can enter that on the Parcel Force site for further tracking. My big order is in limbo somewhere between the US and UK, so likely bracing itself for the Bottom Inspectors at customs. I got away with the last one, likely thanks to covid 19, but I’m expecting to pay tax on this one...
 
Tony L said:
If you take the international tracking number on the APC site, the one that starts with two letters and ends in US, you can enter that on the Parcel Force site for further tracking. My big order is in limbo somewhere between the US and UK, so likely bracing itself for the Bottom Inspectors at customs. I got away with the last one, likely thanks to covid 19, but I’m expecting to pay tax on this one...
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I don’t have one of those, mine is APC followed by 19 digits. I’ve tried using it on the APC UK site, which refuses it.

Yes, I was hoping to sneak mine in under the Covid radar too. I wasn’t expecting ‘in stock’ items (they obviously weren’t) to take over two months.
 
Marchbanks said:
Unfortunately I don’t have one of those, mine is APC followed by 19 digits. I’ve tried using it on the APC UK site, which refuses it.
Click to expand...

Are you sure? On the apc-pli.com for me there is a ‘YOUR PACKAGE’ section just beneath the logo and above the current tracking info with a different tracking number in the format I describe. This being a different number to the ‘Packing ID’ lower down.
 
Yes, the ‘your package’ section for me contains the APC+19 digit no., then ‘local carrier’ below that and ‘APC’ below that. Clicking on that APC reloads the same tracking page. Looks like I’m not getting mine via Parcelforce (the tracking no. format you describe is recognizably a PF one) - that’s why I assumed it would come via APC UK, who deny all knowledge.
 
Marchbanks said:
Have they arrived yet? My boxes left America nearly three weeks ago and that’s where APC lose interest in tracking them, so I have no idea where they are. I hope they are in a warehouse decontaminating rather than being scrutinised by a beady-eyed customs official tapping on his calculator.
Click to expand...
Yes they arrived on 26th July - via the Netherlands so no import duty. I paid for "Express' but not sure if that made any difference.
 
By that timescale I suppose I shouldn’t be moaning. Nineteen days so far and I didn’t pay for Express Delivery.
 
Oooh, mines now in the UK awaiting customs clearance!

PS I played the SQ4 quadrophonic vinyl of Bitches Brew earlier, I was given a copy a while back by a kind pfm member and hadn’t spent anything like as much time with it as it deserves. It is very different! Obviously I can’t hear it in quad as I don’t have the kit, but the whole mix, echo effects etc are very different. An interesting record!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top