Yet another reissue of some songs that were previously released on 10" LPs. Vol. 1 compiles the entirety of Young Man With A Horn and Volume 2 (the 1953 version, NOT the 1956 one). However, this time around there's literally nothing to say about it. Where the other reissue showed reworkings of the track placement, oftentimes making the album feel more whole and making the songs much more impressive, Vol. 1 just doesn't do that. You get Volume 2 playing in its entirety with very minor ... read more

By this point in time, it was clear that Miles had perfected a sound. It was still a little bit aways from the sound we all know and love that would make up the majority of his classic run, but it was a nice, pleasant, enjoyable sound nonetheless. Davis' first album with his new quintet, comprising of John Coltrane on tenor sax, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums, is one filled mainly with covers. The album was made more to push him a little further to ... read more

Dig compiles tracks that he recorded during a 1951 session, most of which previously appeared on The New Sounds and Blue Period. If Dig shows us anything, it's just how underappreciated these early Miles Davis recordings actually are.

Dig may still be far from being amongst Miles' top works, but let's be real here, this album is purely good jazz. Maybe it's not the innovative jazz of the '60s and '70s that he's known for, and it is very conventional bebop, but that doesn't make these songs any ... read more

Blue Moods is the first major sign of what was to come. Sure, some previous releases from Miles gave little hints at just how good he could be, but very few up until now had a single moment that showed his skill both on his trumpet and his leadership, let alone showing it for a full album. Blue Moods may be a bit short for a 12" LP release, but what it does give us is more than enough content for any jazz fan to fall in love with.

With a few big names helping him, namely Charles Mingus on ... read more

Malneezy is slowly but surely becoming his own. I wouldn't say Bipolar does anything wholly original, but what it does do it does well. The production in particular really has me impressed, with it sounding so rich and at times really beautiful. The album as a whole is really likeable, though there are still a few snoozers scattered throughout. In general the first half was much more consistent, with the first five tracks in particular being a non-stop run of really good song after really good ... read more

You're definitely heading in the right direction with your sound. What you're previous three albums desperately needed was more experimentation, something to really stick it out from the rest, and Falling In Line does that. The sound is much more interesting and unique. But, like many others have said before me, you really need to work on your song structure. Some of these tracks are definite competitors for your best songs yet, with Tear Me Apart really impressing me and both Jumpstart and ... read more

Miles Davis' first album released on 12" LP, and it shows close to no growth in his sound.

Honestly, I'm very conflicted on The Musings Of Miles. It's clear that the quartet gave very good performances, and you can hear those hints of what's to come in Davis' trumpet playing, but damn is it boring. It's so damn similar to everything that preceded it that you just have to wonder when exactly was it that Miles realized that he should fully change his sound so that he's more like himself. ... read more

Another reissue of content made during the 10" LP days, Bags' Groove compiles the tracks from Miles Davis With Sonny Rollins and the first half of All Stars Volume 1, plus alternate takes of the title track and But Not For Me, and makes yet another solid compilation.

This is definitely the peak of Davis' performing and musicianship in his earlier career. While I wouldn't say it's better than Birth Of The Cool or Blue Haze, it's certainly up there as one of his earliest greats. The track ... read more

Miles Davis' final release on 10" LP, and the second and final part to this short lived series, and unsurprisingly it's just more of the same. However, where Volume 1 had Bags' Groove to make up for an otherwise forgettable and conventional jazz album, Volume 2 is just the exact same thing that you've heard a dozen times in his early career.

While both tracks presented here are a pleasant listen that rarely get dull, the album as a whole just feels pointless. Where Vol. 1 at least had ... read more

This is unfortunately a case of massively wasted potential. All Stars Vol. 1 is an album that only includes two 10+ minute long tracks, one of which is fantastic, the other of which is really generic and underwhelming.

Whenever you make an album like this, an album that is both short in its run time and in its track listing, you NEED to make sure that both tracks are of a similar quality. If you don't, you end up with something like All Stars Vol. 1, where the quality is so off-balance that ... read more

You would think that an album involving two soon-to-be jazz legends and innovators would be a little more powerful and have a little more oomph than what it actually does, but in the grand scheme of things the album isn't bad.

Despite its name suggesting a collaboration between the two, there really isn't anything different about this album from the rest of Davis' prior output. It's not like Rollins didn't help Miles in the past, as he has worked on a few tracks on previous albums. Honestly, ... read more

Neil Young perfectly encapsulates what it's like to be on the beach on a dreary day, with a contrast of upbeat instrumentals and bleak lyrics.

Honestly, I'm really struggling to get a solid grasp of this album. I've been listening to this multiple times a day for the past couple of days now and I still don't have a solid understanding of it. This album is so unique in its presentation, with a lot of the songs sounding very cheery but having lyrics that are the exact opposite of that, and it ... read more

Another album that is nothing more than a reissue of earlier tracks to make up for the fact that 10" LPs had been discontinued and that they had to adapt to 12" LPs. Walkin' compiles the two tracks from All-Star Sextet on the A-side and two of the tracks from Quintet on the B-side, and closing off with another song recorded during those sessions which was previously unreleased.

As you would expect from a compilation of tracks from albums that are so drastically different in their ... read more

Miles Davis Quintet is far from being as bad as some are going to have you believe, but let's be real here, no matter how much of a hardcore Davis or jazz fan you are, there's no way you're going to seriously be considering this as being an essential album in either his discography or the jazz canon as a whole.

I'll be the first to say that Quintet isn't that bad. Hell, it's actually pretty good. The playing is good (though not quite Davis' best, and actually fairly disappointing considering ... read more

Two side-long tracks make up Miles Davis All-Star Sextet, and both are pretty damn underappreciated if you ask me.

Sure, at the end of the day this is just another conventional hard bop record from Davis before he started experimenting around and finding his own sound, but come on now. When you have Blue 'N' Boogie, a fast-paced, energetic, endlessly entertaining song, and Walkin', one of Davis' earliest classics and a surprisingly engaging tune considering its thirteen minute run time, how ... read more

Essentially just a reissue and rearrangement of Davis' 1954 album, Miles Davis Quartet, but with the inclusion of one extra track, I'll Remember April.

You're probably noticing the score difference between the two albums and wondering to yourself "If they're essentially just the same albums, why is it that this one is rated higher?" Honestly, the reason is that this new track arrangement is so much better. I feel like track placement is something that isn't talked about enough when ... read more

Miles gathers a quartet and makes the first album in his discography that I'd argue deserves classic status but hasn't gotten it yet.

Quartet is honestly a really good album. Sure, it ain't no Kind Of Blue or Bitches Brew or even Birth Of The Cool, but most of the songs on here are genuinely great. This is a record that just keeps on giving with each new listen, constantly growing on you. Regardless of how dull or generic you thought a song was first time round, chances are it's going to grow ... read more

Neil Young's most famous album, his highest selling, his most recognizable, and one of those albums that are always brought up in the conversation for greatest albums of all time. Harvest definitely has a lot to live up to. If you've even heard Young's name mentioned before, then you've likely heard two album's being named, those being After The Gold Rush and Harvest. And while one of these lives up to the hype all too well, the other can be a little disappointing.

Now, I'm not going to sit ... read more

After hearing Vol. 2, I was hoping that that was the start of Miles' more inspired works, in which he would begin to do nothing but show off his talents and write good songs leading up to his first major classics. Unfortunately, Vol. 3 doesn't really do anything to prove that's the case, because, even though the talent is there, the songs themselves are so tiresome and redundant that I can't help but lose focus really quickly.

Vol. 3 is a mixed bag if anything. The two cover songs on here are ... read more

Neil Young made the best country album ever, and it's questionable whether it is a country album or not.

What even is there to say about After The Gold Rush anymore? If you like folk, singer-songwriter, and even country, then this album should be one you're already very familiar with. Every track on here are essentials to each of these genres, and some of the most brilliantly-written and pleasant-sounding tracks you're going to hear from Young.

After The Gold Rush shows Neil taking the ... read more