Bitches Brew boxed set

The album that brought Miles Davis, one of the greatest jazz musicians of his era, into the "rock" world. It sold more than 500,000 copies and infuriated jazz purists the world over. This lavishly-designed 4 CD set brings together all of the music from the original 2 LP set, originally released in 1970, with more than 2 CDs' worth of material recorded around those original sessions. It includes extensive notes, discography and more than 80 minutes' worth of music that's never been released. The original Bitches Brew, I've always thought, was as much a product of producer Teo Macero's "post-production" as it was the band's playing. And interestingly, the original edits are left in place, meaning there are no great revelations to be had from this set, other than the usually superb digital remixing we've come to expect from major-label reissues.

The most fascinating bonus in the set for me was the editing information for the first track on the album, the 20 minute "Pharoah's Dance." As a recording engineer and long-time fan of the track, I always heard many of the tape edits that were done before the days of digital workstations. However, it was enlightening to follow along with what they accomplished back then.

This is a landmark album, and this reissue is worth the money, and your time.