c h r [s] r h c (abstract@surfshop.net.ph)
Sun, 25 Apr 1999 16:59:13 +0800
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>Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 04:16:07 EDT
>Reply-To: Discussion of Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis & his vast musical
career <MILES@NIC.SURFNET.NL>
>Sender: Discussion of Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis & his vast musical
career <MILES@NIC.SURFNET.NL>
>From: Patrick Brown <Nervenet@AOL.COM>
>Subject: Preview from the retail front
>To: MILES@NIC.SURFNET.NL
>
>Dear list -
> I thought I would pass on some impressions of a couple promos I got
>this week from work, the primary one being "Panthalassa - The Remixes" (due
>for release, according to the cover, on May 25th.)
> The promo I got of it is six tracks long, two of which were put out
>on vinyl a few months back (the two "Rated X" mixes), and one of the new ones
>will apparently be released only on vinyl (and promo copies of the CD,
>obviously). Those who did not enjoy the original Panthalassa because they
>thought that Laswell was tampering with masterworks are likely to find even
>more displeasure in this one. Basic tracks are taken by the DJ's and then
>pared away, often to just one or two elements of the original being in use,
>and then added to heavy dance beats. The music, even though billed as "Miles
>Davis/Various DJ's" might as well be titled as a compilation featuring
>samples of Miles's music.
> Right now, a King Britt/Philip Charles mix of "Sssh" is playing, and
>the beats they've added reduce the effectiveness of the Miles solo by making
>many of the rhythmic accents of the original tape irrelevant to their new
>context. On the plus side, it's nicely atmospheric (a different ambiance from
>the original, for sure) and I do like their beats, even if I don't love them.
> Track 2 is Doc Scott's remix of "Rated X," done as a drum & bass
>styled track. Given the harder, more abrasive nature of the original, this
>pairing is a good fit for my ears, although this is the example I had in mind
>when mentioning that sometimes very few elements of the original versions of
>songs find their way into contemporary remixes. By the 2 1/2 minute mark,
>Scott has largely jettisoned Miles's track for his own new material.
> DJ Cam, who has previously found use for Miles samples within his
>music, remixes "In A Silent Way" in a hip-hop style (no rap, lest you worry).
>I enjoyed this OK, and was pleased to find that he didn't get into "It's
>About That Time," which I love, but wouldn't really fit with what I know of
>DJ Cam's stuff since it has its own rhythmic logic and dynamic drive to
>follow (and so does IASW, but it's certainly more ethereal and more adaptable
>to appropriation in this fashion).
> Bill Laswell manhandles "On the Corner" tapes once again, working
>first with "Black Satin," which is more what I imagined "Panthalassa" being
>like in the first place. Laswell's piece is denser than the others I've heard
>here and requires more listening on my part to give much of an assessment. On
>thing's for sure, it sounds to my ears to be pretty damn close to the
>original stuff (there may be no newly recorded material at all on this track,
>or it's done very close to the original if so) and also pretty damn close to
>some of what Laswell's done that I've enjoyed, which only shows again what a
>huge influence Miles music of this era was on Laswell and what an affinity he
>has for it. Segments from all over the album are remixed to coalesce together
>- garnett's (?) sax from the latter half of the album over drums from early
>on and handclaps from "Black Satin." This piece flows very nicely for me and
>is probably my favorite thing on the record, and at that, probably because
>it's closest to the "real thing." A nice distillation of this album into its
>essence.
> Next track is Jamie Myerson's mix of "Rated X," also given a drum &
>bass treatment. Unlike Doc Scott's mix, Myerson retains the original bassline
>and structures his song around it, but the rest of the original tapes are
>reduced to sound effects implemented at will for this mix. This doesn't go
>anywhere for quite a while and is for my tastes the least appealing thing on
>the record.
> The to-be-released-on-vinyl-only track is DJ Krush's mix of "Black
>Satin/On the Corner." I like this one very much, and Krush puts in practice
>the idea that someone (J.J. Johnson I believe, unless my memory is faultier
>that I already know it is) once said of Miles's 70's era trumpet playing -
>take away the context, take away the effects and what you'll hear is just the
>same old Miles. While the effects don't go away, you do get to hear how Miles
>played around with space without some other alien sound effect coming in to
>fill every crevice he left open. Krush even fits himself into the mix with
>some subtle scratching near the end. After the Laswell mix, probably my
>favorite off the bat, and given that he takes the stuff further out than
>Laswell, it may well take the top spot before long.
> The other disc I got is a sampler of the upcoming Captain Beefheart
>box set, and given how often his name seems to crop up here I thought it of
>interest to the "sad jazz spanners" amongst us who take note of such things.
>It's a 5 disc retrospective of the Captain's career from 1965-1982, with a
>good majority of the material being previously unreleased. Live cuts, demos,
>worktapes, and "house" tapes (meaning the house the Beefheart and band lived
>in during the "Trout Mask replica" era, I think) are the bulk of the set, and
>perhaps even all of it as I understand things. For me, it's weighted too
>heavily towards early stuff (the 26-track sampler features maybe 5 pieces
>recorded after 1976), but I'm sure that those who prefer "Trout Mask Replica"
>to "Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" (which is not represented at all on the
>promo) will not be disappointed. I won't either based on what I've listened
>to so far, but I still wish there was more along the lines of later material
>like the "Vampire Suite" which contains several snippets of pieces connected
>to "Making Love to a Vampire With a Monkey on my Knee" and has already aided
>into my understanding of the song. Of course, if the rest of the set proves
>as helpful in my "getting" "Trout Mask" as "Vampire Suite" was in the other
>song in question, I may well end up prefering "Trout Mask" to "Shiny Beast"
>in the long run. The 5CD/3LP set (don't ask me, and no it's not a typo) is
>due out May 18th, but on the Revenant (CD) and Table of the Elements (LP)
>labels, so it may not be all that easy to find.
> If you have questions about either of these, please feel free to
>email me.
>Patrick M. Brown
>Nervenet@aol.com
c hri s
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