Monday, March 30, 1970

Miles Davis Bitches Brew released

Bitches Brew

Miles Davis


Recorded: August 19-21, 1969 and January 28, 1970


Released: March 30, 1970


Charted: May 16, 1970


Peak: 35 US, 71 UK


Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK


Genre: free jazz


Tracks:

  1. Pharaoh’s Dance
  2. Bitches Brew
  3. Spanish Key
  4. John McLaughlin
  5. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down
  6. Sanctuary


Total Running Time: 93:57


The Players:

  • Miles Davis (trumpet)
  • Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone)
  • Bernie Maupin (bass clarinet)
  • Joe Zawinful, Larry Young, and Chick Corea (electric piano)
  • John McLaughlin (electric guitar)
  • Dave Holland (bass)
  • Harvey Brooks (electric bass)
  • Lenny White, Jack DeJohnette, and Billy Cobham (drums)
  • Don Alias, Juma Santos, and Airto Moreira (percussion)

Rating:

3.902 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings)


Quotable:

“The most revolutionary album in jazz history, having virtually created the genre known as jazz-rock fusion.” – Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

Bitches Brew is “thought by many to be the most revolutionary album in jazz history, having virtually created the genre known as jazz-rock fusion (for better or worse).” TJ “Jazz-rock fusion would get a well-deserved bad name in the Seventies for its self-indulgent noodling, but that wasn't how it started. Inspired by the visionary work of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly Stone, Miles Davis began incorporating funk grooves and electronic instruments into his music – first with the languid, contemplative In a Silent Way (still so cool that it was recently sampled by Diddy), and then on…Bitches Brew.” TL

“Being the jazz album to most influence rock and funk musicians, Bitches Brew is, by its very nature, mercurial.” TJ “Many called Miles a sell-out, but such critics obviously didn't listen to the album's complex, hypnotic cauldron of sound.” TL

“The original double LP included only six cuts and featured up to 12 musicians at any given time.” TJ Most “would go on to be high-level players in their own right” TJ as “virtually every major fusion star played on Brew – Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter,” TL “Joe Zawinul, …Airto, …Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Don Alias, Benny Maupin, Larry Young, Lenny White, and others.” TJ

“Originally thought to be a series of long jams locked into grooves around one or two keyboard, bass, or guitar figures, Bitches Brew is anything but. Producer Teo Macero had as much to do with the end product on Bitches Brew as Davis. Macero and Davis assembled, from splice to splice, section to section, much of the music recorded over three days in August 1969.” TJ

“First, there's the slow, modal, opening grooves of Pharaoh's Dance, with its slippery trumpet lines to McLaughlin's snaky guitar figures skirting the edge of the rhythm section and Don Alias' conga slipping through the middle. The keyboards of Corea and Zawinul create a haunting, riffing groove echoed and accented by the two basses of Harvey Brooks and Dave Holland.” TJ

“The title cut was originally composed as a five-part suite, though only three were used. Here the keyboards punch through the mix, big chords and distorted harmonics ring up a racket for Davis to solo over rhythmically outside the mode. McLaughlin is comping on fat chords, creating the groove, and the bass and drums carry the rest for a small taste of deep-voodoo funk.” TJ

“Side three opens with McLaughlin and Davis trading funky fours and eights over the lock-step groove of hypnotic proportion that is Spanish Key. Zawinul's trademark melodic sensibility provides a kind of chorus for Corea to flat around, and the congas and drummers working in complement against the basslines.” TJ

“This nearly segues into the four-and-a-half minute John McLaughlin, with its signature organ mode and arpeggiated blues guitar runs.” TJ

“The end of Bitches Brew, signified by the stellar Miles Runs the Voodoo Down, echoes the influence of Jimi Hendrix; with its chuck-and-slip chords and lead figures and Davis playing a ghostly melody through the shimmering funkiness of the rhythm section, it literally dances and becomes increasingly more chaotic until about nine minutes in, where it falls apart. Yet one doesn't know it until near the end, when it simmers down into smoke-and-ice fog once more.” TJ

“The disc closes with Sanctuary, a previously recorded Davis tune that is completely redone here as an electric moody ballad reworked for this band, but keeping enough of its modal integrity to be outside the rest of Bitches Brew's retinue.” TJ

Bitches Brew retains its freshness and mystery long after its original issue.” TJ


Notes:

“The CD reissue adds Feio, a track recorded early in 1970 with the same band. Unreleased – except on the box set of the complete sessions — ‘Feio’ has more in common with the exploratory music of the previous August than with later, more structured Davis music in the jazz-rock vein. A three-note bass vamp centers the entire thing as three different modes entwine one another, seeking a groove to bolt onto. It never finds it, but becomes its own nocturnal beast, offering ethereal dark tones and textures to slide the album out the door on.” TJ

Resources and Related Links:


First posted 5/27/2010; last updated 3/15/2024.

Friday, March 27, 1970

Mariah Carey was born. Her Top 40 Songs

Mariah Carey

Top 40 Songs

Pop singer born 3/27/1970 in Huntington, Long Island, NY. Irish-American and Black-Venezuelan parentage. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by the Guinness World Records, the 1990 Best New Artist Grammy winner is known for her five-octave vocal range. She is the only artist to have her first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and is second only to the Beatles with 19 total chart-toppers. Her songs "One Sweet Day" (1995) and "We Belong Together" (2005) rank in the top 10 biggest #1 songs in the history of the Billboard charts.

For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry.

Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists.

Awards:


Top 40 Songs


Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards.

1. We Belong Together (2005)
2. One Sweet Day (with Boyz II Men, 1995)
3. Vision of Love (1990)
4. Fantasy (1995)
5. Hero (1993)
6. Dreamlover (1993)
7. Without You (1993)
8. Always Be My Baby (1995)
9. Love Takes Time (1990)
10. Someday (1990)

11. Emotions (1991)
12. I’ll Be There (live, 1992)
13. When You Believe (with Whitney Houston, 1998)
14. Anytime You Need a Friend (1994)
15. Make It Happen (1991)
16. I Don’t Wanna Cry (1990)
17. Can’t Let Go (1991)
18. Touch My Body (2008)
19. My All (1998)
20. All I Want for Christmas Is You (1994)

21. I Still Believe (1999)
22. Endless Love (with Luther Vandross, (1994)
23. Honey (1997)
24. Shake It Off (2005)
25. Heartbreaker (with Jay-Z, 1999)
26. Don’t Forget about Us (2005)
27. Thank God I Found You (with Joe & 98 Degrees, 1999)
28. Butterfly (1997)
29. It’s Like That (with Fatman Scoop, 2005)
30. Loverboy (with Cameo, 2001)

31. I Know What You Want (with Busta Rhymes & the Flipmode Squad, 2003)
32. I Want to Know What Love Is (2009)
33. Breakdown (with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, 1997)
34. Obsessed (2009)
35. Through the Rain (2002)
36. Forever (1995)
37. Bye Bye (2008)
38. Crybaby (with Snoop Dogg, 1999)
39. U Make Me Wanna (with Jadakiss, 2004)
40. Never Too Far (2001)


Resources and Related Links:


First posted 3/27/2012; updated 6/5/2022.

Wednesday, March 11, 1970

CSNY released Déjà Vu

image from fineartamerica.com

Déjà Vu

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young


Released: March 11, 1970


Peak: 11 US, 5 UK, 1 CN, 12 AU


Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, -- UK, 13.5 world (includes US and UK)


Genre: folk rock/classic rock


Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Carry On/Questions (Stills) [4:25] (5 CL)
  2. Teach Your Children (Nash) [2:53] (6/6/70, 16 US, 16 CB, 16 HR, 28 AC, 4 CL, 8 CN, 11 AU)
  3. Almost Cut My Hair (Crosby) [4:25] (14 CL)
  4. Helpless (Young) [3:30] (31 CL)
  5. Woodstock (Mitchell) [3:52] (3/21/70, 11 US, 13 CB, 10 HR, 3 CL, 3 CN, 19 AU)
  6. Déjà Vu (Crosby) [4:10] (19 CL)
  7. Our House (Nash) [2:59] (9/19/70, 30 US, 20 CB, 20 HR, 20 AC, 9 CL, 13 CN, 51 AU)
  8. 4 + 20 (Stills) [1:55] (14 CL)
  9. Country Girl: Whiskey Boot Hill/Down, Down, Down/
    “Country Girl” (I Think You’re Pretty) (Young) [5:05]
  10. Everybody I Love You (Stills/Young) [2:20]


Total Running Time: 36:24


The Players:

  • David Crosby (vocals, rhythm guitar)
  • Stephen Stills (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, organ, piano, percussion)
  • Graham Nash (vocals, piano, organ, rhythm guitar, percussion)
  • Neil Young (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica)
  • Dallas Taylor (drums, tambourine)
  • Greg Reeves (bass)

Rating:

4.364 out of 5.00 (average of 30 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

When Crosby, Stills & Nash released their debut album in 1969, they effectively became one of the first supergroups. David Crosby had worked with The Byrds, Stephen Stills had been with Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash was previously in The Hollies. After their collaboration proved a success, the follow-up became “one of the most hotly awaited second albums in history.” AMG

The expectations were ratched up all the more by the addition of Neil Young, who had worked with Stills in Buffalo Springfield and already was off to a great start as a solo artist. He “transformed the folk-rock CSN into a powerhouse;” RS500 his presence “added to the level of virtuosity” AMG upped “the range of available voices,” AMG and “and added a uniquely idiosyncratic songwriter to the fold.” AMG In addition, he and Stills rose “to new levels of complexity and volume on their guitars.” AMG

However, egos and problems both emotional and relational made the recording of the sophomore effort difficult. With the exception of Carry On and the group’s take on Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock, most of the recording was done in individual sessions. AMG Through some 800 hours of work AMG thanks to continuous reworking of material CRS some members wondered if the album would ever be finished. CRS

However, the talents of the collective and “some very skilled production, engineering, and editing” AMG not only produced a second effort, but the group “have yet to follow it up with material and performances as powerful.” CRS In fact, the album has been called “one of the greatest folk-rock albums of all time.” RV

As far as individual achievements, “Teach Your Children, the major hit off the album, was a reflection of the hippie-era idealism that still filled Graham Nash’s life, while Our House was his stylistic paean to the late-era Beatles.” AMG

Stills paired Questions with the “vocal-choir gallop” RS500 of Carry On to make “it more substantial” AMG and 4 + 20 “was a gorgeous…blues excursion that was a precursor to the material he would explore on the solo album that followed.” AMG

Crosby delivered Almost Cut My Hair, “a piece of high-energy hippie-era paranoia not too far removed in subject from the Byrds’ ‘Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” AMG and the title track, which took some 100 hours to complete. AMG

Young contributed “the exquisitely harmonized” AMG and “achingly plaintive HelplessRS500 “and the roaring country-ish rockers that ended side two.” AMG “His seeming throwaway finale, Everybody I Love You, was a bone thrown to longtime fans as perhaps the greatest Buffalo Springfield song that they didn’t record.” AMG

“All of this variety made Déjà Vu a rich musical banquet for the most serious and personal listeners, while mass audiences reveled in the glorious harmonies and the thundering electric guitars, which were presented in even more dramatic and expansive fashion on the tour that followed.” AMG


Notes: A 50th anniversary edition added a second disc of demos, a third of outtakes, and a fourth of alternate takes.

Resources and Related Links:

  • DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Crosby, Stills & Nash
  • DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Neil Young
  • AMG All Music Guide review by Bruce Eder
  • CRS Tim Morse (1998). Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. New York, NY: St. Martin's Griffin.
  • RV The Review “100 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Clarke Speicher (October – November 2001; Vol. 128: numbers 12-23).
  • RS500 Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
  • WK Wikipedia


Other Related DMDB Pages:


First posted 3/2/2008; last updated 9/4/2021.