Best Clapton and Davis CD?

I might be in the minority here...but "Kind of Blue" in regards to recording quality is not that great and vastly overated IMHO...I have the 20 bit remaster and the SACD...the horns are recorded a bit "hot" and distort from time to time...it is an incredible performance though...Miles' career is both brilliant and erratic...the 2 disc "essential" Miles Davis would be a good starting point...

Can anyone give an honest review of the Layla Remaster vs Layla Orginal. Like I say, I believe the Orginals to have a more unified sound. Remasters sound like a "re-mix" to me, thus I don't get the same emotions from the remaster as I do from Orginals. I belive someone has a thread about this subject??? I'm gonna try to look it up.

You can't have just one Miles, but you should probably start with Kind of Blue. If that seems rather tame to you, go forward to the second quintet (Shorter/Hancock/Carter/Williams). My favorite is ESP. If Blue isn't traditional enough for you, go back to the first quintet (Coltrane/Garland/Chambers/Jones). Cookin' and Relaxin' are my faves.

As for Clapton, there is only one place to start: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton.

audire, the miles/coltrane set i have is a 4 disc set (the first disc plus the first 17minute cut on disc two are the coltrane/miles show. The rest of the set are the shows with Sonny Stitt (who joined Miles for a brief stint after Coltrane left). It's on the swedish Dragon label (i got it at Tower some years ago so it was generally available at places that stocked imports -- though somewhat pricey).

If you go to Amazon.com and type in Miles Davis Stockholm, three sets come up. One is a single disc set of just the Coltrane show (though this release doesn't have all of the tunes on my set or the other box sets listed) and the other two are pricey box sets that include the Sonny Stitt dates. I haven't heard them so i can't vouch for sound quality. The sound on my Dragon set is quite good.

I suspect there have been other releases of this material but i'm not aware of them.

If you listen to vinyl, someone lists the Dragon set on lp (2 lps) on Gemm.com for about $35.00.

hope this helps. good luck in your search. If you really want to check out the Stockholm date but can't find it, don't hesitate to contact me...i'll be happy to burn it for you when i get a chance.

HJwong, how's the remaster sound? Usually i find that the remaster versions sound gain in some clarity, but lose alot in the overall continuity. Some unity is lost. I find I don't like the remaster as much as the orginal. Sounds like another "version". Opinion? But I sure would like to read the document booklet.

I second the vote for Clapton's Layla and Other Love songs but recommend The Layla Sessions: 20th Aniversary Editon Box Set (Sept 1990). It's the remastered original disc by the original producer Tom Dowd, along with two more discs of studio jams, alternate takes of the Clapton and the band with various members of the Allman Brothers Band sitting in. See Amazon.com's information about this release. If Clapton never made another record after Layla, his place in rock guitar playing was cemented by this collection. The box set chronicles Clapton's working of the music to express his pain over loving his best friend's wife. The bonus discs documents how the final Layla songs were achieved through glimpses via the jam sessions and shifting musical approaches.

Davis' Kind of Blue is truly a jazz classic but might be "too experimental" for a beginner. If you're more a traditionalist, you might enjoy Cookin' (contains the lovely ballad My Funny Valentine) or Steamin' or Relaxin', the trio of 1955-6 releases on Prestige Records.

Enjoy.

Thanks for the response Dkonstruction. If there are different versions of the same album, I'd appreciate specifics on which one to buy (company, year, etc.).

On the Clapton, Derek & Dominios, the song Little Wing , (Hendrix)is layers of guitar work as well is Layla. Of all rock this Little Wing song has the most elusive guitar work. really complex, and beautiful. Duane Allman really shines on this album. The singing is superb. I believe Clapton was lost deep in a forbidden Love at the time.

Hard to limit a Miles choice to one so I hope you don't mind a few recommendations. i think you've got to deal with both Miles' acoustic career as well as his initial electric work (until he "retired" in 75). I'm sure you'll get a lot more suggestions for the acoustic Miles (sadly, a lot of folks hated the electric material...but if you're open to it there's some incredibly original, unique and wonderful music here) so i'll also try to give some thoughts on the early electric Miles.

First, if i had to pick only one acoustic disc for you to listen to i guess it would be Kind Of Blue (one of The classic modern jazz recordings). At the same time, all of the classic quintet recordings with John Coltrane are also superb including the 4 Presige records (Cookin; Relaxin, Workin; and Steamin) and records like Round About Midnight. You can't go wrong with any of these.

Also, if you can find a copy of the Miles Davis John Coltrane gig from Stockholm in 1960 (it's been released on different labels and in different formats over the years) this is a steller live performance from start to finish with the best performance of All Blues (one of my faves) that i've ever heard. Coltrane's playing hear is magnificent, freer than on any of the other Miles dates i've heard.

Finally, if you get into this stuff and want even more, Miles' second great Quintet with Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter also provide a wealth of wonderful material to explore.

On the electric side, i think it's actually tougher and depends on whether you prefer a piano-based sound (in which case i'd go for the remastered In A Silent Way...a beautiful and hypnotic disc) or the more guitar-based heavy funk sound of the later works like Agharta and Pangea. I also highly recommend his Tribute To Jack Johnson (with some great guitar from John Mcglaughin and according to rumour/legend Sonny Sharrock). And, if you're still into being adventurous there's the amazing (and i always thought highly underrated) On The Corner; a record which sounded "ahead of its time" then and in many ways still does.

Live Evil is also one of my favorites and in some ways may be the best overall introduction to the early electric Miles. All of that having been said, it was Bitches Brew that is still considered to be the Revolution (though, personally i've always preferred some of the other electric releases more) and if you're going to check this one out it is worth it to indulge in the complete sessions...the sound quality is much better and you get to hear these tunes both as they were originally released as well as how they were recorded unedited (the same goes for the In A Silent Way Sessions).

Sorry, but i've never been a big Clapton fan...i know, heresy...sorry, but if i'm gonna listen to a blues guitarist i'd rather listen to the the black masters (old and new) and not another white wannabe who makes out like he invented the stuff whose support for the right-wing nationalists in Englend (whose program includes an ugly racist hostility towards "immigrants") is totally irreconcilable with the blues history and tradition that has made clapton what he is (sorry for the digression but i can't help it).

All of that having been said, i do still like Clapton's early "classic" material including the Cream, Derek and the Dominos and Blind Faith -- in no large part due to the other band members. You can't go wrong with any of these.