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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dinner music.. for a pack of cannibals, July 8, 2002
Like the most challenging music out there, this album is both a blessing and a headache. For musicians and jazz aficionados it's a, ever-changing stew of grooves, rhythms and blows to get lost in; for those more accustomed to the easy stylings of Miles's first quintet and the like, this is no more difficult a listen than an hour of jackhammering outside the window. Miles himself doesn't show the easy, soothing playing that made him famous in the first place; he sounds clipped, ragged and mad at the world. Considering that he had hip problems and had previously broken both legs in an accident, this might not be far from the truth. His band might not have been quite as angry, but they still played with the same divine fire. The double-percussion team of Foster and Mtume lay down one dense African groove after another full of rhythms so thick you could wade through them; Cosey and Lucas bend their six-strings to some of the most primal wails this side of Hendrix; Henderson provides just the anchor on bass that everyone needs. Playing opposite Miles on sax was Sonny Fortune, and while he's no Wayne Shorter (but who could be?) he lays down a couple solos that I'm still trying to get my head around after a year of listening. The music was largely improvised and loosely sketched out, but rooted in some previous Davis sounds. "Maiysha" shows up in the track list, but I also hear pieces of "Right Off" and "Ife" among others. You'd probably have to be familiar with his entire body of work from this period to catch them all.By the time of the two final concerts documented on Agharta and its counterpart Pangaea, Miles and crew had become a well-oiled machine, adept at weaving rock, jazz and funk into a head-spinning jungle brew that still confuses and amazes listeners 27 years later. It's jazz taken in a direction no one else had gone; it's a batch of hot rock grooves with tribal rhythmic underpinnings; it's the angry burning of a man in pain and a top-notch crew flourishing under his direction. And this show is only the Jekyll to Pangaea's Hyde; the later concert was even darker, heavier and closer to chaos. I'd recommend Agharta first of the two, but if you haven't heard any electric Miles it may be easier to start with B-Brew or Jack Johnson first. Agharta is a trip through the dense African bush, not for the faint of heart but those who love a good challenge.
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