12. Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool (1957)

1. Move*

2. Jeru

3. Moon Dreams

4. Venus de Milo*

5. Budo

6. Deception

7. Godchild

8. Boplicity*

9. Rocker

10. Israel

11. Rouge

12. Darn That Dream

 

A+

This is kind of a cheat, really. The book states that no compilation albums will be included, and then includes Birth of the Cool - which is a compilation of singles recorded by Miles Davis and his band in the late Forties and early 50s. In addition, it doesn't even recommend the original 1957 release, instead going with the 1970s "complete recordings" reissue. Which wouldn't bother me, really, if not for the fact that the "no compilations" rule means that the Buzzcocks' Singles Going Steady and Minor Threat's Complete Discography are omitted, with inferior albums by both bands recommended instead. 

But whatever. It's a minor gripe. I wouldn't want Birth of the Cool excluded. It's a beautiful album and completely deserving of all the nice things people have said about it over the years. Indeed, there are still some people who believe this to be Davis' best work. I can see why, although I don't entirely agree. Every track on this album is a little miracle. Working with the three minute 78 rpm format meant that a whole lot of inventiveness had to be packed into each song. The result is an album that bubbles and fizzes with creative energy. It may be called Birth of the Cool, but it's fast and swinging and dizzyingly inventive. True, to modern ears a lot of what's going on here might seem pretty unremarkable (even if it is tremendously well-executed) but that's mostly just because of how influential this album has been. I remember reading a quote from Miles Davis somewhere where someone underestimated him, and he responded "Don't you know who I am? I've changed music four or five times!" It sounds hubristic, but it's true. 

Still, while this was a hit with Jazz composers and proved quite influential, it failed to strike a chord with listeners when originally released. That's not hard to understand, really. There are no obvious singles on this album. The tracks are too idiosyncratic. When the band were first playing and recording, one critic opined that their music wasn't even Jazz - that it had more in common with classical music. Listening to it these days, that sound preposterous - this is one of the quintessential jazz albums - but at the time it really did mark that degree of departure from the norm. 

The one misstep on this album is unfortunately a major one. The vocal track "Darn That Dream" is godawful, and I assume was only included for reasons of completism. 

Anyway, this isn't the last we've heard of Miles. The long strange trip he took that somehow led him from the cheery, pretty music of Birth of the Cool to the serious head music of On the Corner and Get Up With It has only just begun.