The Complete On the Corner Sessions starts off with the unedited master track of “On the Corner,” and it is something of a revelation, but not necessarily an obvious one. Because the music sounds, after all this time, not horribly weird or ‘out there.’ Which is to say that it apparently always made sense, but required a great deal of time and technological innovation in order to sink in. Just like the album track it drops us right in with the groove well in progress and Dave Leibman seeming to solo, at times butting up against John McLaughlin’s flying guitar work or Michael Henderson’s rock solid bass. There’s still a cluttered feeling to it, but it’s much clearer than before for the most part. One wonders if perhaps the Davis/Macero approach of using studio editing to shape and give structure to what had essentially been a jam session didn’t work against this music in some ways. Because this music essentially was, first and foremost, about the groove, and what went on on top was interesting, but did not necessarily need to provide the signposts of melodic hooks or even real melody. Ultimately, though, one can’t imagine the unedited thing being received more positively than the edited version. The unreleased “On the Corner (Take 4)” gives a glimpse into what might have been: the music is much looser and a lot less aggressive. Ultimately, Davis chose the harder-charging numbers to be edited into the On the Corner album. The music on Big Fun and Get Up With It is much more laid back at times, even while providing plenty of sonic activity. On the Corner may have been better received if it had mixed in some of this less hard-edged music (although neither Big Fun nor Get Up With It made much of a dent comercially), but that wasn’t the statement that Miles chose to make. In any event, this outtake is nto only interesting, it’s good, with nice atmospherics, an open, expansive beat, and some nice McLaughlin guitar work.

Two other tracks here are from the same sessions, and provide complete versions of “One And One” and “Helen Butte/Mr. Freedom X,” part of the later edited tracks that appeared on On the Corner. Here there is more ebb and flow than was strictly allowed in the edited final tracks, and again, I’m not certain the edits worked to the best advantage of the music that was created. Still, I think that the final version of On the Corner that was assembled probably pretty accurately conveyed the vision tha Miles wanted to convey with that record at that moment. Things were different quickly after those sessions, and changed more fluidly on the live performances that followed them.

Music recorded at sessions only a week from the original On the Corner sessions, “Jabali” and “Ife” are both more spacious and less aggressive than the music that was edited together for the album. “Ife” appeared on Big Fun, but “Jabali” remained unreleased. After Michael Henderson and Al Foster lay down the beat, Miles’ trumpet sidles in, still using the wah-wah heard on On the Corner. Most of the rest of the music heard on this set, from Disc Two Track 2 through Disk 6 Track One, are either unreleased or were included on Get Up With It, which would be the last studio release from Miles Davis until his return in 1981 with The Man With The Horn. A lot of this music is more like the stuff Miles was playing live in 1973-74, with grooves that became increasingly Afro-centric, losing some of their rock and world music trappings. Really striking is an unreleased track titled “Chieftain” from Disc two. This piece features a drum pattern that is really similar to what became known as ‘drum ‘n’ bass’ in the 1990s. The guitar work by Reggie Lucas creates a reggae feel that makes the piece feel a bit like dub as well. This is the Miles sound that musicians like Erik Truffaz or Palle Mikkelborg often seem to relate to. “Rated X” is as challenging a listen as ever, with Miles’ organ clusters stomping all over the groove laid down by Cedric Lawson (electric piano), Reggie Lucas
(guitar), Khalil Balakrishna (electric sitar), Michael Henderson (electric bass), Al Foster (drums), Badal Roy (tablas), and Mtume (congas, percussion). It’s hard to believe that this stuff was recorded only about three months after the actual On the Corner sessions, so completely different is the sound, the groove, and the intent behind this music. In many respects, On the Corner was an important turning point for Miles, one where he decided that since his music was unlikely to generate critical acclaim or huge sales, he simply accelerated his pace in the direction he wanted to go without regard for its reception.

Disc Three features one track from 1972, "Billie Preston", which was included on Get Up With It; the rest of the material here is from 1973 and is unreleased. It does, however, provide insight into the way Miles was headed in his live performances. Until now, most of this type of thing could only be heard on the live releases Pangea and Agharta. A lot of the unreleased material here sounds pretty good and should be of interest to listeners who enjoy this period of Davis’ career.

Disc Four is a very meaty hour of music, both half hour tracks from Get Up With It. “Calypso Frelimo” is a heavy funk piece that many listeners still find to be repetitive and annoying, though it has many elements and solo work that is worth listening to. The second track, “He Loved Him Madly,” a tribute to the recently-deceased Duke Ellington, is another matter entirely. This elegant, elegiac piece, full of mournfulness and space, is a raw representation of sadness and despair that ultimately becomes very spiritual. This is music that Miles recorded for no audience other than himself, and the restlt is both unexpectedly personal and hauntingly beautiful. Miles plays only organ, his trumpet fallen silent. Guitarists Reggie Lucas and Pete Cosey create texture and some attempt at melodic interest, while Micheal Henderson, Al Foster, and Mtume help to accent the underlying uncertainty of the piece. Although the piece cycles in and out of very small sections of more defined tempo, the piece is ultimately a thirty two minute solemn meditation on Ellington, Davis, life and death, and other cosmic mysteries. Brian Eno declared this piece of music instrumental in inspiring his pursuit of the “ambient” musical aesthetic. “He Loved Him Madly” is a truly exciting and beautiful piece of music that is unique not only in Miles’ electric discography, but in his entire oeuvre. It sounds like Miles staring into the abyss and not blinking or flinching.

Disc Five features music recorded in 1974 (except for the final track), with the first two tracks, “Mayisha” and “Mtume” both appearing on Get Up With It. There’s also an alternative take of “Mtume” that does little to shed new light on the piece. The three concluding tracks of this disc represent the last studio material Miles recorded before he went into retirement. “Hip Skip” is a mellow funk shuffle with outrageous guitar by Dominique Gaumont, with Pete Cosey on drums (!) ”What They Do” is the same group, with two guitars and Al Foster on drums. It’s incendiary, to say the least. The final track is the cool soul of “Minnie,” said to be inspired by Minnie Ripperton’s “Loving You.” It seems cliché to point to the mellow groove here as evidence of where Miles would go when he returned in the early 1980s, and ultimately I think Miles had no idea where he would go in the future. I think he believed there would be a future, and there was, though there very nearly wasn’t . It was probably smart for Miles to sit out the next five years; when he returned the music business had changed, and he seemed to grasp that. Had Miles not ceased to play in 1974, he may not have survived another year.

The final disc contains the oddity “Red China Blues” (again from Get Up With It), followed by the final album version of On the Corner in its entirety. The two other tracks are 45-rpm edits of the track “Big Fun/Holly-wuud” found on Disc Three.

I’m sure there will be some reservations about Columbia combining all these various sessions under the On the Corner banner. There are a wealth of different groups here, with different sounds and a wealth of music here created with different visions and intent. But, first of all, Columbia showed that they would work in this manner when they included sessions which came later than Bitches Brew on the Complete Bitches Brew Sessions box. There was no other legitimate home for some of these unreleased tracks nor those that were used, in edited form, on albums such as Big Fun, Circle In the Round, or Live-Evil. And here again, what else would they have done? Release a Get Up With It complete sessions box? I guess many fans would love to see a total 1973-1975 bands package that mixed both studio and live material, but that is not anything like the way the rest of the Miles Davis box series is arranged. The Complete On the Corner Sessions is a major release that offers a great deal of insight into what Miles was doing from 1972-1974. Not sure what’s to follow (Agharta/Pangea box? Live unreleased recordings of the 73-74 bands, if there are tapes that aren’t known about currently? How will Columbia deal with Davis’ legacy with the label from 1981-1985.?), but the Davis box sets stand as one of the crowning achievements of modern jazz reissues/remasters. Davis recorded himself and his bands tirelessly, and listeners have become the beneficiaries of all the music that has remained stashed in the vaults previously. If Miles were alive, he might consider this music as ‘old hat’ as “So What.” But for the rest of us, it’s not so much a look back in time as a look at what it took this much time for most of us to catch up with.