Bitches Brew (Legacy Edition)

iTunes Review

Musicians in the Internet age have managed to resurrect and reinterpret material from every nook and cranny of music history, yet no one has been able to touch Bitches Brew, which is as strange and singular today as it was the day it was released in April 1970. Miles was constrained to 20-minute slabs of vinyl back then, and the six gilded pieces that comprised the original Bitches Brew make up the first six tracks in this edition. These works need no introduction — they are at once deep musical accomplishments and psychedelic thrill rides, and they can be easily enjoyed by listeners at every level, from the composition theorist to the stoner. The bonus material on this Legacy Edition is geared towards the attention-impaired listener of the iPod era. No one could say anything bad about the bite-sized versions of “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down,” “Spanish Key,” “Great Expectations” and “Little Blue Frog,” but these edits should serve as initiation into the deep, unruly world of The Complete Bitches Brew box set, a world that might seem daunting, but will ultimately provide your greatest reward.