Box Sets #2 - Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection

This is a hefty package and does not come cheap. Thankfully someone cared enough about me to do a deal with Santa one Christmas. A flip top box contains a total of 52 albums spread over 70 discs. In other words the complete released output of Miles Davis on the Columbia label spanning the years 1949-1985.

And that's a lot of great music!

Additionally the box also contains a previously unreleased DVD of a 1967 European tour by the Miles Davis Quintet featuring Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams. Also a 250 page hardback book containing a short biography and notes and track lists of all of the albums included in the set.

So what about the quality of the box contents?

Well, the quality of the music is undeniable, after all, this is Miles Davis. The albums have all been remastered and many include bonus tracks that were not available on the original release. As there is a fair amount of live material included, there is inevitably some repetition of tracks, but as this is jazz and Miles never played a song the same way twice, it is interesting to compare different versions. Each album also comes in it's own mini replica cardboard LP sleeve. They look very nice but if I have a slight criticism of the package, it is in the quality of the album sleeves. They are not as robust nor as big as the recent mono box releases by The Beatles or Bob Dylan. Nevertheless this is a wonderful set and if you are a fan of Miles Davis and don't already own most of his Columbia albums, then this set is worth being good for. Who knows, in return, Santa might be good to you.

Incidentally, if you should be seeking a really good biography of Miles, I can highly recommend 'Miles Davis The Definitive Biography' by the late Ian Carr. As Carr was himself a jazz trumpeter, he knows his subject and this book is a fascinating and informative read.
First published by Harper Collins in 1998, it is to the best of my knowledge still available.