Live Evil

Down Beat (7/97, p.65) - 4 1/2 stars (out of 5) - "Initially recorded in '69 and '70, when the band was in flux, this palindrome-titled monster was later assembled out of live and studio tapes by Davis and producer Teo Macero.... this isn't pyrotechnic techno-dweeb fusion, but an outstandingly creative electric collage..."
Rolling Stone (1/20/72, pp.51-52) - "...Everybody is just playing away, and there aren't any weak links....Miles reacts to this happy situation by playing his ass off....this sounds like what Miles had in mind when he first got into electric music and freer structures and rock rhythms..."
Spin (8/97, p.117) - "...splices together live chunks and cool studio vignettes, and features the Hindu heavy-metal fretwork of John McLaughlin..."
Musician (8/97, p.87) - "...The ears-open interactivity of Davis' ensembles--that ability to engage in serious musical conversation while flying in the upper atmosphere--is enough to shame any current bebop-babbling jazz automaton..."
Jazz Times (10/97, p.87) - "...Miles' true electric rite of passage..."
Entertainment Weekly (8/01/97, p.75) - "...With his inimitable trumpeting--by turns melancholy, pungent, and lyrical--at the music's center, his electrified cohorts stretch the limits of jazz, rock, and funk..."
- Rating: A-