Miles Beyond by Paul Tingen

[crawjo]

Has anybody read this book, Miles Beyond: The Electric Explorations of Miles Davis 1967-1991, by Paul Tingen? If so, is it worthwhile?

[Rob C]

I thought it was pretty interesting, since the "electric" years have traditionally gotten short shrift. I find his music from the beginnings of the "fusion" period through his retirement in '75 some of his most fascinating.

On the other hand, probably half of the book is about the post-comeback years, about which I am not all that interested.

It was definitely worth checking out from the library...!

[Derek Taylor]

I'm holding out for Phil Freeman's sophomore literary opus on the subject.

[Reid]

Well, I read a lot of this book, he does a really thorough job of evaluating the music of this time period. I can't think of any other writer who has done as thorough an analysis on this music. What is particularly refreshing is that Tingen is not a Fusion-apologist. He doesn't love everything from this period, and he'll say so--often with descriptive explanations.

Another good thing about this book is that he refers to and comments on other biographies on Davis. If you want a complete picture of Miles Davis and his music, I think this book is essential.