Davis’ ‘On the Corner’ is no pedestrian effort

Spencer Patterson

Friday, April 8, 2005 | 8:42 a.m.

"Garbage."

"The absolute worst album this man has ever put out."

"Repetitious boredom."

Those are just a few of the scathing reviews lobbed at Miles Davis' "On the Corner" upon its release in the summer of 1972.

The record was derided as if it threatened the very fabric of jazz, or possibly music in general.

It's interesting, then, that three decades later "On the Corner" has come to be hailed as one of Davis' most important works, along with "Kind of Blue" and "Bitches Brew," in the eyes of many critics.

So which is it? Eardrum-battering disaster or innovative masterpiece?

Since you're reading about it in this space, it's easy to guess where I come down on the issue. Though it definitely freaked me out the first time I heard it, "On the Corner" has become a treasured piece of my jazz collection, the Davis disc I turn to more often than any, save perhaps "In a Silent Way" or "Nefertiti."

In a way, the LP's dense sonic stew is more akin to modern electronic music than jazz, though it features traditional jazz instruments such as saxophone and trumpet.

Using loops, overdubs and splices, Davis created a captivating sound collage. Repeating backbeats are topped by bits of this and snippets of that, keeping pieces from growing tedious.

Influenced at that stage of his career more by Sly Stone and James Brown than by the giants of jazz, Davis made "On the Corner" the funkiest affair in his catalog, decidedly undanceable as it might be.

Though the album's initial release brought few details about its contributors, a superb 2000 reissue righted that wrong, revealing that 15 musicians had joined Davis in the studio.

Among them were a host of greats, including Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea on electric piano, Dave Liebman on soprano sax, Bennie Maupin on bass clarinet, John McLaughlin on guitar, Michael Henderson on bass and Jack DeJohnette and Al Foster on drums.

Split into four long tracks, "On the Corner" presents a rather formidable listening experience for newcomers.

Those who avoid making the same knee-jerk reaction early reviewers did, however, will discover an album well worth its challenges.

Artist: Miles Davis.

Title: "On the Corner."

Year of release: 1972 (reissued 2000, Sony/Legacy).

Tracklisting: "On the Corner / New York Girl / Thinkin' of One Thing and Doin' Another / Vote For Miles," "Black Satin," "One and One," "Helen Butte / Mr. Freedom X."