So What?

Miles Davis - So What: The Complete 1960 Amsterdam Concerts (2013) {2CD Japan Edition FNCJ-5612~13}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 586 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 334 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 405 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Dutch Jazz Archive / 55 Records | FNCJ-5612~13
Jazz / Modal Music / Hard Bop / Trumpet

Some performances get talked about decades after they happened. It's all about "you had to be there" and if you would believe all the people who claimed to be present at such a show, the venue would have collapsed. Two of those shows are now released in full. Trumpet maestro Miles Davis performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on April 9 and October 15, 1960. John Coltrane was on sax in April and his replacement Sonny Stitt played in October. With Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Miles Davis was on fire both nights.

Joe Walsh's catalog by this point was two albums strong and of a consistently high quality. Despite a change of lineup for So What – a wide range of musicians is used, including the Eagles' Don Henley – the sound is very similar to previous releases. A number of classic Walsh tracks are featured, including a more polished version of "Turn to Stone," originally featured on his debut album, Barnstorm, in a somewhat more riotous style. "Help Me Thru the Night," Walsh's mellowest song to date, is helped along by some fine lead and backing vocals from the band. So What sees Walsh in top form as a guitarist. Most of the nine tracks feature solos of unquestionable quality in his usual rock style. The classic rock genre that the man so well defined with his earlier albums is present here throughout, and it is pulled off with the usual unparalleled Joe Walsh ability.