Customer Rating: 
Summary: Miles Live From Hell
Comment: A review of this album written for a class. Sorry if I repeat anything already said:
Dark Magus is a sumptuous evil beast, confined to the understandable nihilism shrouding Miles Davis as he stood on the stage at Carnegie Hall March 30, 1974. The wall of sonic white noise that often encased the stage held the energy of passion, doom, and anger in the face of all Miles' struggles. Though this album's two sister releases, Agharta and Pangaea, may dwarf this one in terms of musicianship they barely scratch the surface of Dark Magus' demonic power. The resulting album from that 1974 evening is a funky deafening masterpiece that grabs the listener by the hand to guide them violently through the depths of Miles' own personal hell.
Davis was finding inspiration from everywhere around this time in his career: Sly & The Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix (who he was meant to collaborate with before the guitarist's untimely death in 1970), Funkadelic, even The Stooges. The man's musical exploration was reaching heights challenging the minds of classical composers, not his contemporaries in the rock and jazz fields. But Miles had problems to fuel a certain justified brooding rage that was expressed very thickly on March 30, 1974.
Dark Magus is often panned for being too dense. Miles' who plays just as much screaming keyboards as he does his wah-wah-pedaled trumpet, is backed by eight other musicians with a triple guitar attack, two saxophonists, and a monstrosity of a rhythm section. Also consider the venue, the group sounds like it's trapped within the confines of the deepest ocean fighting for air. The density is however what makes this release so immersive, occupying the listeners mind with beautiful pandemonium. It's a particular release that causes the sound to blend, creating a wall of impenetrable neon ecstasy more effective listened to in a subconscious state rather than trying to discern what is actually taking place on the level of individual musicians and instruments.
The hard funk bass and drum rhythm specify the thickness, trapping the sound within the Earth's mantle. On Moja, Pt. 1 Al Foster blasts out of the gate at immeasurable speeds, his bass drum punching through the atmosphere like rockets. The rest of the band joins after a short prelude like dormant oil being sparked into flame. The opening number doesn't quit for a good twelve and half minutes.
Al Foster on drums, Mtume on percussion, and Mike Henderson on bass create the sonic solid reverberating core of the 1974 band, and in comparison to Agharta and Pangaea, they remain wholly part of the framework, which works in the context of this release as everything gravitates around them firmly.
The three guitarists supply the post-Hendrix warped effects. If the rhythm remains tied to the Earth's core, the guitar sounds originate off-planet, weaving between skipping distortion to critical mass to complete white noise. Track eight, Nne Pt. 2, descends into screaming madness at times with all three guitarists ripping their nylon cords to pieces. Pete Cosey remains the most competent, but all three really blend well together, creating a single indecipherable voice.
The two saxophonists and Miles on his distorted trumpet clash together like metallic raindrops. At other times it's indistinguishable flame rising and falling in temperature and intensity. A couple minutes in the first track the three jump out of the melee to scream to the heavens and descend again like a bird streaking through the sky. The three play together just as well as they play apart. At this point in his career Miles' horn playing wasn't very cohesive in the traditional sense, and instead he blasts the music apart with searing stings of sound like a machine gun.
Each member of the band do get to show their individual chops at times, but they are at its best when they find a balance between the devil's funk and free jazz reminiscent of comparatively calm Bitches Brew. The palpable atmosphere this album emits is unmatched by any other live recording there is, including any of Davis' own work. Though pure musicianship by others certainly outstrips this album, especially Miles himself, the mood's cohesive blackened crust is where this album truly succeeds and remains unmatched.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bullseye
Comment: Miles nailed it on this one. Pure funk, played furiously and relentlessly, it hits hard from the opening note and never lets up. And somehow Miles' horn finds a place here that sounds natural and perfectly matched. He holds his own incredibly well throughout, never succumbing to the chaos that surrounds him. An amazing feat.
I can't say enough good things about this album. It never gets old, and never gets dated... it is a true, overlooked classic. Dark Magus indeed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: one of the baddest albums
Comment: I was searching for a sound when I found this album. Looking back, I think I was feeling and searching for what miles was. Someone told me since I like billie holiday, than i like jazz, and should hear bitches brew. found out mclaughlin was on it so i had to get it. i didnt comprehend or hear the music for what it was for a year, but i get tribute to jack johnson. cobham ruled on that one, so did mclaughlin and henderson, but the music was missing something. i got dark magus and found it. Deep deep dark dark is how i describe this. one of my favs in my collection and it never gets old, i listen at least a few times a month. especially sitting on the proch at 3 am smokin a big... well u get the idea. some of its harsh towards the end, the music that is, from what i understand, miles left the stage after track3 disc 2, and the go crazy. mostly gaumont, i didnt like him at first, but now i hear what miles and the band liked about him i guess. this is driven, dark, deep, heavy, aggressive. lucas rhythm playing so gets me off, and the fade out on track 2 disc 2, miles trumpet solo is hellacious. and the concert closes perfectly with some congas and percussion, i love that shaker at the end, they wanted this to go on forever. get this album
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Sheer raw power
Comment: Zappa was wrong: This is jazz from hell. It's got bits of funk, and hard rock, a few African rhythms, and a lot of noise. Plenty of power, too. In other words, it's insane. A 100-minute cacophony. Barely any discernable melodies. A lot of heavy guitar, soprano sax, and Miles' own trumpet. You thought Pangaea was in-your-face and nasty? It's lounge music. This is a difficult album to review, simply because it's so different: for one, it's essentially a 100-minute song, arguably making it the longest piece of music in history. For another, it's loud. A powerhouse of an album. It's also very, very good. And very angry. "Dark" is an understatement: It's like letting a monster loose and listening to the carnage that results from its being unleashed. Still, what amazing carnage... When the intensity lets up, as it does on "Wlii, pt. 2" and "Tatu, pt. 2" (which is really "Calypso Frelimo"), things do get a little slow and boring. On every other part but those, however, this is a perfect album: the groove is nonstop, every guitar solo is heavy, every other solo (including numerous trumpet and soprano sax ones) is loaded with emotion, and it damn near sustains itself across its 100 minutes. Like Pangaea and Agharta, this is essential live Miles.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Oh, That Tenor
Comment: Please read all of these eloquent love letter reviews. I agree with nearly all of them. As a fan of "the trio" (Pangea, Afgharta, Dark Magus), this chronologically first of 3 gets the most listen. All I wish to add is: let's not minimize the contribution of Azar Lawrence. I really think part of the difference between this and the other two Japanese concerts is the absolutely nasty tone he gets on the tenor sax. While many reviewers find his musicianship subpar, his sparse growling solos really add a heft to the band's attitude that effects the music after he's silent.
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![Dark Magus: Live At Carnegie Hall [2-CD SET]. Miles Davis Tracks: Moja (Part 1), Moja (Part 2), Wili (Part 1), Wili (Part 2)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61RR4S5A7GL._SL160_.jpg)
