PLUGGED NICKEL SAMPLER

This CD is a collection sent to CD stores for in-store play to advertise the monsterous, and monsterously good "The Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel - 1965". The boxed set is eight CDs, so it was no problem for the label to come up with a sampler that clocks in at just under an hour.

The performance is from a legendary group of shows from back in 1965. The band was one of Miles' best ever, with Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Wayne Shorter on sax, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. Sadly, John Coltrane, who sat in for some of the sets, is not featured on any of the songs here.

There are only five songs on this sampler, but each is played with ferocity by the entire band. It must have been an amazing spectacle to attend these shows.

The recording quality is okay, considering that it came from three microphones placed in front of the stage. And the liner notes say portions were spliced in from another recording, at the times where the engineer had to change reels, but it's almost impossible to tell where this occurs. Herbie Hancock's piano, not having a mic close by does get push a bit too far back, but when he's soloing, the rest of the band quiets down enough that he can be heard.

5 stars for performance, minus 1 for the sound, and one for no prog.