September 2002

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By Trevor MacLaren

On the Corner
Miles Davis
Columbia Records
1972

When Miles released Bitches Brew in 1969, not just jazz but music itself had changed. Its success and ideologies reached a whole new audience that jazz had never attempted to reach. From this point on, the boundaries that separated jazz from all other genres were blurred. In the process, Miles may have found a new audience, but he also alienated another. Not new to controversy, he released his 1972 record On the Corner and found it immediately sparked an ongoing argument that still sparks up even Davis's most stalwart fans. On the Corner caught listeners in an enigma. Miles was essentially continuing what he started back on Miles in the Sky when Herbie Hancock introduced the Fender Rhodes piano, but the new record relied on a totally different group sound. One thing for sure about the record is its influence on current popular music. But does that influence validate the record, or suggest that the critics who panned it were wrong?

First, the influence of an album does not determine its overall quality, nor does it mean that the critics who disliked it were wrong. On the Corner was and remains one of the weakest releases in the whole Davis catalogue. Miles wanted to reach the '70s hipsters who assumed that Jazz was an old man's music. He succeeded in breaking through with Bitchs Brew, but was On the Corner indeed a failure? The cover art portrayed caricatures of the roles of African-Americans common in the popular media of the time. These cartoons can be considered ironic satire, as well as a patronizing gesture toward the intended audience. Inside, the music is every bit as shocking to jazz enthusiasts as the cover art. And unlike Bitches Brew, this album represented more than just any old brand of rock/funk/jazz fusion. Miles's group playing owed as much to the avant-garde sounds of John Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins as the funk of James Brown and Sly Stone. He concocted a mixture of avant-garde playing (showing jazz fans he was still a jazzman at heart) with a strong backbeat (strongly alienating them). The '70s hipsters who dug funk were not likely to dig Hawkins, Mingus, or Taylor. The most alarming sound here is the one persistent drum loop which pulsates through four continual tracks. Although this trick is popular with dance music DJ's today, the question remains whether it works here. The lead instruments are all well if you are a fan of progressive jazz, but the loops can bore the hell out of any listener.

In an ideal performance, each instrument plays an essential role supporting the overall group sound. Miles (through producer Teo Macero) ignored that rule by overdubbing these drum loops. Chick Corea and Hancock smoke as usual--but somewhere in the middle of that monotonous 20-minute, 4-song opening track, the excitement and interest disappears. Many critics of the time were willing to sacrifice their personal opinion to maintain that Miles was still God, even when he made a huge mistake. Some of the complaints that critics render today about the redundancy of pop swill are strikingly evident here. The exception to those criticisms lies in the strong contributions of the individual players. Great playing goes hand in hand with any of Miles Davis's records, and that's something we generally take for granted. But the experimental soundscape flowing in the background here deserves to be placed on trial.

Let's briefly touch on the validity of this release. When placed against the catalogue of a true visionary, its merits are weak--but its influence on modern pop cannot be denied. That fact alone has made Davis once again an (ironic) visionary. Sampling and looping came of age with dub pioneers such as Lee "Scratch" Perry or U Roy. Still, many of the early hip-hoppers were listening to Miles. They represent a definite link between Miles and modern styles of popular music. So, yes: whether you like or dislike On the Corner, it has become an influence all on its own, mainly due to two reasons. First, it has cast an overwhelming influence on hip-hop and current dance music; and second, it has caused listeners and music critics alike to question what constitutes "good" music.