Released in 1974, Get Up With It serves as the final studio dispatch from Miles Davis before his mid-70s retirement. It is perhaps the most diverse and experimental document of his electric era, acting as a bridge between the jazz-rock of Bitches Brew and the dense, industrial funk of Agharta. Spanning sessions recorded over four years, the album is a restless, genre-defying masterpiece that touches on ambient, funk, blues, and proto-electronica.
The undisputed centerpiece of the album is the thirty-minute eulogy "He Loved Him Madly," written in tribute to the late Duke Ellington. With its slow-burning, atmospheric guitars and spacious organ pads, the track is a pioneer of ambient music—later cited by Brian Eno as a primary influence. It showcases a side of Miles that was deeply cinematic and patient, prioritizing mood and texture over traditional melody.
In sharp contrast, tracks like "Rated X" and "Calypso Frelimo" push into the territory of aggressive, polyrhythmic funk. "Rated X" is particularly jarring and prophetic, featuring a relentless, driving beat and dissonant organ chords that sound more like 1990s jungle or industrial music than 1972 jazz. Throughout the album, Miles utilizes the studio as an instrument, employing tape edits and layers of keyboards to create sounds that were years ahead of their time.
This definitive reissue captures the incredible dynamic range of these sessions. From the delicate, watery textures of "Maiysha" to the distorted, searing blues guitar of "Red China Blues," the audio clarity brings Miles’s vision into sharp focus. Get Up With It remains one of the most challenging and rewarding entries in the Davis discography—a brilliant summary of a man who was constantly reinventing the future of sound.
Miles Davis: Trumpet, Organ, Electric Piano
John McLaughlin, Pete Cosey, Reggie Lucas: Guitars
Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett: Keyboards
Michael Henderson: Bass
Al Foster, Billy Cobham: Drums
Mtume: Percussion
1. Calypso Frelimo
2. Red China Blues
3. Mtume
4. Billy Preston
1. He Loved Him Madly
2. Maiysha
3. Honky Tonk
4. Rated X
