Best Clapton and Davis CD?

I second the vote for Clapton's Layla and Other Love songs but recommend The Layla Sessions: 20th Aniversary Editon Box Set (Sept 1990). It's the remastered original disc by the original producer Tom Dowd, along with two more discs of studio jams, alternate takes of the Clapton and the band with various members of the Allman Brothers Band sitting in. See Amazon.com's information about this release. If Clapton never made another record after Layla, his place in rock guitar playing was cemented by this collection. The box set chronicles Clapton's working of the music to express his pain over loving his best friend's wife. The bonus discs documents how the final Layla songs were achieved through glimpses via the jam sessions and shifting musical approaches.

Davis' Kind of Blue is truly a jazz classic but might be "too experimental" for a beginner. If you're more a traditionalist, you might enjoy Cookin' (contains the lovely ballad My Funny Valentine) or Steamin' or Relaxin', the trio of 1955-6 releases on Prestige Records.

Enjoy.

HJwong, how's the remaster sound? Usually i find that the remaster versions sound gain in some clarity, but lose alot in the overall continuity. Some unity is lost. I find I don't like the remaster as much as the orginal. Sounds like another "version". Opinion? But I sure would like to read the document booklet.

audire, the miles/coltrane set i have is a 4 disc set (the first disc plus the first 17minute cut on disc two are the coltrane/miles show. The rest of the set are the shows with Sonny Stitt (who joined Miles for a brief stint after Coltrane left). It's on the swedish Dragon label (i got it at Tower some years ago so it was generally available at places that stocked imports -- though somewhat pricey).

If you go to Amazon.com and type in Miles Davis Stockholm, three sets come up. One is a single disc set of just the Coltrane show (though this release doesn't have all of the tunes on my set or the other box sets listed) and the other two are pricey box sets that include the Sonny Stitt dates. I haven't heard them so i can't vouch for sound quality. The sound on my Dragon set is quite good.

I suspect there have been other releases of this material but i'm not aware of them.

If you listen to vinyl, someone lists the Dragon set on lp (2 lps) on Gemm.com for about $35.00.

hope this helps. good luck in your search. If you really want to check out the Stockholm date but can't find it, don't hesitate to contact me...i'll be happy to burn it for you when i get a chance.

Can anyone give an honest review of the Layla Remaster vs Layla Orginal. Like I say, I believe the Orginals to have a more unified sound. Remasters sound like a "re-mix" to me, thus I don't get the same emotions from the remaster as I do from Orginals. I belive someone has a thread about this subject??? I'm gonna try to look it up.

You can't have just one Miles, but you should probably start with Kind of Blue. If that seems rather tame to you, go forward to the second quintet (Shorter/Hancock/Carter/Williams). My favorite is ESP. If Blue isn't traditional enough for you, go back to the first quintet (Coltrane/Garland/Chambers/Jones). Cookin' and Relaxin' are my faves.

As for Clapton, there is only one place to start: John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton.