Get Up with It


Get Up with It is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis. Released by Columbia Records on November 22, 1974, it collected previously unreleased material that Davis had recorded between 1970 and 1974, some of which dated from the sessions for his studio albums Jack Johnson and On the Corner.

Recordings

"He Loved Him Madly" was Davis' tribute to Duke Ellington, who used to tell his audiences, "I love you madly."
"Honky Tonk" was recorded in 1970 with musicians such as John McLaughlin and Herbie Hancock who had played on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. "Red China Blues" had been recorded in 1972, prior to On the Corner, while "Rated X" and "Billy Preston" were recorded later that year with the band heard on In Concert. The remaining tracks dated from 1973 and 1974 sessions with his then-current band, including guitarist Pete Cosey.
In the 2004 edition of the The [Rolling Stone Album Guide|Rolling Stone Album Guide], J. D. Considine described the album's musical style as "worldbeat fusion".

Critical reception

Reviewing Get Up With It for Rolling Stone in 1975, Stephen Davis applauded Davis' adventurousness and the direction of his band, a "who's who of Seventies jazz-rock". Robert Christgau gave the album muted praise in The Village Voice, calling it "over two hours of what sometimes sounds like bullshit: it's not exactly music to fill the mind. Just the room." In the 1981 edition of Christgau's Record Guide: [Rock Albums of the Seventies], he praised the side-long pieces "He Loved Him Madly" and "Calypso Frelimo" while offering a mixed assessment of the other material.
For the album's 2000 reissue, Alternative Press published a review calling it "essential... the overlooked classic of psychedelic soul and outlandish improv... representing the high water mark of experiments in the fusion of rock, funk, electronica and jazz". Stylus Magazines Chris Smith called it "more of an anything-goes hodgepodge than it is a sprawling masterwork."
In a highly positive retrospective review, Andy Beta of Pitchfork described Get Up with It as a "black funk dreamscape", observing that it "careens between extremes, as Miles presages everything still to come: ambient, no wave, world beat, jungle, new jack swing, post-rock, even hinting at the future sound of R&B and chart-topping pop". He particularly praised Davis' adoption of the electric organ: "Rather than run the voodoo down, now Miles could conjure it all by himself".
British composer Brian Eno cited "He Loved Him Madly" as an influence on his work in the liner notes to his 1982 album ''Ambient 4: On Land.''

Track listing

All compositions by Miles Davis.

Personnel

"He Loved Him Madly" 

Recorded Columbia Studio E, New York City June 19 or 20, 1974
Recorded Columbia Studio E, New York City October 7, 1974
Recorded Columbia Studio E, New York City May 19, 1970
Recorded Columbia Studio E, New York City September 6, 1972
Recorded Columbia Studio E, New York City September 17, 1973
Recorded Columbia Studio E, New York City March 9, 1972
Recorded Columbia Studio E, New York City October 7, 1974
Recorded Columbia Studio E, New York City December 8, 1972