| | |  | Music | Home » » The Complete Columbia Album Collection | | | | | | | Description: | | Deluxe 71 disc (70 CDs + DVD) box set that contains 52 single CD and double CD albums (which includes the previously unreleased full-length audio version of his 1970 Isle Of Wight performance) plus a bonus DVD: Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe '67. Here are two separate European concert performances by the groundbreaking 'second great quintet,' filmed in Stockholm and Karlsruhe, Germany, October and November 1967, respectively. This DVD represents the only video of this Miles Davis Quintet lineup ever to be officially commercially released. Along with the discs comes a generous 250-page book whose centerpiece is an 11,000 word biographical essay by Fr‚d‚ric Goaty, the most in-depth liner notes ever included in any Miles Davis package. The essay is complemented by brief annotations written by Franck Bergerot, covering every single one of the 52 albums and the DVD. The cornerstones of the box set are the studio and live albums that were released during his tenure at the label, more than 40 titles that he recorded in the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s. | | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| January 19, 2010 | | Studio:
| Sony Legacy | | Number Of Discs:
| 71 | | Format:
| Box set, Limited Edition | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 19 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 19 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 53 found the following review helpful:
 Comments on Condition of SetJan 21, 2010
By Daniel Cronin
"D Cronin"
I held off purchasing the original release of this box set because of the negative reviews pertaining to the condition of the CDs, box, etc. I can tell you this: they have cleaned it up. I received my order today, and everything is in perfect shape. No bumped corners (packaging was perfect, in fact, it was double boxed), box was perfect, and most of all, no glue on the cds. Go ahead and place your order. You deserve this set.
29 of 32 found the following review helpful:
 My two peeves.Jan 22, 2010
By Kory S. London
Obviously if you are looking at this set you know what you are getting into.
This set is dramatically better than the original version, but I still have a few complaints.
1. Where are the CD slip covers?
- All the CDs come in their nice cardboard cases, but there are no slip covers like real vinyl or the other "mini-vinyl" CDs I've purchased. For 300$+ you think, for the sake of the CDs of course, that they could mold some slips in there to protect the CDs from falling out and getting scratched.
2. Not all remasterings are perfect.
-While most of the remastering is amazing, I was still hoping that they'd somehow get something better out of "Miles Davis - In Concert" from 1973 (the one with the On The Corner-like cover). The mix still sounds quiet and muffled, like it was recorded from a styrofoam cup instead of microphones.
Finally (I suppose you could call this a third, but it's not a fault of the set), they (Columbia), as usual, played the "oops... you didn't quite get the FULL collection" by having the gall to insert a placard advertising the "Genius of Miles Davis" trumpet case box set, released sometime in 2010!
Aside from these though, it's an amazing set with everything any Miles lover could wish for.
19 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Sony/Amazon Have Redeemed ThemselvesJan 30, 2010
By X
"X"
UPDATE:
The Miles Davis Complete Columbia Albums debacle has been completely corrected, and I give thanks and praise to Sony/Amazon for taking such action and doing it in such a painless way.
About 45 days after receiving a defective set--which I bought from Amazon UK, mind you--I found out about a replacement offer that was allegedly open only to Amazon US customers. I took a chance and e-mailed the folks behind this offer (it was a Sony address); I explained that, while I'd purchased my set from Amazon UK, I thought I'd give it a shot and see if they could help me. Three weeks later, I received my redesigned, flawless Miles Davis box, which arrived via a different courier than the original shipment with double-boxed packaging. (Full disclosure: Amazon UK also e-mailed me, but they only wanted to know about specific discs in the set that were damaged; nothing was said about replacement of the damaged box or other such problems.) To receive a replacement box that is structurally redesigned, to get it for absolutely free, and to still be allowed to keep my old, defective set is beyond my wildest expectations. Thank you, Sony/Amazon--this is customer service at its greatest. You really went above and beyond.
I can now give this set the 5-star rating it deserves. To get the Miles Davis catalog (on Columbia only, I know, but still) in one fell swoop for such a reasonable price and curated in a respectable way (paper sleeves, schmaper sleeves) is amazing. This is up there in the top ten reissues of the decade.
Thank you to everyone!
FIRST REVIEW:
I'm another of the many whose box arrived absolutely trashed. We all know this is a five-star item if you only care about the music. As for an honorable product, it is a one-star affair. My box's lid was split on both sides, and all but about five of the one-disc sets had glue splattered across the playing surface. Don't listen to the guy who says the glue is only on the non-playing portion of the discs--my discs have glue on all areas of the playing surface (and I know how compact discs work). My sleeves weren't falling apart like some people report (sure, they're not tightly bound a la Japanese mini LP sleeves), but they're not great quality. I could live with the sleeves and perhaps even the broken box lid if the discs were clean. I've cleaned scads of discs in my lifetime, and know how to do it with caution; here, however, my glue removal campaign was not always successful. If you decide to remove the glue you run a big risk of scratching the discs further. Some of the discs in my set were worse than others--My "Jazz at the Plaza" looked like someone had puked on it, with one particular glue blob the circumference of a dime, and following my glue removal it looks like it's been used by a 5-year-old as a dinner plate.
What should have been a reissue of a lifetime is a shoddy rush job, and someone's job is probably going to be on the line for this. Tip to pressing plants: don't put discs in a cover BEFORE you glue the cover together.
What a colossal joke--mine is going straight back to poor Amazon. Sony, do the honorable thing and recall this set now. The Complete Miles Davis = A Complete Joke.
**Update: I ordered this from Amazon UK, and that branch of the Amazon empire makes YOU pay for shipping for returns, and you are reimbursed later (Amazon US gives you a post-paid mailing label for returns). I inquired with UPS about shipping this 10-pound monster back to England and it was prohibitively expensive, and because I was so excited for so long about getting this thing I just decided to keep it warts and all. It will always be a boondoggle to me, though--$300 may come to a couple of bucks per disc, but this is a new product and should not have to be refurbished on day one of ownership. My one-star review remains.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Brief Review, Focus on Quality Control and RemasteringJun 17, 2011
By Wade Cottingham
"Wade Cottingham"
When the price got low enough, and the quality control issues had been *apparently* resolved, I bought this Miles Davis Complete Columbia box, brand new from Amazon.
Quality Control
---------------
One disc had a violent cluster of really bad looking scratches (Disc 2 of Get Up With It), but it played fine and I am simply not finding the necessary energey to request a replacement, even though I know Amazon would gladly supply a replacement (of the whole entire box set).
Another handful of discs had single hairline scratches. One of the cardboard jackets had a tear, right out of the box, you know, brand new!
So, MOST of the discs were actually brand new, mint, perfect. I prefer it when ALL of the discs are perfect, how about you?
I accidentally tore two of the cardboard jackets of the 2-CD albums when pinching them to remove the disc.
So, learn from my mistake, and be very gentle when pinching.
A few years ago, the large box set of Horowitz that Columbia released also had terrible quality control.
Mastering
---------
I've only listened to 'Get Up With It' and 'Dark Magus' so far. The remastering sounds GREAT.
I compared my 1991 CD of 'Get Up With It', no comparison. In fact I just now threw away my 1991 CD of 'Get Up With It' because it sounds so muffled compared to this boxset. These particular remasterings sound GREAT to me, really well done.
I have read that different albums in the set use different masterings (i.e. not every single album was remastered just for this boxset) but if these two albums are any indication, the quality of sound and mastering used and chosen for this set is very very nice.
I tried and tried to find accurate info as to when this 'Get Up With It' was remastered, and by whom, but I could not, so far. I wish it were easier to discover the remastering info on all these albums in this box. I wish that info had been included in the set.
Thanks - and any Miles scholars or Columbia insiders who actually know the mastering details of this set please clue me!
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
AWESOMEMar 08, 2010
By David P. Weber
I had to send this box set back to Amazon on no less than four separate occasions. The casing was cracked around the lid every time because the shrink wrap was too tight, and the package wasn't marked FRAGILE (as I requested). However, after finding someone in AUSTRALIA who made it available via amazon.co.uk, I got what I wanted.
For the price, it's an unsurpassable collection. The fact that all discs are in ORIGINAL replica covers is cool-- consult the notes in the book and you find all the details about the extra tracks.
The book contains all of the session info, with some words on the album's creation. If you have good eyesight, you should be able to read ALL of the liner notes on the backs of the replica covers.
The sound quality varies from album to album and this is because (I think) some have been remastered over the years, and others haven't. In one case, it seems to be because of a poor original live recording. It doesn't matter because each LP is of a piece in its entirety and aside from the 'Plaza' album, all sound better than fine.
Some have the extra tracks included on the most recent editions of the CD versions of the LPs. But they don't include all of the stuff to be found on the separate boxes, named the 'Complete Sessions'. To be honest, I'd only get a few of those anyway. What we have here is complete enough.
As for the music... there're not many words I can use to describe the dangerous beauty of the work of Miles Davis. We can only imagine what it was like to hear these when they came out, the barriers breaking down and so on... This box helps put you there.
The sheer quality and breadth of the material is quite stunning.
See all 19 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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