New Obsession

Regular readers to this blog will know, that every once in a while, a new obsession arises. I tend to throw myself into something, headlong, and stay there. I did it with Pink Floyd, a few years ago, and more recently - Miles Davis.
Well, the new obsession appears to be a minor offshoot of the Miles stuff.
It's "Sketches Of Spain".

For a long time, I've not really "got" Sketches - certainly, not to the same extent as other Miles albums. "Bitches Brew" has been a constant companion for the last few years - I'm not kidding when I say I think I've listened to "Pharaoh's Dance" pretty much every day. For me, it's become meditative, an exercise in mindfulness. It keeps me sane, inspired, full of optimism, and hope.

But Sketches was different - I never really appreciated it. Partly, I think, for the geographical specificity. To me, it felt like a Travelogue, or a tourist advert. How wrong I was. There's something about the album that's just.....grabbed me. Partly, this is down to my recent jaunt to Edinburgh - I sat on that plane, and made a conscious decision to zone out, and listen to an album, any album, in full. Preferably something I'd not listened to properly before. And there you have it - I just looked at Sketches in the Spotify menu, and thought "why not?"

It is an absolute masterpiece. It's transcendentally beautiful - almost spiritual in its power. There are moments which are genuinely transformative. This being one of them, Miles's solo, around two thirds of the way through, which rises, and then collapses on itself, in a series of jaw-dropping descending, mournful blasts on the horn - is one of the most astonishing things I've ever heard.

- So, It's been three days now, and I've listened to nothing else. I'll keep you all posted, but I suspect this will continue for quite some time.