It's hard to realise now, but this was the first-ever live album that Miles released. The plethora of archive issues (from Parker airshots to the 1948 Birth Of The Cool band's broadcasts to club engagements in St. Louis and LA to five years of tapes with Coltrane) all surfaced after this set was commissioned by Columbia. In addition to its historical value, it has some dynamite playing from an extrovert Miles and the rhythm-section while Mobley, featured at greater length (and later criticised by his bandleader), acquits himself very creditably. Listeners expecting Davis' relatively restrained playing on Kind of Blue, or even the 1961 Someday My Prince Will Come, are liable to be blown away by his performance here. Though presenting itself as the original 2LP set, this also includes a couple of items first issued on compilation albums and adds a couple of the Sony 4CD set's extra tracks (while failing to point out that ‘Softly As In A Morning Sunrise’ is a rhythm-section feature without Miles). At least four tracks that were initially edited to shorten Mobley's solos are presented complete, as on previous CD releases. If you don't know this material already, don't hesitate now.