History YMMV / MilesDavis

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Starting with ''Music/BitchesBrew'', things start getting weird.
-->'''Miles Davis:''' If you understood everything I said, you'd be me.

* GrowingTheBeard: When he was playing frenetic bebop music, he ''sounded'' uncomfortable. Once he became a bandleader and had the freedom to play in his unique style he became, well, Miles Davis.

* SeasonalRot: While Davis' career as a whole tends to split hairs due to its eclectic-ness, majority opinion looks unfavorably at his latter-day material during the 80's. Much of this is owed to the fact that it marked Davis diving headfirst into the smooth jazz boom of the era, a trend that was always hugely divisive among hardcore jazz fans; while it did grant Davis further mainstream success that would last up to his death in 1991, fans and critics alike view his 80's material as lacking the artistic innovation that marked prior records, with this sentiment bleeding over into ''Doo-Bop'' and ''Rubberband'', the two posthumous albums of his that were recorded during that time.

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Starting with ''Music/BitchesBrew'', things start getting ... weird.

** Taking a broader view, the fusion era in general; at the time Miles and Teo Macero's editing of performances on those records was very controversial and alienated jazz purists, but the albums are now usually recognized as masterpieces.

* SelfImposedChallenge: By the time of his second great quintet, with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, Miles was famous for playing quite slow and meditative music. So, when they got a gig at the Plugged Nickel, knowing that it would be recorded, Miles decided to call all the tunes at a ferocious lick so that they couldn't rely on their old habits. The result is one of the most blistering post-bop albums ever made.

* OldShame: Late in his life, Davis largely disregarded his cool jazz period (running roughly from ''Birth of the Cool'' to ''Kind of Blue''). He said this in 1986:
-->'''Miles Davis:''' What I used to play...we had the energy then and we liked it. But I have no feel for it anymore -- it's like warmed-over turkey.
* SeasonalRot: While Davis' career as a whole tends to split hairs due to its eclectic-ness, majority opinion looks unfavorably at his latter-day material during the 80's. Much of this is owed to the fact that it marked Davis diving headfirst into the smooth jazz boom of the era, a trend that was always hugely divisive among hardcore jazz fans; while did did grant Davis further mainstream success that would last up to his death in 1991, fans and critics alike view his 80's material as lacking the artistic innovation that marked prior records, with this sentiment bleeding over into ''Doo-Bop'' and ''Rubberband'', the two posthumous albums of his that were recorded during that time.

** His experimentation in different styles would have sub-examples of this as well. For example, ''In a Silent Way'' is considered to be the point where his fusion material became truly great.

** ''In a Silent Way'' has a very soothing, relaxed sound compared to his later more frenetic fusion work.

* OldShame: Late in his life, Davis largely disregarded his cool jazz period (running roughly from ''Birth of the Cool'' to ''Kind of Blue''). he said this in 1986: