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- Date Released: May 15, 2007
- Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
- Style: Funk
- Label: Light In The Attic / IODA
If it wasn’t for her, it might’ve been called Witches Brew.
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We Say...
The view of history paced by geniuses and great, reality-shaping individuals is often very cruel to the supporting cast, especially when they are women. Consider Betty Davis, who is best known in many circles as merely Miles Davis’ second wife. For nearly thirty years her relative obscurity has belied the very tangible influence she had on the ever-evolving sounds of '70s funk, jazz and rock.
Of course, it’s easy to get hung up on the Davis part of that name. Betty’s first encounter with Miles in the later '60s is still shrouded in mystery. The sexy version of the story (recounted in Wax Poetics) casts her in a “sheer custom-made mini-dress,” stomping up to Davis’ door, uninvited, handing him her card and assuring him that she’d be back once he disposed of his then-current girl of the minute. She herself claims it was merely a shared drink after one of his shows at the Village Gate. Whatever the particulars, a quicksilver courtship ensued and the two were married in 1968. Her face graced the cover of Miles’ Filles De Kilimanjaro, released that year.
But Betty’s influence was far greater than anyone knew. It was almost as though Miles was Betty’s muse, and not the other way around. Miles may have been as rough-and-tumble a jazzman as ever skulked the Earth, but in Betty’s freer circles the style of jazz still seemed square. While they were together she introduced him to what was going on across the way — the liberated soul of a Jimi Hendrix solo or the freaky rainbow coalition of Sly and the Family Stone. Miles started matching Betty’s hip dress; in the studio, he started noodling around with electric rock motifs on a project called Witches Brew — she suggested the name-change Bitches Brew.
By 1969 the marriage was in shambles. There were rumors of an affair with Hendrix; there remains chatter about jealousy and abuse. Perhaps this is what necessarily happens when two effervescent souls meet, and neither relents. She returned to making music, penning songs for the Chambers Brothers and the Commodores. Briefly decamping to England, Davis befriended Marc Bolan, who encouraged her to record her own songs. She returned to the Bay Area and assembled a band consisting of past and future members of Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station, Journey, Tower of Power and the Pointer Sisters.
The result was Betty Davis, released in 1973 on the modest Just Sunshine label. A trio of Bettys strapped in silver, thigh-high moon boots adorns the cover. A savage riff powered “If I’m in Luck I Might Get Picked Up,” a raspy, raunchy mission statement of sorts. Slinking along with Larry Graham’s bass-line, Davis sounded like nothing else around — it was erotic without seeming trashy, skillfully executed but flippant toward the proper life. The wobbling barroom funk of “Anti Love Song” would become one of Davis’ signature tunes, a confident blast from a woman never scorned. Any doubters could be referred to “Game Is My Middle Name” and Betty’s screechy dare, “Whatever you want to play, I said I’ll play it with you.”
Listening to her albums today it is clear why so many people wanted to stand alongside Betty Davis. There is something infinitely thrilling about a person so uncompromising — we hope we can learn how one becomes that strong ourselves. In her music one hears an entire tradition of the outlaw who stands for something — it threads through her super fans Rick James and Ice Cube, modern-day icons like ?uestlove and the Roots, Erykah and Kelis, or anyone who has ever been inspired by the idea that jazz, rock and funk could coexist. It’s odd and sad to think that her original sin was merely one of being different. -
They Say...
Betty Davis' debut was an outstanding funk record, driven by her aggressive, no-nonsense songs and a set of howling performances from a crack band. Listeners wouldn't know it from the song's title, but for the opener, "If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up," Davis certainly doesn't play the wallflower; she's a woman on the prowl, positively luring the men in and, best of all, explaining exactly how she does it: "I said I'm wigglin' my fanny, I'm raunchy dancing, I'm-a-doing it doing it/This is my night out." "Game Is My Middle Name" begins at a midtempo lope, but really breaks through on the chorus, with the Pointer Sisters and Sylvester backing up each of her assertions. As overwhelming as Davis' performances are, it's as much the backing group as Davis herself that makes her material so powerful (and believable). Reams of underground cred allowed her to recruit one of the tightest rhythm sections ever heard on record (bassist Larry Graham and drummer Greg Errico, both veterans of Sly & the Family Stone), plus fellow San Francisco luminaries like master keyboardist Merl Saunders and guitarists Neal Schon or Douglas Rodriguez (both associated with Santana at the time). Graham's popping bass and the raw, flamboyant, hooky guitar lines of Schon or Rodriguez make the perfect accompaniment to these songs; Graham's slinky bass is the instrumental equivalent of Davis' vocal gymnastics, and Rodriguez makes his guitar scream during "Your Man My Man." It's hard to tell whether the musicians are pushing so hard because of Davis' performances or if they're egging each other, but it's an unnecessary question. Everything about Betty Davis' self-titled debut album speaks to Davis the lean-and-mean sexual predator, from songs to performance to backing, and so much the better for it. All of which should've been expected from the woman who was too wild for Miles Davis. [The 2007 Light in the Attic edition includes bonus tracks.]
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| 01. |  |
If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up |
5:00 |
|
| 02. | |
Walkin Up the Road |
2:54 |
|
| 03. | |
Anti Love Song |
4:32 |
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| 04. | |
Your Man My Man |
3:35 |
|
| 05. | |
Ooh Yeah |
3:09 |
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| 06. | |
Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes |
3:14 |
|
| 07. | |
Game Is My Middle Name |
5:23 |
|
| 08. | |
In the Meantime |
2:46 |
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| 09. | |
Come Take Me (Previously Unreleased Bonus Track, 1974) |
3:56 |
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| 10. | |
You Won't See Me In the Morning (Previously Unreleased Bonus Track, 1974) |
3:49 |
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| 11. | |
I Will Take That Ride (Previously Unreleased Bonus Track, 1974) |
4:43 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 43:01 Total Length
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Credits
- Buddy Miles - Author // Neal Schon - Guitar // Neal Schon - Wah Wah Guitar // Jules Broussard - Sax (Baritone) // Herbie Hancock - Author // Herbie Hancock - Author // Merl Saunders - Piano (Electric) // Merl Saunders - Piano (Electric) // Merl Saunders - Piano (Electric) // Merl Saunders - Clavinet // Merl Saunders - Clavinet // Merl Saunders - Clavinet // Pete Sears - Piano // Pete Sears - Piano // Betty Davis - Arranger // Larry Graham - Bass // Larry Graham - Author // June Pointer - Singer // Anita Pointer - Singer // Patryce Banks - Singer // Greg Errico - Drums // Greg Errico - Producer // Hershall Kennedy - Organ // Hershall Kennedy - Clavinet // Hershall Kennedy - Singer // Richard Kermode - Piano // Richard Kermode - Clavinet // Ron Levine - Design // Ron Levine - Type // Kathi McDonald - Singer // Skip Mesquite - Saxophone // Victor Pantoja - Conga // Prince Paul - Author // Doug Rauch - Bass // Douglas Rodrigues - Guitar // Annie Sampson - Singer // Dave Cooley - Remastering // Greg Adams - Trumpet // Scott Colburn - Tape Transfer // Baron Wolman - Photo Courtesy // Baron Wolman - Archival Materials // Mel Dixon - Original Cover Photography // Geoffrey Weiss - Photo Courtesy // Geoffrey Weiss - Archival Materials // Matt Sullivan - Executive Producer // Matt Sullivan - Reissue Producer // Josh Wright - Executive Producer // Kiki Ajidarma - Design // Michael Gillette - Trombone // Chris Ferraro - Executive Producer // Oliver Wang - Liner Notes // Oliver Wang - Essay // Peaches - Author // John Ballon - Reissue Assistant // John Ballon - Photo Courtesy // John Ballon - Archival Materials // Michael Lang - Photo Courtesy // Michael Lang - Archival Materials // Good Doin Mallory - Engineer // Patricia Pointer - Singer // Mike Samples - Photo Courtesy // Mike Samples - Archival Materials // Lawrence Wise - Photo Courtesy // Lawrence Wise - Archival Materials
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