The 50th anniversary reissue of Miles Davis’ landmark Kind of Blue raises the question of how you review reissues. In some cases, albums are ripe for reappraisal, but Kind of Blue isn’t one of them. If there’s an observation to be made today, it’s that Kind of Blue is the sound in people’s imaginations when they think of jazz, and how sad it is that the quintessential sound of jazz is 50 years old.

If the album’s unassailable, then in effect you review the extras, and the extras here make a good argument against deluxe reissues. Disc one presents the album, and no additional tracks that add anything. Disc two closes with an excellent, stretched out live version of “So What” that omits Paul Chambers’ bass intro, and the alternate take of “Flamenco Sketches” is fine, but little else here needs to be heard. The false starts that comprise most of disc one’s bonus tracks seem to be there to provide evidence for Francis Davis’ assertions in the liner notes, and disc two’s bonus tracks present one of the Kind of Blue combos—Davis, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Paul Chambers and James Cobb with Bill Evans on piano—in the studio a year earlier. All fine, but Miles didn’t think those recordings needed to get into the world and he was right. They’re subject for study, but Kind of Blue is still all you need.