pjw, I came to like Miles new music just as much as you do, but you must realize this was in 68, and I was totally unprepared for this complete change. Compare the music of Miles and Trane to that music, to understand where I'm coming from, and Miles going from a suit to a fringed buckskin vest.
Think of someone turning up a bottle labeled wine that had whisky in it, or a bottle labeled whisky that had wine in it; the unexpected shock of it all made the performance null and void.