I would give it a 3.5 if it existed. A very good album from the 1980's version of Miles Davis band. It lays down the fusion sound of the 80's as Miles returns to the music scene, once again re-defining the rules of the game. He reaches out to pop more than ever before, covering two of the hottest hits of the day, Human Nature and Time After Time, but he does it his own way, without melodrama or the extra cheese. The music has an urgent edge, is more punchy and focused and the jams have more form than his very abstract 70's stuff, and has those big keyboard sounds of the 80's which came to dominate fusion of the period. The funkiness is still there, but it seems to be more laid back, stylized and MTV-friendly than the black-power stuff of the seventies, which was way more cool, in my opinion. Miles' solos seem to lack imagination somewhat, but I think his new guitar player John Scoffield more than makes up for that. I can just visualize this music used in a movie like "Beverly Hills Cop". Still, it is a fun album, more fun than many of his '80s recordings, and there are a couple of great fusion workouts.
I would give it a 3. 5 if it existed. A very good album from the 1980's version of Miles Davis band. It lays down the fusion sound of the 80's as Miles returns to the music scene, once again re-defining the rules of the game. He reaches out to pop more than ever before, covering two of the hottest hits of the day, Human Nature and Time After Time, but he does it his own way, without melodrama or the extra cheese. The music has an urgent edge, is more punchy and focused and the jams have more form than his very abstract 70's stuff, and has those big keyboard sounds of the 80's which came to dominate fusion of the period. The funkiness is still there, but it seems to be more laid back, stylized and MTV-friendly than the black-power stuff of the seventies, which was way more cool, in my opinion. Miles' solos seem to lack imagination somewhat, but I think his new guitar player John Scoffield more than makes up for that. I can just visualize this music used in a movie like "Beverly Hills Cop". Still, it is a fun album, more fun than many of his '80s recordings, and there are a couple of great fusion workouts.