When Mr Pinky was young, one of the first jazz artists he got into was Miles Davis. Not the good stuff though. I started with one of his comeback albums, Star People. This was his return to music after having dropped out between 1974-1980.
In my youthful naivety, I thought the eighties Miles – the decade in which I grew up – really cool. I had no idea that his eighties work was held in such low esteem when compared the great Miles Davis work of before his semi-retirement. Later on I would come to Miles’ great albums and realise how tinny and ephemeral some of these albums were.
Oh well. Nonetheless, I still have a soft spot for some of these records, especially 1986’s Tutu. The album was basically put together by bassist Marcus Miller, and it has a solid, chunky sound that you’d expect from a bassist. Miles basically plays along, so the album is really more of a collaboration.
Yes, the sound has probably dated. Some of that drum programming you wouldn’t hear today, that’s for sure. Nevertheless the tunes are pretty nifty – exotic, unusual even. Despite its rich and strange sound, Tutu is also quite accessible.
Miles also does a cover of Scritti Politti’s Perfect Way, which is the closest the album gets to sweet sounding aural confectionary.
If you do get a copy of this album, make sure it’s a good quality copy. The sounds are big and chunky.
This is one of Miles Davis’s more pop orientated albums, yet it’s also quite innovative in its own way. If you’re looking for a fun, more modern Hip Hop way to start listening to Miles Davis, this would be a good place to start.
The album art work is fan-dabi-doozi by the way.
