Miles Davis - The Man With The Horn

This arrived in the post this morning. A beautiful quality Japanese pressing to boot, albeit sans obi strip.

I really cannot fathom what is going on with the sleeve art work.

I’ve tried listen to this with my 1981 ears on, as well as my 2025 ears.

Alright, worst first:

To be honest it’s no surprise that the album's two low-points were the ones where Randy Hall was involved.

In the context of 1981, the dancey instrumental Shout sounds in-keeping with the crossover output of other horn players around that time, Tom Browne, Donald Byrd, or Herb Alpert, for instance. Of course we kind of expect more of Davis.

The cringe-inducing ballad, which is the title track is a contender for the worst ever Miles Davis tune. Hall's lyrics are just awful:

Smooth, suave, debonair,
Describes a man so rare.

The good bits:

Mike Stern’s guitar solo on Fat Time is ridiculously good.

Marcus Miller’s bass playing is wonderfully understated.

The distorted guitar sound on Back Seat Betty is delightfully odd.

The stand out track by a country mile is Aïda, not least because of Al Foster’s spectacular drumming.

Just waiting for a copy of Tutu to arrive now.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#Jazz
#MilesDavis
#TheManWithTheHorn

John Spithead

2025-06-30 02:03:10

Getting Randy

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Miles Davis - You're Under Arrest

It is commonly said that this album was Davis’ stab at a commercial hit. As if him covering two of the day’s recent pop hits (Human Nature and Time After Time) was ever going to get him into the top ten. I don’t think this is the case, and I'll tell you why.

First off, the usual way for jazz players to score a money-generating crossover hit back in those days was via the dancefloor, hence you get jazz-fusion albums with soul singers added for a couple of tracks, see Wilton Felder (feat. Bobby Womack), Sadao Watanabe (feat. Roberta Flack), Ralph McDonald (feat. Bill Withers) etc, not by recording two instrumentals of slowish-tempo pop hits, slathered in John Scofield’s chorus pedal-laden guitar.

Secondly, no-one has ever said, “We need a pop smash, get John McLaughlin on the phone!” And McLaughlin is all over this album like a twiddly-jazz rash. Sometimes, it’s both him and Scofield. Jazz foot & mouth.

Thirdly, it’s always been part of jazz to take a slab of popular music and do something special with it. Davis has done this before: Porgy and Bess anyone?

Finally, Davis kept both of the covers in his set for the rest of his career, which he would be very unlikely to do if he didn’t value them highly.

So, let’s talk about the covers, shall we? Human Nature, was written by one of Toto and discovered and finessed under Quincy Jones’ keen eye, for inclusion on Thriller which gives it a bit of a ick-factor. However, it is arguably NOT just a Noncey McNonceface song, and it is helpful to untether the song from its most famous singer. Davis’ version of this is just wonderful. I just wish it were longer.

Cyndi Lauper, who wrote and first performed Time After Time, has undergone something of a revision of her status as an artist, so her work is no longer seen as pop drivel, as it largely was at the time, but as something of greater import. That’s fine: times change. However, it’s important to bear in mind that Davis had selected this song from the depths of the low-status, disposable shite pile, where it dwelled at the time.

I'm on my fourth or fifth spin of this album, and I like it a lot.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#MilesDavis
#YoureUnderArrest
#Jazz
#JohnScofield
#JohnMcLaughlin
#CyndiLauper
#HumanNature
#TimeAfterTime
#QuincyJones

Miles Davis - Decoy

Follow my train of thought here if you will. After my Randy Hall post, I watched Miles and Chaka do Human Nature live on you tube, and came to the conclusion that I really should dedicate part of my life to having a proper listen to Davis’ 80s work.

I’ve pulled the Discogs trigger on copies of Star People and The Man With The Horn (featuring Randy Hall, of course) and am actively pursuing a copy of Tutu.

I picked up a couple of his LPs from this period (Decoy and You’re Under Arrest) in the late 80s, secondhand, when, to be honest, the angular rhythms, celestial synth sounds and slap-ping-pop bass that had sounded so new and exciting in 1984 were sounding distinctly old hat by that time and they already seemed like a bit of an error of judgement. Certainly, the person who fucked them off into the second hand record shop thought so.

I’ve played them occasionally, but they've tended to feel a little too much like hard work, especially when there’s so many other of his albums to listen to. But anyway, today’s the day I go balls-deep into Davis’ 80s product.

Allmusic’s review of Decoy is both scathing and quite funny.

There’s some whopping names on this album: Gil Evans, Bill Evans, Al Foster (RIP), and Branford Marsalis (whose soloing is low-key, but breathtaking, and my favourite thing about the album, I think.) But the dominant sounds are John Scofield (guitar), Darryl Jones (bass) and Robert Irving III (synthesizers). Davis’ horn sounds reverby and a bit distant.

I don’t know whether the time is right for this to sound fresh and lovely again, or whether I’ve evolved as a person enough to appreciate it fully, but I fucking loved this from start to finish. I’m now on my second play.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#Jazz
#MilesDavis
#Decoy

John Spithead

2025-06-30 02:03:10

Getting Randy

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Various Artists - Street Sounds Vol. 1

I dug this out after it came up here.

Back at the beginning of the 1980s, Morgan Khan had a brainwave. Every couple of months he'd have a guess at what were looking to be the biggest dancefloor hits and license eight or so of them for release on his compilations. The kids (of which I was one) lapped them up.

We were so busy lapping that we didn't notice their shitty pressing quality, because that doesn't matter when you are playing them on a Fidelity stereo with a 2 pence piece Blu-tacked to the tone arm to stop it jumping. It was a different age.

Khan expanded this empire into Electro, Jazz, world music and - if I recall correctly - a magazine to take on Echoes and Blues & Soul. A look at the current Street Sounds website, shows they now do beer, clothing and slipmats.

I have quite a few Street Sounds albums, and they are able to transport me back to my youth like no other albums. This one for example perfectly encapsulates the early post-disco period. This came out the year I left school: the Falklands, Thatcher, Carlsberg and Marmite flavour crisps...it wasn't all Crass and Theatre of Hate.

It is an absolute travesty that neither Morgan Khan nor Street Sounds have a Wikipedia entry. If I could be arsed, I'd do something about that.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#music
#StreetSounds
#MorganKhan

John Spithead

2025-06-28 04:53:04

All mine

Inner Life - Moment Of My Life Extended Version 12"

Another Salsoul banger. I think I first heard this on the [https://www.discogs.com/release/112290-Various-Street-Sounds-Edition-1/url]]1982 Street Sounds 1 album.

Jocelyn Brown on lead vocals.

Sneaky Gospel.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#Salsoul
#InnerLife
#JocelynBrown
#ShepPettibone
#Boogie

Randy Hall - I Belong To You

Randy Hall once played with Miles Davis. How do I know this? It’s mentioned first and foremost in everything that has been written about ol’ Randy ever since. Mind you, fair enough – if I’d once collaborated with Miles, I’d have it tattooed on my forehead. And carry a big sign around with me.

I was inspired to drag this one out of the racks of wax by this post, which features Randy’s old band (before he collaborated with Miles Davis). This album comes about 4 years after he collaborated with Miles Davis. It’s produced by Ray Parker Jr, who was schmokin’ hot at the time, what with his Ghostbusters theme and all.

Randy has obviously had his hair done and gone clothes shopping for the cover shoot. Nice to see he made an effort, despite having the bona fides of having worked with Miles Davis.

I remember buying this on US import from JiFS in Chadwell Heath. I reckon it cost seven pounds fifty, just before the price of imports went up to eight quid.

Honestly, musically, I don’t mind it. It’s of an age.

Lyrically, though...fucking hell.

I’ve Been Watching You (Jamie’s Girl) tells the tale of Randy pursuing his best mate’s girlfriend (possibly – but this isn’t mentioned in the lyrics – by telling her that he once collaborated with Miles Davis), before old mate Jamie finds out, offers him outside for fisticuffs, which Randy wins, then gets all gloaty over his double-victory:

Ain't no sense in goin' home, Jamie, I got your girl and gone

A Gentleman is a lesson in non-toxic masculinity which has aged so badly, it could come from the 19th century:

Don’t forget to tip your hat – a gentleman is where it’s at.

Are you listening, Andrew Tate?

Intergenerational relationships are celebrated in a totally modern and non-kink-shaming way on Older Woman, Younger Man:

Its the new thing today, so baby if you’re able, come on and rock my cradle.

With the name Randy Hall sounding like a luxury swingers' club, it's no surprise that things get a bit hot under the collar and the album comes to its sticky climax with I Want To Touch You, essentially a slowjam singalong about finger-banging, which has more sex noises than are required in a song. (Possibly a recording of Randy looking at the sleeve notes of Miles Davis’ The Man With The Horn.)

Oh and in the thanks list on the back cover, the first name after the big G and Randy's fam is ‘Miles’.

I’ve really enjoyed playing this album this morning.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#RandyHall
#IBelongToYou
#MilesDavis
#Boogie
#music
#RayParkerJr

Tinselwig

2025-06-29 01:51:59

Sunday Coffee and Tunes - 29/06/25

Pleasure - Joyous

This is one of those records I'd keep picking up and then putting down cos I knew nothing about it but was drawn to the cover. I love the design of this album art!

I'd first seen it at a record fair years ago and the guy next to me digging said "ohhh that's great album you should get it" when I was checking it out. I didn't have enough money then to take a punt as it wasn't cheap and also wasn't sure about this random advice.

For the last few months I discovered it had been tucked away in one of our local stores which is more known for punk/metal/indie but has a small soul and jazz section. I finally gave it a listen the other week and it's tops! It brings the same "joyous" vibe that Donald Byrds Places and Spaces gives. It has a cast of thousands on it. Starts with an instant party mood lifter and ends with the track Selim which has crazy bass lines. 

This is a rerelease by Jazz Dispensary and one for the We Buy Records podcast bingo- mixed by Kevin Gray, proper inner sleeve, quality pressing, good price point etc.

#nowplaying #nowspinning #vinyl #records #pleasure #jazzfunk #soul #jazz

Flora Purim - Stories To Tell

Friendica has been out of action for a while, so I've got a bit of a backlog of tunes to post. Glad it's back, but I'm going to miss those 503 Service Unavailable messages. It means some of those #NowPlaying tags will be a bit of a lie.

I went onto Discogs over the weekend to have a quick look at what Flora Purim albums I don’t have and discovered that I own this. Turns out it had been mis-filed.

A really decent album. Brazilian-Fusion with the emphasis on the Brazilian. Flora calls back to her work with Chick Corea/Neville Potter’s Scientology-fusion Return To Forever work on the super-angular-funky title track.

It has Earl Klugh listed as guitarist. I’ve got a couple of his albums and they tend to be verrrrry melllllow affairs. I was onto the second side when I thought, “Bloody hell, Earl, you’re going for it a bit.” Turns out Carlos Santana was swapped in for that track.

Looks like I paid $20 for this, probably in Mr V’s in Semaphore. Bargain.

#NowPlaying
#Vinyl
#Music
#FloraPurim
#StoriesToTell
#JazzFusion
#BrazilianFusion