That was the one! Festival Hall 85. It was truly epic. Did you see the first or second show? I saw the second- wish I’d gone to both
I saw the second one too! Capital Radio broadcast part of the show - I'd love to hear the full version.
Like with an amazing movie, the second after the end I feel like watching it again. I'm having coffee and a drink, after Sunday lunch, and wishing time could go back so I could jump into this thread when it started. This was the thread that made me an SHF member. Unfortunately I started late. Maybe one day we'll do it again, Miles music never gets old and it's wonderful to talk about it.
Yeah, ready for You're Under Arrest. Bad advice to say no to this man... The name of course referred to Miles being continually arrested by NY cops for decades.
Well, I hadn't realised before that Miles is toting a gun on the cover. Very gangsta. I never bought this release, just borrowed it on a musicassette from the local library. I remember being unimpressed by the album. It is notable for including a contemporary pop song (or is it two?), which hadn't happened on Mike's album for a long time.
Miles' retort being that he recorded a lot of contemporary pop songs before. In the 50s and early 60s in particular, which is true. Sinatra tunes etc. Most of the repertoire with the Coltrane quintet I like one of em but not the other...will hold off critique until the OP resumes activities though.
Lol, I was thinking about this thread the other day. "It's About That Time" Just a couple of night shifts left and I'll be back in the game again. Thanks for the wake-up call, and please stay tuned.
You're Under Arrest recorded January 1984 ~ January 1985 original issue: Columbia LP FC 40023 (mastered by Robert Ludwig!), CD CK 40023 and cassette in April 1985 Producer: Miles Davis and Robert Irving III; Co-Producer: Vincent Wilburn, Jr. Single: "Time After Time" (album length 3:37 | 7" single length 3:36 | 12" single length 5:34) b/w "Katia" (album length 7:37 | 7" single length 3:57 | 12” single length 5:41) From Miles' autobiography: "I had just recorded You're Under Arrest in the late part of 1984 and the early part of 1985. This was the last record that I officially recorded with Columbia. But this time, Bob Berg had replaced Bill Evans on saxophone in the band, Steve Thornton had taken Mino Cinelu's place, and my nephew Vincent Wilburn had recorded on the drums, in place of Al Foster. The singer Sting was on that album, too, because Darryl Jones was recording with him and asked if he could bring him over, so I said he could. Sting plays the French policeman's voice on the album. He's a nice guy, although I didn't know at the time that he was trying to hire Darryl as a bass player for his band. "The concept for You're Under Arrest came out of the problems that black people have with policemen everywhere. The police are always f***ing with me when I drive around out in California. They didn't like me driving a $60,000 yellow Ferrari, which I was doing at the time I made this record. Plus, they didn't like me, a black person, living in a beachfront house in Malibu. That's where the concept for You're Under Arrest came from: being locked up for being part of the street scene, being locked up politically. Being subjected to the looming horror of a nuclear holocaust - plus being locked up in a spiritual way. It's the nuclear threat that is really a motherf****r in our daily lives, that and the pollution that is everywhere. Polluted lakes, oceans, rivers; polluted ground, trees, fish, everything. "I mean, they're just f***ing up everything because they're so f***ing greedy. I'm talking about whites who are doing this, and they're doing it all over the world. F***ing up the ozone layer, threatening to drop bombs on everybody, trying to always take other people's ****, and sending in armies when people don't want to give it up. It's shameful, pitiful, and dangerous what they're doing, what they have been doing all these years, because it's f***ing with everyone. That's why on "Then There Were None" I have the synthesizer creating sounds like flaming, howling winds which were supposed to be a nuclear explosion. Then you hear my lonely trumpet, which is supposed to be a baby's wailing cry, or the sad cry of a person who has survived the bomb's explosion. That's why those bells are there in that tolling, mourning kind of sound. They're supposed to be ringing for the dead. I put that countdown in there, "5, 4, 3, 2..." and then, at the end of the record, you hear my voice saying, "Ron, I meant for you to push the other button." "You're Under Arrest did real good; it sold over 100,000 albums in a few weeks. But I didn't like what was happening at Columbia." Wiesen, Austria, July 7, 1984 From Miles’ own website: "Originally, Miles wanted Gil Evans to create arrangements for some popular songs, including D-Train’s “Something On Your Mind” and “Human Nature,” recorded by the group Toto for Michael Jackson, and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” which would henceforth become one of the highlights of Miles’ concerts. Then, interrupted because of health problems at the end of 1984, Miles returned to the mode of Star People and Decoy. During the winter of 1984-85, Miles made an about-face and decided to redo everything in several days. The result was an album of great contrasts: popular songs, a solo by John Scofield used as the theme song, the alternation of Al Foster and Vince Wilburn, the return of John McLaughlin, and an opening sketch “One Phone Call/Street Scenes” with the voices of Sting and Marek Olko (a Polish promoter who had tried to arrange a tour for Miles in Russia). It concluded with a curious descriptive piece featuring children’s voices and a nuclear explosion. As a bell tolled, Miles lamented, “Ron, I told you to push the other button.” Was he addressing his sound engineer Ron Lorman or Ronald Reagan, reelected for his star-wars strategy?" Montreux Jazz Festival, July 8, 1984 From The Last Miles by George Cole: "You're Under Arrest combines many different elements: pop tunes with political tracks, hard funk and reggae influences, yet despite this wide variation in theme and genre, one has to agree with [Robert] Irving's assessment that: "It's an eclectic mix of music and despite the way it came together I feel that it has cohesion." "The cohesion and the coherence are much stronger on this album than on Decoy, which also mixed various genres. The public certainly seemed to think so and You're Under Arrest sold more than 100,000 copies just after a few weeks of its release. The Penguin Guide To Jazz describes the album as: "Entertainment-wise, perhaps the best of the late albums." "Certainly the album was uneven, but it seemed to define Davis in the 1980's as Bitches Brew had in the 1970's and My Funny Valentine in the 1960's," was the verdict of critic Stuart Nicholson. "You're Under Arrest does have its faults. Bob Berg noted that: "It's not my favorite album... it sounds a bit canned," but in view of how little time [Ron] Lorman had to mix the album, he did a creditable job. At this point in his career, Miles was fascinated by synthesizer and drum machine technology, both for its sonic characteristics and its ability to keep perfect time. The album's soundscape is dominated by the Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer. On the album Tutu Miles would go even further, replacing his band with an electronic orchestra. "You're Under Arrest is probably Miles' most accessible album of the 1980's." Copenhagen, Denmark, December 14, 1984
In the late 70s I was into the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever & Weather Report. I was aware that the leading musicians in all these bands had played with Miles but I’d no idea where to start when it came to listened to him. Also record shops where I lived had few Miles records (they didn’t sell much jazz & Miles hadn’t released anything for a few years). I bought Bitches Brew. There was clearly a lot going on but I couldn’t understand it. I bought Get Up With It. This sounded quite different but again it left me cold. As Miles began his comeback I bought each of his new albums but none grabbed me until You’re Under Arrest. This inspired me to buy In A Silent Way which I loved & then Jack Johnson which I loved & then Agharta which I loved. When I listened again to Bitches Brew & Get Up With It they now clicked with me. After returning to You’re Under Arrest I found some of it somewhat cheesy. But if I hadn’t heard it I’d possibly never have got into Miles. Listening to this album now it seems a waste to get such great musicians playing to what sounds to be a click track. It’s interesting that the sales figures for this album are quoted. I think there’s a similarity between Miles & You’re Under Arrest and David Bowie & Lets Dance. Bowie had made a succession of critically acclaimed albums but only with the commercial Lets Dance did he make it really big saleswise. Miles was a great artist who followed his muse but he loved fame & money. Perhaps this was his aim, or at least 1 of his aims in making You’re Under Arrest?
I always like this album. I saw a couple of Miles shows around this time. My first Miles show being in 1974 and my first Miles Album being Bitches Brew. I always thought that by this time Miles knew that there wasn't ever going to be any new great innovation/change the music again kind of deal. I think he just wanted to have some fun. He had musicians that were friends of his and he like helping them make some money. He certainly could use and needed a money stream coming in. He knew he was on borrowed time and he was just going for it. Thank goodness, he did play some cool shows up to the end with some excellent musicians. Bob Berg was really great. And I enjoyed seeing Darryl, he was I think about nineteen when I saw him in the band the first time.
I think it's fair to say that while Miles Davis was a true artist, he also never hesitated about making a play for a mass audience...and the money and attention that came with it. Albums like Bitches Brew and On The Corner were inspired by Miles' wanting a piece of the action bands like Sly and the Family Stone were helping themselves to at the time. Now, the 80's come along and Miles is experimenting with hip-hop beats, making videos, and even appearing on Miami Vice (hey, no less an iconoclast as Frank Zappa did too). So, I don't think Miles ever really thought about an album like You're Under Arrest or these other activities as "selling out" - I think his prime directive was to stay current and "of the moment". Much as he loved and respected Louis Armstrong, Miles was never going to be "that guy" - finding a mass audience was going to be, as they always have been, on Miles' terms.
I'm really late to this great thread, but one reason I think Bitches Brew was such a huge success was partially due to the fact that it was a double LP. Back in the sixties, there just weren't that many double LPs, and all the double LPs by the biggest artists were considered their masterpieces. While I can't offhand think of any jazz non-live double LPs from before 1970, in the rock world there was Dylan's Blonde On Blonde, The Beatles White Album, The Who's Tommy, Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, and The Mothers Of Invention's Freak Out. All of these records were wildly experimental and with the exception of Freak Out, massive sellers. I don't think I'm alone in saying that they have also grown in stature since their release. I think Bitches Brew fits in quite nicely with this list.
I was on a total modern Miles kick in the 80s and I really enjoyed You're Under Arrest at the time. Played the hell out of it. However, I don't think I've played it since the early 90s (hell, that's about 25 years!).
"Miles" and "accessible"- two words put together in a sentence Columbia Records probably reckoned they hadn't heard in a long time... That said, I've never heard You're Under Arrest. Have never really had the urge, truth be told. I do know that the last time I was in my local record store, they had multiple copies on LP in the Miles section (hell, pretty much all they had was a few of his 80's records and a ridiculously overpriced copy of Live Evil...). I've never taken seeing multiple copies of a record in a secondhand store as a good sign, but that's just me.
Yep, they're cheap and abundant. My local had like 13 copies of most of the post-retirement LPs, so I could pick the cleanest copies. This one was cut by Bob Ludwig with nice fat sound - better than the CD. I figured for like $3 each, how could I not go wrong with any of these? Take a gamble. Go Ahead John!
I doubt any of the copies in my local were $3. The shop can be kinda pricey. That copy of Live Evil they had was a mere $70...
Firstly, thanks @rxcory for the latest update and the usual excellent album summary. I have a soft spot for You're Under Arrest, not least because any album featuring John Scofield, John McLaughlin, Al Foster (on some tracks), Darryl Jones and Bob Berg has got to be worth listening to. The opener never fails to make me smile (I imagine Miles in the studio recording his part) and, of course, it's got that neat riff from "Right Off". I especially like "Katia," "Ms Morrisine", "You're Under Arrest" and "Something's On Your Mind." Ironically, the two best-known covers, "Human Nature" and "Time After Time" are the weakest tracks for me, but that's really because I much prefer the live versions. Check-out the Montreux 1985 discs (which feature the same studio band) and the contrast between studio and live versions is like colour and black and white. During 1985, when Miles was arguably at his strongest health-wise, his playing on "Time After Time" was superb, with lots of open-horn. I always liked hearing "Human Nature," live, both with guitar solos (from the likes of Garth Webber, Robben Ford and Hiram Bullock) and Kenny Garrett's blistering sax solos (which I know are not to everyone's taste ). It's a patchy album, but I think it works and sits well in Miles' canon of work. I'd love to see an extended version of this album released, as I believe there's quite a bit of material in the can (I'd love to hear the earlier versions of the tracks that Miles rejected, if they exist, and an 8-minute version of "Time After Time" exists). I love the artwork too, especially Miles' doodles, which were all over the dust sleeve of the LP version.
Not much to add @slapbass comments above - I think 'You're Under Arrest' is a hugely enjoyable LP, summarising MD's earlier 80's music in an unprecedentedly coherent and accessible way. It still has bags of character though. Shame there's not more Scofield & Berg but McLaughlin is a nice compensation. I actually like the low-key takes on the pop covers. As I mentioned upthread my first MD show was in 85, a run through of this whole LP pretty much in sequence with other stuff interspersed, by a terrific band. So yes a soft spot for this one indeed.
