MILES DAVIS — You're Under Arrest (review)

MILES DAVIS — You're Under Arrest album cover Album · 1985 · Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
J-Man
The 1980's were not the greatest time for Miles Davis, and like many seasoned jazz artists were doing at the time, he exchanged his ambitious musical attitude for a much more safe eighties' pop-jazz sound. You're Under Arrest is one of the low points in the trumpeter's vast discography, and even though there are a few decent numbers here, the album as a whole comes across as pretty uninspired and safe. Miles Davis lets his genius shine through occasionally, but not nearly enough to justify a purchase for those who aren't die-hard fans of his music. You're Under Arrest is not a bad album in my opinion, but it's so formulaic and generic that I can only recommend it to people who've already heard the vast majority of Miles's discography.

Even though this is first and foremost a commercial-tinged eighties' pop-jazz album, You're Under Arrest does actually vary quite a bit from track to track. The funky "One Phone Call/Street Scenes" opens up the album, only to be followed up by the (surprisingly enjoyable) cover of Michael Jackson's pop tune "Human Nature". On this album, you'll also find a cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", as well as some pretty good fusion in the title track. While the entire album is inoffensive and pretty catchy, it lacks any truly spectacular moments and I'm left with a rather lukewarm feeling when the CD ends. There just isn't anything all that powerful or special here, and the shallow songwriting fails to impress me aside from its initial "catchiness".

Maybe part of the reason why You're Under Arrest sounds so uninspired is the weak production; cheesy synth tones, generic eighties' drums, and a rather weak mix all plague the album. Factor in the unadventurous songwriting and you have an album that sounds pretty safe and clichéd to these ears.

You're Under Arrest is often cited as one of the weakest Davis albums out there, and it's not that difficult to understand why after giving it a few spins. Even though the excellent musicianship and decent songwriting save the album from being terrible, the music is just so uninspired and clichéd that it's difficult for me to regard this as part of Miles Davis's essential canon. Still, You're Under Arrest is not a terrible purchase for die-hard fans of Miles Davis and eighties' jazz music so I guess 2.5 stars are deserved. You're probably best off purchasing almost every other Miles album before this one, though.
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