Rubberband (Miles Davis album)

Rubberband
An abstract painting with the album title overwritten it
Studio album by
Miles Davis
ReleasedSeptember 6, 2019 (2019-09-06)
RecordedOctober 1985–January 1986
Studio
  • Ameraycan Studios
  • Utopia Studios (new recordings)
  • The Village (Ledisi Lalah Hathaway, Isaiah Sharkey, and Vince Wilburn Jr.)
  • Dot's Way Recorders (Munyungo Jackson and Vince Wilburn Jr.)
GenreJazz
Length63:11
LabelRhino/Warner
Producer
Miles Davis chronology
Miles Davis & John Coltrane The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6
(2018) 		Rubberband
(2019) 		Merci Miles! Live at Vienne
(2021)

Rubberband is the final Miles Davis album, recorded in 1985 and released on Rhino Records and Warner Records on September 6, 2019.[1] The album has received mixed to positive reviews.[2]

Recording and Rubberband EP

After leaving long-time record label Columbia Records, Davis went to Warner Bros. Although the 1985 album was not released in Davis' lifetime, sections of the song "Give It Up" were sampled posthumously for the track "High Speed Chase", from Davis' final album, Doo-Bop, in 1992.

In 2018, an EP of takes of the title track titled Rubberband EP was released:[1]

  1. "Rubberband of Life" (Radio Edit) – 4:22
  2. "Rubberband of Life" – 5:44
  3. "Rubberband of Life" (Instrumental) – 5:44
  4. "Rubberband" – 6:12
  5. "Rubberband of Life" (Amerigo Gazaway Remix) – 4:41

Versions of "Rubberband of Life" feature vocalist Ledisi.

Critical reception

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Rubberband received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 63 out of 100 from 11 critic scores.[2] These mixed views may in part stem from a divergent opinion of Davis' 1980s recordings as a whole. As music journalist Rob Shepherd, a fan of the artist's works from that decade, has noted: "Recorded mostly in 1985, the height of Miles Davis’ most critically maligned era, Rubberband is unlikely to be appreciated by one who generally disfavors the artist’s 1980s oeuvre. However, for a listener open to Davis’ music from that period, there is much to enjoy."[3]

Track listing

  1. "Rubberband of Life" – 5:43
  2. "This Is It" – 4:36
  3. "Paradise" – 6:10
  4. "So Emotional" – 5:18
  5. "Give It Up" – 6:28
  6. "Maze" – 4:11
  7. "Carnival Time" – 4:24
  8. "I Love What We Make Together" – 5:05
  9. "See I See" – 4:19
  10. "Echoes in Time"/"The Wrinkle" – 9:25
  11. "Rubberband" – 6:10

Personnel

  • Miles Davis – trumpet, keyboards, synthesizers, bandleader

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Charts

Chart (2019) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[4] 36
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[5] 58
French Albums (SNEP)[6] 39
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 31
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[8] 9
Italian Albums (FIMI)[9] 41
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] 24
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[11] 31
Scottish Albums (OCC)[12] 25
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[13] 45
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 16
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 87

References

  1. ^ a b Yoo, Noah (June 13, 2019). "Miles Davis' Lost Album Rubberband Set for Release". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Rubberband by Miles Davis Tracks and Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  3. ^ Shepherd, Rob (November 8, 2019). "Review: Miles Davis' Rubberband". Polygon. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  4. ^ "Ultratop.be – Miles Davis – Rubberband" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  5. ^ "Ultratop.be – Miles Davis – Rubberband" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 37, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Miles Davis – Rubberband" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  8. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2019. 37. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  9. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 37 (dal 06.09.2019 al 12.09.2019)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  10. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2019-09-16" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  11. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  13. ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 37: del 6.9.2019 al 12.9.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  14. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Miles Davis – Rubberband". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  15. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 14, 2019.