Rubberband (Miles Davis album)

Rubberband
Rubberband
Studio album by Miles Davis
Released	September 6, 2019
Recorded	October 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.);
Genre	Jazz
Length	63:11
Label	Rhino/Warner
Producer	Zane Giles; Randy Hall; Vince Wilburn Jr.;
Miles Davis chronology

Rubberband is a 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]

"Rubberband of Life" (Radio Edit) – 4:22
"Rubberband of Life" – 5:44
"Rubberband of Life" (Instrumental) – 5:44
"Rubberband" – 6:12
"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

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

Personnel

Miles Davis – trumpet, keyboards, synthesizers, bandleader

Additional musicians

Randy Hall – on "I Love What We Make Together", production on 1985 sessions
Lalah Hathaway – vocals on "So Emotional"
Ledisi – vocals on "Rubberband of Life"
Michael Paulo – tenor, alto, flute
Mike Stern – lead guitar on “Rubberband"

Technical personnel

Zane Giles – production on 1985 sessions
Vince Wilburn Jr. – production for 2019 release

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