Customer Reviews

Amandla

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Amandla has always had a way of creeping into my playlist. It may be characterized as 80s fusion, but there is something deep about this album that has grown on me with each listen. While much of 80s jazz is not worth a listen today, there is something about Amandla that makes it timeless. Yes, there are programmed drum tracks and 80s synthesizers, but everything in this album is done with the best of class, and the sum of its parts is simply classic.

You're not going to find the Miles Davis of his past in this album. Instead, you will find an artist stretching his horizons in the way that Miles did throughout his career. Miles was a master of bringing contemporary musicians together, and Amandla showcases this talent. Marcus Miller and Kenny Garrett absolutely shine on this album in the same way that Ron Carter and Wayne Shorter shone in days past.

This is Miles ahead of everyone else. Hip-Hop jazz is the theme. Around the theme, is world music, and open horn ballads. Great supporting cast, especially Kenny Garrett, who always compliments Miles totally. Very, very, cool solos by Kenny Garrett. Very controled and focused solos. No one was playing this kind of stuff at the time, which, of course, is one of the aspects that made Miles so much of an icon. Always ahead of his time. Always the leader. Miles' muted trumpet floating around on top of the tracks. Great songs, of course. Jo Jo is my favorite, and you aren't going to find anything cooler than that. Miles is the king of cool. Just listen here.

At first I didn't like this album a whole lot because I couln't get over the whole late eighties fusion sound. After having put it away for a while and bringing it back out, however, I really dug it. Tunes are subtle but interesting and fresh sounding. Lots of great playing by Miles and the other musicians. Synthesizers are often used to expressive effect, rather than as musical draperies. It just goes to show you that a creative, musical mind can take an idiom that is commonly viewed as gauche and turn it into something worth listening to. Set aside your "Disco Sucks" preconceptions and this album has a lot to offer.

2 1/2

Entrenched Eighties production would be forgivable if there was more substance to the songwriting but this sadly remains a mainly tired affair, offering acceptable trumpet lines over casio-toned production, though not without a share of noteworthy moments amidst the onslaught of fusion caricature.

"Amandla" is one of Miles' better 80's efforts, despite the obvious 80's fusion stuff happening on it. It was one lp where Miles actually makes statements, asserts himself into the mix, rather than be Marcus Miller's sideshow.

The lp is quite strong versus his other 80's efforts, with little filler material in comparison. Yeah, the fusuon idiom is overplayed a lot, but hey, it was the 80's. The band understood what they thought worked and went with it.

Miles' efforts on this lp are to be commended. They are not his strongest, for sure, but were so for the 80's. Looking back on it 11 years later, the lp actually has a lot of merit to it and stands up well in the face of the "smooth" revolution that is killing jazz. Give this lp another listen, and I think you'll agree that while flawed, this lp is quite tasty in places and is refreshing to listen to.

Love you Miles. Miles plays mostly with the mute on this one and Kenny Garrett, the young lion shines on saxophone. Marcus Miller and Tommy LiPuma put together good production to help make this well worth buying.

I have several dozen Miles recordings, and I listen to each regularly. Except this one.

I've played this 10-20 times, and I just can't get into it. Had I known how little I would enjoy it, I would have pocketed the money I spent instead.

You can't go wrong with virtually any other Miles album, so try something else first, say, "Nefertiti" or "Milestones." At the very least, sample "Amandla" before buying.

Yes, this much maligned album contains no less than one high carat diamond and three or four lesser gems, so to speak. My favorite Miles period is his so-called second quintet, right before the "electric period," from about '65 to '69. Ron Carter and Tony Williams are one of jazz's best rhythm sections as far as I am concerned. When the rythym section swings like they did, cats like Hankock, Miles and Wayne Shorter just had to oblige. Like they say, the rest is history.
Back to this record, not many fancy improvisation solos to speak of. A lot of 80' style grooves that are uninteresting at first. But you got to keep on your toes, for there are some magnificent tunes waiting to be heard.
First and foremost the last track, Mr. Pastorious, is so lyrical, evocative and true to Miles form; yet reaching out into the future, I simply listen in awe time and again. This, almost twenty years after I heard it for the very first time. And I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. A truly good tune transcends its roots, just like any truly great man. Hence MUSIC doesn't get much better than this. In a single track he encapsulates the sadness of a (some say great) bass player's death, the joyous celebration of his life's accomplishments and what could have been, in a manner not disimilar to a great eulogy given at a funeral. It is not a live track in the "one-take, mistakes-and-all" style of olden times, but a modern-studio track, with (some) overdubs/ multitracks and all. Marcus Miller plays both bass and keys in this tune. A lot of it was played live, though. By the way, Marcus Miller and Al Foster on tubs really shine on this track, giving the track a "live, naturalistic" feel. I have a feeling the drums/ bass/ horn tracks were done in one take with the keys being overdubed in later. You can hear someone (Foster?) vocally reacting to the dynamics of the tune in the mid section.
These "modern studio techniques" truly don't lesssen the track's power. It is simply the best "eulogy/ tribute" piece I have ever heard. However, this being the last album Miles himself completed before his death, and this being the last track in the album, he almost seems to write a eulogy for himself as well. What a way to go. Personally, this track really sums up the joy and pain of being alive. I don't want to sound cheesy, but I think truly great art takes you from the deepest and darkest of human emotions to the highest reaches of imagination and creativity. This track does that in one migthy swoop. Very hard to describe without sounding corny or pretentious. There is just so much SOUL pouring out of it . . .
Really, to truly enjoy the best of this album for what it is, one simply has to get in to it and just let go any pre-concieved notions of WHAT JAZZ SHOULD SOUND LIKE. Miles simply refused to become a museum/ historical piece for old people to enjoy, for old-times sake. He would have none of that. He was truly young at heart and wanted nothing but to be on the cutting edge, whether people understood it or not. And many didn't. Nor did he care.
I could elaborate on the other tracks, but for the sake of brevity, I won't. Listen to it and judge for yourself.
'Nuff said!

Miles Davis had his own way, that's for sure.

After eleven years, I still put this album on from time to time. I know every hook on every tune, every solo by heart, it has become one of those special albums that have grown on me as I have grown up. Yes, it has the unmistakable sound of late eighties jazz fusion, no, it is not filled with superficial, technical stuff. The songs are good, the playing is emotional and real. This makes the album stand the test of time. This, AND the grooves laid down by Marcus Miller & Co., the original turns and twists, and the great Miles and Kenny Garrett in good form. Five to ten years from now, this is going to be really hip...!

Released in 1989, Amandla was to be Miles's last fully developed musical effort while he still lived - Doo-bop being a different story altogether. I particularly write this review in order to do it some justice as it took me years to get beneath the apparent surface of 80's sounding drum machines and keyboards and actually notice how Miles delivers a very strong, solid performance throughout.

Produced by Tommy LiPuma and Marcus Miller with one collaboration from George Duke, Amandla is definitely a product of its time but ultimately manages to still sound interesting today. And of course as Miles clearly chose this direction when he began experimenting in the eighties, I must say this is one of the strongest offerings of the period. Long are the days of classic quintets or electric bliss though this is Miles as he always was: never looking back, what's done is done.

So if you take it for exactly what it is, Amandla will surely take you for a ride. Miles is still very much alive and his trumpet playing sounds truly inspired. Adjust your mind and find Miles actually having fun on Big Time, Hannibal, Amandla and the amazing closer Mr. Pastorius where the he pours his genius over a more organic sound of bass and real drums provided by the ever reliable Al Foster.

As a footnote of curiosity for those who don't know it "Amandla is a Xhosa and Zulu word meaning "power". The word was a popular rallying cry in the days of resistance against Apartheid, used by the African National Congress and its allies", as Wikipedia puts it. Also, am I seeing things or is it plain to see that in the cover drawing by Miles himself one can see South Africa - separated from a stylized Africa - all covered with red for blood? Interesting to note the Dark Magus was still as aware as ever of his black roots at a very delicate time which makes it a shame he didn't live to see Nelson Mandela taking power a mere three years after his sad and sorely missed earthly demise.