MILES DAVIS — Decoy (review)

MILES DAVIS — Decoy album cover Album · 1984 · Fusion Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
js
'Decoy' came out soon after the release of 'Star People'. Although there are similarities, on 'Decoy' Miles starts making his first ventures into a more electronic jazz-pop sound. 'Decoy' is Miles at the crossroads, still clinging to his worn out free-rock jams on some cuts, but also taking some tentative shots at some kind of new merger of techno, jazz and pop on others. The album opens with the song 'Decoy', a hard funk/jazz number with a slight 80s sound that isn't too bad. Marcus Miller's replacement on bass, Daryl Jones, is OK but no match for Miller. 'Robot 415' is a short piece of techno-jazz exotica that is kind of bizarre and interesting. 'Code M.D.' is Miles' first attempt at forming a new kind of elegant pop-jazz based on modern rhythms and sounds. It's Ok for a first try, but future developments on subsequent albums will refine this idea. Side one closes with 'Freaky Deaky', a bit of forgetable fluff with an annoying persistent bass line.

Side two opens with 'What it Is', a classic high energy Miles styled hard rock blow-out. These kind of jams used to sound great in the early to mid 70s, but by the mid-80s are starting to sound passe, plus Miles' annoying horn-synth stabs don't help. All the same, John Scofield turns in some great guitar work. 'That's Right' finds the band returning to the slow abstract blues style that filled up much of 'Star People'. This style sounds even more tired this time around. Everyone turns in a nice solo, but soloing over slow blues is like shooting monkeys in a barrel. Side two closes with an even more furious hard rocker, 'That's What Happened', that has Miles and Schofield playing cool syncopated harsh unisons that are marred by that damn keyboard synth/horn section again.

This isn't a bad album and probably of interest to fans of Miles' fusion years. This will be the last album where Miles rocks out, and John Schofield and Al Foster turn in great performances to celebrate that fact.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Lucky All Along Post-Fusion Contemporary
LISA HILTON
Buy this album from MMA partners
GNX Jazz Related Electronica/Hip-Hop
KENDRICK LAMAR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Christopher Dell - Søren Kjærgaard : Ruptures Jazz Related Improv/Composition
CHRISTOPHER DELL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Live at 55 Jazz Related Rock
CHICAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Moon Shifts Oceans RnB
EMILY SAUNDERS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Chicago - Hard to Say I'm Sorry / Get Away [Live At 55]
CHICAGO
snobb· 16 hours ago
John Coltrane's iconic Parker Blues: "Freight Trane" w/ Tobias Meinhart, Rick Rosato & Jesse Simpson
TOBIAS MEINHART
js· 17 hours ago
Yo Viné Para Echar Candela
SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA
snobb· 21 hours ago
Joe Armon-Jones - Sorrow (feat. Liam Bailey) (Official Audio)
JOE ARMON-JONES
snobb· 1 day ago
Ambrose Akinmusire - muffled screams
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE
snobb· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed