Miles Davis – Star People

On the wikipedia page for this album there is a snarky album review featured by some jazz critic (I won't even dignify including his name here). He likens this album to a comedic effort. I don't get why some folks feel compelled to bend over backwards to find an angle that they think Miles was conjuring up. Like somehow they know what Miles was thinking - no one knew what Miles was thinking ever.

This is a brilliant album straight up with no pretense whatsoever. Mile's put his all into this back in 1983 and made sure he had some great musicians to back him up on this endeavor. I agree with others about the VMP cheap packaging which is disappointing - the plastic sleeve had to be split open to get the album jacket out however the vinyl is nicely pressed.

The packaging sucks on this release. Really flimsy wide spine jacket, no spot-embossing, just two RTI clear sleeves shoved inside it. A new low for VMP packaging, especially on a main track release.

This pressing is great. In of the content it sounds like cocaine recorded an album more than any of the players did. So, this is quite an entertaining jam.

My copy is not "dead silent", but has some intermittent low-level noise. To my ears, the record sounds good. The presentation is not quite the deluxe treatment we expect from VMP. With a two-record set, it would have been nice to have a gatefold sleeve, maybe with some nice pictures of Miles Davis on the inside. Instead we get both records shoved together into one enlarged outer sleeve, and the whole thing feels a bit cheap and flimsy compared with what we usually get. Listening notes are included, which is appreciated. Inners are clear plastic sleeves instead of what we usually get. Striking cover artwork looks good. Back cover is mostly text, which has minimal eye appeal. Overall, I was mostly disappointed with this one. Compare with something like the recent Freddie Roach album from VMP, or their version of Sun Ship, and you come away feeling that this record does not measure up in pressing quality or in musical quality. But I will live with it for a while and see if it grows on me.

Releases like this are why I subscribe. Even as a huge Miles fan, I've never listened to this album and likely never would have if not for VMP. If "underrated" was ever used properly, an album like this is the perfect example of the term.

My pressing looked near perfect with a very light clouds here or there. The sound is excellent and vivid. Somebody has turned up the volume on this one! Even if there were surface noise, the music would easily hide it. I'm very happy with the pressing.

Vivid is the word I want to use to describe the sound. It's so forceful, not in-your-face type, but the soundstage has a depth to it. It's almost like the band is arranged in layers, as the stage seems to stretch far back - I'm assuming the use of reverb is at play. There are so many sounds coming out at once, that the music can just wash over you - I lay back in dumbfounded excitement and let the music just overwhelm me. Miles is always in the center, it seems, with a high pitched horn. I can't possibly list all the instruments used, but the drums are in the middle somewhere, along with the electric guitar and bass. Everything sounds so sharp and, well, vivid. It's excellent.

The pressing is pretty close to being dead silent. This is a most blast-worthy record. I belong VMP, so it's a record that I swapped for. If you are not a VMP member, this record goes for $50; as a member, $43. It's worth it, IMO, at either price.

I give this a 5+. VMP seems to hit some of these reissues out of the park, which are probably exactly those releases, like this one, which use Ryan Smith mastering, and pressing at RTI.

Cartridge: AT150Sa

Super nice album, not at all dull but rather viceversa. For me, a top Miles Davis album.

The pressing I’ve got is really good.

Says “cut from tapes”, but that could mean anything, but certainly not masters. Compared to Japanese first press this VMP is rather flat and lifeless. I suspect that tape is some generations away from the master. Anybody know for sure?

Just wow, dead silent background, good dynamics, flat records, good plastic sleeves how can it get better by putting Miles Davis in the grooves!

This is an excellent album, mastered and vinyl quality is excellent. I was looking forward to this VMP Classic release and it did not disappoint! A++