Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the
pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead
wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep
with the record.
— Paul, Vinyl Curator
Miles Davis
You're Under Arrest
1985 · Columbia FC 40023 · Stereo · Canada · LP, gatefold · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | Columbia |
| Catalogue number | FC 40023 |
| Year | 1985 |
| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
| Country | Canada |
| Format | LP, gatefold |
| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
| Genre | Jazz Fusion / Jazz-Funk |
| Producer | Miles Davis, Robert Irving III, Vincent Wilburn Jr. (co-producer) |
| Musicians | Miles Davis (trumpet), Bob Berg (soprano and tenor sax), Robert Irving III (synthesizers, keyboards), Darryl Jones (bass), John Scofield (guitar, A1-A4, B2, B4), John McLaughlin (guitar, A5, B1), Al Foster (drums), Steve Thornton (percussion), Vincent Wilburn Jr. (drums), Sting (spoken word, A1), Marek Olko (spoken word), James Prindiville (sound effects) |
Matrix / Runout
Side A: AL 40023-1A-2HZ DM C
Side B: BL 40023-1A 2HZ DM C
Condition
- Cover
- NM PARTIAL SHRINK/NM PARTIAL SHRINK
- Vinyl
- NM
Variant chronology
1985 - US Columbia FC 40023, orange/yellow labels, gatefold
1985 - Canada Columbia FC 40023, CBS Records Canada Ltd. manufacture, orange/red labels, gatefold <- this copy
1985 - Europe CBS 26447, red labels, gatefold, printed innersleeve, Made in Holland
1990s - Netherlands/Europe reissues, various label colors
2010s-2020s - Sony/Legacy "Get On Down" crystal clear vinyl reissue with Japanese insert and obi
This Pressing
1985 Canadian first-issue pressing (CBS Records Canada Ltd.) of Columbia FC 40023, stereo, standard orange-red labels matching the US design.
The Album
Recorded in 1984-85 at the Record Plant in New York, You're Under Arrest was Miles Davis's penultimate studio album for Columbia and the third of his 1980s comeback releases following The Man with the Horn and Decoy. Working closely with co-producer and keyboardist Robert Irving III, Davis folded contemporary pop material into his electric fusion sound, reworking Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" as vehicles for his muted trumpet alongside politically charged originals touching on apartheid, nuclear anxiety and police surveillance. The sessions marked guitarist John McLaughlin's return to a Davis record for the first time since 1972's On the Corner, while bassist Darryl Jones's connections brought in a young Sting to voice a menacing police interrogator on the title-referencing opener. The record stands as a document of Davis reasserting commercial relevance in the MTV era, pairing drum-machine grooves and synthesizers with jazz improvisation in a way that polarized critics and longtime followers who felt the pop covers marked a departure from his acoustic legacy. It reinforced Davis's late-career reputation as an artist willing to court mainstream pop audiences on his own terms, and remains a key touchstone in discussions of his controversial 1980s output.
Tracklist
Side 1
1. One Phone Call/Street Scenes - M. Davis
2. Human Nature - S. Porcaro-J. Bettis
3. MD 1/Something's On Your Mind/MD2 - M. Davis/H. Eaves III-J. Williams/M. Davis
4. Ms. Morrisine - M. Tynes Irving-M. Davis-R. Irving III
5. Katia Prelude - M. Davis-R. Irving III
Side 2
1. Katia - M. Davis-R. Irving III
2. Time After Time - C. Lauper-R. Hyman
3. You're Under Arrest - J. Scofield
4. Medley: Jean Pierre/You're Under Arrest/Then There Were None - M. Davis/J. Scofield/R. Irving III-M. Davis
The Label
This copy shows the standard 1985 Columbia orange-red label with the black-and-yellow 'walking eye' Columbia logo repeated around the rim, and rim text reading "MANUFACTURED BY CBS RECORDS CANADA LTD REG. T.M. OWNER 'COLUMBIA'" identifying it as a Canadian-manufactured pressing rather than the US or Dutch/European issues carrying the same catalog number. Columbia's Canadian arm (CBS Records Canada Ltd.) pressed and distributed domestic product throughout the 1980s using US-derived metalwork, so the label layout and tracklist mirror the American FC 40023 issue exactly aside from the manufacturing credit. The AL/BL 40023 label-side prefixes match US Columbia matrix convention, confirming this Canadian pressing sits alongside, not above or below, the US pressing in the release hierarchy, differing mainly by manufacturing origin rather than mastering.
Fidelity
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk in New York from the original Record Plant multitracks; the Canadian CBS pressing uses the same mastering lineage as the US Columbia issue, as Columbia supplied stampers/metalwork to its Canadian plant in this era. Collector consensus (Steve Hoffman forums, Discogs reviews) rates the original 1985 vinyl as a decent if unspectacular pressing typical of mid-80s major-label jazz-fusion releases, with some noting a thin, digitally-tinged high end reflecting the synth-heavy production rather than a pressing fault. No audiophile reissues exist for this title (no Mobile Fidelity, Analogue Productions, or Tone Poet edition); the only later vinyl variant is a 2020s Sony/Get On Down crystal-clear pressing treated as a novelty rather than a sonic upgrade. Within this limited pressing history, the original-era Canadian stereo copy sits on par with contemporaneous US and European pressings.
Notes
1985 Columbia FC 40023 pressed in Canada by CBS Records Canada Ltd., stereo. Label rim text "MANUFACTURED BY CBS RECORDS CANADA LTD REG. T.M. OWNER 'COLUMBIA'" and catalog/matrix codes (AL/BL 40023) confirm this is the Canadian counterpart to the identical US release rather than an import or later reissue. Runout codes 1A-2HZ DM C indicate an early stamper generation consistent with a first pressing run for this market. No promo, club, or colored-vinyl markings are present, making this a standard commercial stereo copy.
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