Search - Marcus Miller :: Marcus Miller

Marcus Miller

Gig Brown | Tampa, FL | 02/25/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This was Marcus Miller's debut release as a leader. It is finally available on CD after almost 20 years. If you're accustomed to Marcus' recent recordings this is not as refined. He does some singing and it has that unmistakable 80's sound. Which now sounds dated and cheesy.

But it is a must have for those die hard Miller fans to witness the evolution of his sound and how even though this is over 20 years old there is no doubt who the bass player is."

No Two Ways About It

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 08/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'Marcus Miller'(recorded in 1984)is the follow up to the 1983 debut 'Suddenly'.That album was a very good funky pop album but this album is a totally different animal.In my opinion this is Marcus Miller's most direct and concise album.The songs are well produced and very catchy.The music is very electronic soul and lightly hip-hop coated,especially on the drum machine led bass instrumental "Juice".When it comes down to it the smooth "Is There Anything I Can Do" seems built with Luther Vandross in mind,making perfect sense considering the two were cheif collaberators.Poppy uptempo funk like "I Could Give You More" and "My Best Friends Girlfriend" are spunky and full of energy and life while "Nadine" ends the whole thing off on a (slightly) jazzier note.

"Marcus Miller" certainly has 1984 written all over it.And since it ambodies all the best musical qualities of the era that's a wonderful thing.The music Marcus Miller has made since this time has been totally instrumental and has more of a signature brooding,improvisational jazz-funk sound.While it all has it's place Miller's singing,while not technically sophisticated has a percussive quality that goes along well with his bass playing.For any fan of this musicians work with Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross in the early 1980's you WILL LOVE this album-it's cut from the same cloth.For stone fans of Marcus Miller's 'Sun Don't Lie' era music this music may seem to radio friendly,to the most closed minded maybe even irrelevant.But for those who enjoy hearing Marcus Miller doing high energy,upbeat funk-pop this is a great album to have!"