John Miles ‎– Miles High [Remastered] 2016, MP3+FLAC, First Time ON CD

Nearly four decades after the original vinyl release in August 1981, JOHN MILES record ‘Miles High‘ was finally reissued on CD for the first time – hence, remastered – by Lemon Recordings / Cherry Red. The remaster is excellent, with a warm sound.

This, Miles sixth album, not only became hard to find on LP or cassette, but also to find a decent used copy. The album seemed elusive, and desirable; probably destined to exist on worn-out second hand vinyl only, forever.
‘Miles High’ contains the singles ‘Turn Yourself Loose’ (with its beside ‘Closer To You’ included into this reissue as bonus track) and ‘Reggae Man’, a good album track, but an unlikely single, coupled with ‘One Step Closer To Paradise’. In the USA, ‘Don’t Want The Same Things’ / ‘Reggae Man’ was the chosen single.
Style wise ‘Miles High’ style is classic John Miles featuring first class session musicians, whilst the sound production is typically 1980-81: polished, with a FM appeal, radio-friendly.

This is one of those albums where the ten songs add up to a satisfying listening experience – a LP listening, complete – and it seems pointless to single out one or more individual tracks, although ‘Foolin’ could have been a single too.
Opener ‘Turn Yourself Loose’ is a great pop-rocker, but ‘Miles High’ is a varied collection offering a rocker with brass (‘Out Of The Cradle’), a power pop with reggae touch (‘Reggae Man’), a ballad (‘Peaceful Waters’) and even a song with a disco feel (‘Dancing For Joy’) to name but a few.

A very welcome CD release, but it was a long wait for John Miles fans, especially when many lesser artists have had their albums reissued in the CD age.
Cool early ’80s stuff

01 – Turn Yourself Loose
02 – Don’t Stop Now
03 – Foolin’
04 – Don’t Want the Same Thing
05 – Out of the Cradle
06 – Hold On
07 – Peaceful Waters
08 – Dancin’ for Joy
09 – One Step Closer to Paradise
10 – Reggae Man
BONUS TRACK:
11 – Closer to You [B-side]

John Miles – lead vocals, keyboards, lead guitar
Bob Marshall – bass
Barry Black – drums
Brian Chatton – keyboards

MP3 FLAC