Tutu (LP)

Recorded in early 1986 and released in October, Tutu was an album that had time on its side. It benefited from catchy, funk beats that sounded up-to-date yet avoided cliché. The various tracks could be upbeat and playful, yet Miles Davis' trumpet statements kept it grounded with a marked sense of purpose.

The album had social relevance as well, with song titles-"Tutu", "Full Nelson"-taken from the headlines of the day, referencing South African archbishop Desmond Tutu and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. Then there was that bold, disarming, black-and-white close-up of Miles' visage on the front cover, plus other hyper-detailed images of his face and hands on the inner sleeve and disc label, all shot by famed photographer Irving Penn.

Tutu-which eventually garnered Miles his fourth GRAMMY Award-pushed Miles back onto centre stage when even the most reverent seemed to admit that his best music lay in the past. "Thanks, man," Marcus Miller recalls Miles telling him at one point. "You brought me back."