"As so often in this late period, Davis's playing is beguiling in bursts. "Rubberband of Life" is a remake of the original title track - also present, with its scalding Mike Stern guitar break - and though the new mix's promisingly D'Angelo-like vibe could valuably have been extended on the album, its polyphonic soul-vocal choruses are ethereally compelling as the delicate muted trumpet line picks its way through. Davis is quick and fluent on the Prince/James Brownish "Give It Up", Lalah Hathaway is powerful and precise on the neo-soulful "So Emotional", and the ballad "See I See" - the standout, with its zigzagging runs and suspenseful pacing - glows with the pure-Miles light that this cut-and-paste job needs about twice as much of to really justify his name as its author. Rubberband is better than 1991's Doo-Bop, the star's final attempt at pop glamour (...), but as a career-twilight curio it's nothing like as interesting as its fusion-powered 1985 predecessor You're Under Arrest, nor a memorable successor such as Marcus Miller's thoughtful, compositionally integrated production of Amandla at the end of that decade"

"Newly signed to the Warner Bros label in 1985, Miles Davis set about recording an album intended to capture a new, young audience. He was given a more or less free hand and there were rumours of Chaka Khan and Al Jarreau being involved. But after three months, Warners (...) pulled the plug ... The Davis trumpet is unmistakable, even when processed through wah-wah, echo, etc, but there's not enough of him ... Davis completists will grab this, but others may find there's just not enough meat in the sandwich"

"Rubberband is almost thoroughly reinvented from its original tapes with full cooperation from the Davis estate. It was guided by Davis' nephew and drummer Vince Wilburn, Jr., who played on the original sessions. The bookend tracks "Rubberband of Life" featuring Ledisi (it was penned for Chaka Khan's voice), and a remixed version of the title track (featuring a stellar Mike Stern guitar break), were previously released on a limited five-track EP. They are easily the set's high points. Davis' trumpet playing is engaged and tasteful throughout ... Despite some truly weighty grooves and a few hip tunes, Rubberband comes off sounding unfocused and somewhat flabby due to Hall's and Giles' overproduction. To be fair, no one at the label pretended that Rubberband was even close to "finished," but the producers' attempts at rendering it "modern" sometimes sound overwrought and generic"