Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters
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Free Music Notes for Head Hunters
Free Music Review: The place where it all began
Hit: 5 Stars
Rarely has an album had a larger impact on my life than this one. Like some of the other reviewers here, I had hardly heard any jazz before I bought this. I was in my first year of college and my cassette/CD collection at the time consisted almost entirely of grunge rock with a little classic rock mixed in. My cousin, who was studying jazz and learning to play the bass, was the one who introduced me to it. The sounds on the disc just floored me. Sophisticated funk with a modernistic edge, grit and muscle mixing it up with smooth grooves and an intellectual approach. After this one, music meant something entirely different to me, I just had a broader perspective about what it could be. I ran out and bought a bunch of jazz discs which to this day remain among my favorites. In my spare time I'd visit the music section of the library at my school and check out classic jazz records while doing my schoolwork or just mellowing out between classes. I even took some classes on jazz. Obviously I also kept listening to a lot of other stuff too, and the bulk of what I listen to is not jazz. What remains though is a more open-minded perspective, which until I absorbed this one and a few others (In A Silent Way By Miles Davis, for example, and Live At The Village Vanguard by John Coltrane) I didn't really have. Now my huge collection ranges from alt-country to prog rock to world music to classic soul, and there are few genres I'll shy away from. I attribute much of my own growth as a music listener to my connection with this album. I'm not going to do a track-by-track breakdown because you need to hear this for yourself. My favorite track varies over time, depending on what mood I'm in. If you're on the fence just buy it. I can't give this enough stars to do it justice.Free Music Review: A Jazz Review from a Heavy Metal Fan
Hit: 5 Stars
I am mostly a heavy metal fan, I am a big fan of bands like Sabbath, Maiden, Zeppelin, Purple, and you know, all the classics. I kind of bought Headhunters on a whim after seeing it on someone's list on this site. I have had it about 3 days, and it is already one of my all-time favorite albums. I know next to nothing about jazz OR funk, but all I know is that this record kicks my ....The first half, "Chameleon" and "Watermelon Man" consists of I guess the most accessible material on the album. I knew I would become a fan as soon as I listened to these two killer songs. The last half also has 2 songs, "Sly" and "Vein Melter". I'll be honest, I did not really care for these songs when I first heard them, but I made myself listen to the whole album a few more times, and now I think that the 2nd side of the album has just as much, if not more, redeeming value than the 1st half!
All of the musicians on Headhunters are playing brilliantly. The saxophone player can tear such a good solo! The drum and bass rhythm section are killer, they lay down such a tight groove. And of course, there is Herbie Hancock himself, who plays a variety of keyboard instruments. He plays synthesizers and even a "clavinet" (this is new to me) that sounds like a guitar. This guy rocks so hard! Every song is different and unique, and all 42 minutes of it blow me away. The solos (keys and saxophone) are so awesome, and they are so long! They seem to last forever, and the jams just get more and more intense second after second.
Now I will have to get more music by Herbie he rocks! (and his band, of course, they deserve plenty of credit.) People seem to be saying that Maiden Voyage is great, so I guess I'll get that next.....
Free Music Review: In the present is the future meeting the past
Hit: 5 Stars
The jazz on this absolutely funky fusion album was ahead of it's time when originally released on vinyl in 1973, and it was an instant turn on for this reviewer, a college freshman at that moment. Though I couldn't possibly have known it then, Herbie Hancock would become one of jazz music's funk icons; he was a true innovator at the forefront of electronic jazz...melding synthesizer keyboards with jazz's traditional acoustic elements.The band includes Paul Jackson on electric bass, Bennie Maupin on woodwinds, Harvey Mason on drums and Bill Summers on all kinds of percussion.
Chameleon is the longest tune on the album at just under 16 minutes and is a driving jam improvisation around a rhythm that is pure funk.
Watermelon Man, the shortest tune on the album at 6.29, is an updated version of a tune originally released by Herbie in 1962. It is an exploration of rhythm and soloing that draws the listener into the heart of the ensemble and touches the very soul of the listener.
Vein Melter, at 9.10 in length, has always been my favorite tune on the album. There are so many rich, unique elements of sound in this slow and experimental song that it seems like the band is painting a sound picture that sits just out of reach.
Bennie Maupin's soprano and tenor sax, saxello, bass clarinet and alto flute will draw you in like a moth to a flame and envelop you in the overarching mystery and intrigue of sound exploration that awaits the listener of this album.
Reach for the sky and embrace the future. All the best to you.
Free Music Review: Pure Genius
Hit: 5 Stars
The first time I listened to Headhunters I was absolutely blown away. I have never heard funk this groovy. Three main keyboards are used on this album, the Fender Rhodes electric Piano, the Hohner Clavinet, and the ARP Synthesizer. All three are used to there extent and Herbie drains them of there funkiness. First up is the sublime Chameleon. This has got to be the best fusion song ever, it starts off the first five minutes with all the instruments primarily showcased, and the last eleven + minutes features the Fender Rhodes Piano in ways you never thought possible. The drums and bass are mindblowing the way they support the harmony. Next is Watermelon Man. This song features a more laid back approach but no less funky. Not to much keyboard usage here, only at different intervals but very rhythmically. Besides Chameleon, Sly has got to be my other favorite. This is what I call a funky masterpiece. Like Chameleon this song features most of the instruments during the first portion but then Fender Rhodes and bass guitar have a dual with each other. Please note the bass grooves in this session very, very FUNKY!!! The title of this last number is self-explanitory Vein Melter. Just sit back and listen to the grooves of this song as they sweep across you. Once again the Fender Rhodes takes presidence in the final minutes. Just listen how Herbie makes it reverb. This is a must have for serious Jazz fans and anyone remotely into funk music. You will not be disappointed!Free Music Review: Jazz never grooved like this.
Hit: 5 Stars
I got this album as a birthday present from a friend who heard I had an interest in jazz. After receiving it I initially thought that his definition of 'jazz' might be slightly skewed. But I was pleasantly surprised as this is probably the coolest sounding album I own. The opening track 'Chameleon' is the definition of 70's funk. For us foreigners this is as pure a sound of Americana as Louis Armstrong's 'Hot Five', Nelson Riddle's arrangements for Frank Sinatra or even Bob Dylan's early acoustic albums. The soundtrack of 70's urban America. With Hancock's extraordinary playing and improvised electronic sounds, I can almost feel those bell-bottoms flapping in the breeze.
'Watermelon Man' is an exercise in pure rhythm with some great ensemble work by all involved. Ironically the track 'Sly' is the least Sly Stone influenced of all the tracks on the album and the most conventionaly jazz-orientated. There's even a stronger sense of improvisation on 'Sly' and as a result I think it's the most intense track of the four. Its stops and starts lead Hancock to a seemingly unrelentless climax before it melts back into the original groove.
On 'Vein Melter' you can hear the influence of Miles Davis, like a 70's interpretation of 'Kind Of Blue'.
Headhunters is the sound of an artist who wanted to speak more directly to his audience and as a consequence helped to create a sound that is now so well-known in our culture, it borders on cliche. High praise indeed!