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| | Head Hunters | | | Music Artist : | | Herbie Hancock | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Sony | | Release Date : | | 1997-03-25 | | Store Price : | | $7.99 | | Artistopia's Price: $7.98 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Chameleon
2. Watermelon Man
3. Sly
4. Vein Melter
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Fusion in 5.1!
Submitted on: 2009-06-27 |
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| This is a great surround mix! The sound is tight, clean, and punchy! This one benefits from the 5.1 mix. I waited for awhile to get this one, it was worth the wait. The keyboard layers in Chameleon are awesome! The overall blend of the album is incredible- solid rhythm grooves with crisp, clear keyboards, sax, synth, and percussion. A must have for anyone who appreciates a wide range of music! |
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 Leg shakers
Submitted on: 2009-05-12 |
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| Still as startling an early funk-fusion project as ever, HH contains some of the most compellingly concocted rhythms the former jazz pianist ever committed with a group on, only slighted by seldom non-momentous repetition and some dragging in the downbeat closer. |
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It grooves, but there is also a bit of experimentation
Submitted on: 2009-03-18 |
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Following the release of the highly experimental Sextant (1973), Head Hunters (also 1973) was an attempt to make the overall sound more accessible - Herbie (Hancock) describes in the liner notes of this reissue that he wanted to become more "grounded". It is important to note however, that while there may be more in the way of funky grooves on Head Hunters, there are also bits of the experimental approach used on Sextant here and there.
The lineup includes bandleader Herbie Hancock (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hohner D6 Clavinet, ARP Odyssey, ARP Pro Soloist, and pipe), Bernie Maupin (bass clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophones, saxello, and alto flute), Paul Jackson (electric bass guitar, marimbula), Harvey Mason (drums), and Bill Summers (various percussion, agogo, congas, log drum, beer bottle).
In terms of the tunes, they are generally pretty long (6:29 to 15:41) and present a nice mixture of traditional jazz rock themes, syncopated funk, and more experimental approaches to composition. I was glad to see that Herbie had not abandoned the use of synthesizers, and the ARPs are used quite a bit throughout. There is some very interesting use of percussion on this album too - particularly the use of the beer bottle as a musical instrument. The grooves are just fantastic - many of which revolve around the bass guitar line - this was a great lineup and the rhythm section is pretty tight.
This remastered album features good sound quality and liner notes written by Herbie. He provides good insight into why this album was made the way it was.
All in all, this is a fine album of funky and experimental jazz rock with enough variation in each composition that it makes for a very interesting listen. As a fan of progressive rock, jazz rock, and "straight" jazz, I found a lot to like here. Highly recommended along with Thrust (1974). |
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The place where it all began
Submitted on: 2009-03-05 |
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| 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. |
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Long live Herbie
Submitted on: 2009-02-08 |
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This is on my all time 10 best list for two reasons. One, this album more than any other changed me from a Pop and R&B fan to a Jazz fan. Second, I put this on the platter, on repeat, whenever my girlfriend spent the night. She later became my wife. Takes us back to our college days back in 1974, every time we hear it now. Smooth tracks that seem to go on forever and put you in an almost trance like mood....but then again that might have been those funny cigarettes we smoked.
And it was also the favorite of my roommates which we enjoyed while drinking cheap wine,and cheap smokes while we told stories and even bigger lies as we played this album over and over again. Gives me a contac... I still have the original vinyl and not a scratch on it because we all treated it so reverently, even back then. It was also a favorite our friend Bob who often came over and played his guitar for us. You may know him as Robert Cray of the "Robert Cray Band".
This album also brings back pleasant, but embarrassing, memories of that time in my life...when I wore a dashiki, had an afro, and wore platform shoes, along with my green polyester leisure suit...oh yeah I was very cool.
But, all that aside, this album still sounds contemporary after all these year which is indicative of a true classic. |
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