Search - Herbie Hancock :: Headhunters

A Jazz Review from a Heavy Metal Fan

J. Wesley Townsend | new york | 02/24/2003

(5 out of 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....."

Herbie Takes Miles' Idea All The Way To The Bank

Michael A. Beyer | Chicago, IL United States | 11/03/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I like Headhunters just fine. It's a pleasant toe-tapper with excellent improvisation from Hancock, Mason, Maupin and company. But let's make one thing crystal clear -- Herbie Hancock owes much of this album's success to Miles Davis, because he took Miles' vision of a polyrhythmic union of jazz, funk and rock and created an extremely accessible, million-selling record. Was that a good thing? Did the student become the master, or did he in fact soil the master? Depends on how you like your rock/jazz/funk.



Back in 1968 and 1969, Miles saw where music was heading, and as usual he was at the forefront of it all. He was hanging out with Jimi Hendrix, while at the same time soaking in the music of James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone. Sly in particular intrigued both Miles and Hancock, who had been a part of Miles' classic sixties quintet along with Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, and the great Tony Williams. One of the great jazz pianists of all time, Hancock watched as Miles gradually stretched the quintet as far as it could go musically, then began to add electric instruments in an attempt to add a heavier, more rock/funk element to his music.



Miles gradually changed his lineup to fulfill this vision, adding musicians like Chick Corea and John McLaughlin who played electric piano and guitar, respectively. He plugged in Herbie's piano and his own trumpet, just to see what kind of sounds he could make:



The results were stunning: In a few short years, he churned out masterpieces such as Miles In The Sky, Filles de Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew, and Jack Johnson -- and he was just getting warmed up. He was planning his crowning glory, the one album that would get his music across to a younger group of fans currently grooving to people like Sly, James Brown, George Clinton, and Curtis Mayfield, and place himself (and therefore much of jazz) firmly in that camp. That album was On The Corner.



I am not here to say that On The Corner is better than Headhunters. In fact, I would call On The Corner a noble failure. Released in 1972, On The Corner was a dense, swirling mudslide of grooves that was roundly rejected by all audiences. Not only was it a commercial flop, On The Corner was savaged by jazz purists and rock critics alike. The great Lester Bangs called On The Corner "a form of suicide, or at least an artistically perverse act of the highest order." But one man was watching, and his name was Herbie Hancock.



Released one year later, in 1973, Headhunters should be called "On The Corner Lite", or "On The Corner And Accessible". Headhunters also became the best-selling jazz LP of all time during that year. Think Miles was upset about that? Well, he was -- so much so that he put down his trumpet not long after -- and didn't pick it up again for years and years.



Again, this is not to bash Headhunters. Hancock saw what Miles wanted to do, and quite frankly did it correctly. Many critics said Headhunters was not jazz. However, the record set by Headhunters was subsequently smashed to pieces years later, by Kenny G's Breathless (insert your own joke here).



I guess all I'm saying is to give On The Corner a listen if you are a fan of Headhunters. I started with Headhunters -- which led me backwards in time to the aforementioned Miles albums. So I guess any record that led me on that backwards musical journey can't be all bad.



The journey forward from Headhunters, at least from a jazz standpoint, is not so rosy."

MUST HAVE, MUST HAVE MORE ALBUM

fancypunk | Denver, CO USA | 06/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Either too much or not much can be said about Herbie Hancock's monumental masterpiece, HeadHunters. It is, without a doubt, one of the best and most influential recordings of the 20th century. Even 28 years from its inception, HeadHunters continues to influence music. All the "greats" of Hip Hop and Rap, from Puff Daddy to Dr. Dre have Herbie Hancock to thank. Herbie created funk grooves and instrumental inventions still advanced to latest attempts. Yet, sadly enough, Hilfiger-sporting, bleach-haired, suburbanite preps have no idea that the lastest masterpieces by Eminem couldn't have been without Hancock and the HeadHunters.Hopefully, you, the prospective buyer, have either heard HeadHunters before or are listening to the samples at this moment. You should be beginning to understand the impact that this album made. If you are familiar with previous fusion, you know that this sound hadn't really started yet. And if you have a virgin ear, perhaps you are hearing the future during the past for the first time. My favorite song on the album remains to be "Watermelon Man". It is hip-hop, funk, and jazz at its finest. When I hear this song, I hear the beats and grooves of so many artists twenty years after, desperately trying to match its intensity. Furthermore, although there are so many highlights in HeadHunters, Saxophonist Bennie Maupin stands out. He is able to bring smooth, melodic, fast, and furious sounds into all the sounds and should be commended. HeadHunters appeals to such a broad audience because there is so much of "it" there, exactly what you want to hear at exactly the right time. I have found only one qualm with HeadHunters, and it is not necesarily bad. I wanted more. I would listen to HeadHunters again and again and I needed more grooves, improvisations, and tricks. HeadHunters is incomplete, but that isn't bad. The follow up album, Thrust, in my opinion, closes what Herbie Hancock was trying to create. Put Headhunters and Thrust together and you have a vision, a focus, making a full circle of a musical style. But just HeadHunters itself still makes a powerful statement. Nevertheless, it's a safe bet that if you get HeadHunters, you're going to want more."