Herbie Hancock
's lackluster string of electric albums around this period was enhanced by this one shining exception: an incorrigibly eclectic record that flits freely all over the spectrum. Using several different rhythm sections,
is much more the imaginative hands-on player than at any time since the prime
Headhunters
period, overdubbing lots of parts from his ever-growing collection of keyboards. He has regained a good deal of his ability to ride in the groove.
"Calypso"
finds him playing synthesized steel drums and interacting with customary complexity and ebullience with
V.S.O.P
. mates
Tony Williams
and
Ron Carter
.
Disco
rears its head, but inventively this time on
"Just Around the Corner,"
and in league with
Jaco Pastorius
' vibrating, interlacing bass,
Hancock
gets off some good, updated
jazz-funk
on
"Spiraling Prism"
"4 AM."
There is even a reunion of the original
on a rhythmically tangled remake of
"Shiftless Shuffle"
; drummer
Harvey Mason
sounds like a rhythm machine gone bonkers. Easily the outstanding track -- and one of
's most haunting meditations -- is
"Textures,"
where he plays all of the instruments himself. This would be the last outcropping of electronic delicacy from
for some time, and it was mostly -- and unjustly -- overlooked when it came out. ~ Richard S. Ginell