The follow-up to the breakthrough
Headhunters
album was virtually as good as its wildly successful predecessor: an earthy, funky, yet often harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated tour de force. There is only one change in the
lineup -- swapping drummer
Harvey Mason
for
Mike Clark
-- and the switch results in grooves that are even more complex.
Hancock
continues to reach into the rapidly changing high-tech world for new sounds, most notably the metallic sheen of the then-new ARP string synthesizer which was already becoming a staple item on pop and jazz-rock records. Again, there are only four long tracks, three of which (
"Palm Grease,"
"Actual Proof,"
"Spank-A-Lee"
) concentrate on the funk, with plenty of
's wah-wah clavinet, synthesizer textures and effects, and electric piano ruminations that still venture beyond the outer limits of post-bop. The change-of-pace is one of
's loveliest electric pieces,
"Butterfly,"
a match for any tune he's written before or since, with shimmering synth textures and
Bennie Maupin
soaring on soprano (Hancock would re-record it 20 years later on
Dis Is Da Drum
, but this is the one to hear). This supertight jazz-funk quintet album still sounds invigorating a quarter of a century later. ~ Richard S. Ginell