THIS album right here is one of Herbie's GOAT.

I hold it in the same esteem as I do Sunlight, Headhunters, his classic Blue Note records, VSOP, etc.

'78-82 is probably the most maligned period of Herbie's career. It was one thing for him to move away from modal jazz and start doing avant-garde (Mwandishi era), funk (Headhunters era), even disco (Feets Don't Fail Me Now). It's also one of my favorite parts of his career; my only regret is that he abandoned multi-tracking vocoder leads as he had done on Sunlight (the title track still sounds "modern" in parts to me), and also fell into more conventional traps when he went "R&B". He could have been on some proto-Terrace Martin shit if he really got down with Ray Parker Jr. as he had done for a number of tracks in this period ("Ready or Not", "Stars In Your Eyes", "Tonight's The Night"). But alas, some 35 years later you are starting to see that there were a handful of people who really dug those records and are incorporating those styles styles into their own work (Robert Glasper comes to mind the most).


So, amidst all of the critical slams Herbie got, he drops this record: a perfect sampling of the various styles he had over his career, some of which I believe might have been studio outtakes ("Shiftless Shuffle"). "Spiraling Prism" is a perfect Hancock composition. The electronic textures, the driving beat. "Just Around The Corner" is perfect disco-funk (kind of the "grandfather" of "Rockit"). "Calypso" - some classic swinging jazz (if you excuse the steel drum-sounding synth lead). There's a hint of vocoder on "Textures". All the compositions have weight to them; none of them seem especially geared to a mass audience, but I think they do have broader appeal than one might think.

This album is also an exercise in Herbie's interplay with drummers and bassists. Byron Miller ("Spiraling Prism"), the esteemed Ron Carter ("Calypso"), Jaco Pastorius ("4 A.M."), and "Ready" Freddie Washington ("Just Around The Corner") is like a who's who of bass gods. On drums it's the same thing: you have long-time collaborator Alphonse Mouzon, Harvey Mason (on "Shiftless Shuffle"), Ndugu Chancler ("Spiraling Prism") and Tony Williams ("Calypso"). Sheila E. is even on this album, providing percussion.

Herbie himself provides a couple of moments of Rhodes ether, particularly on "Just Around The Corner".

Best thing about this album is its brevity. the playtime isn't much longer than was typical in the era, but it feels like you really went through something satisfying at the end.

Yes, I'm mad. Let's move on.

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