Top Ten Herbie Hancock Albums

Empyrean Isles - probably my favourite HH release, covers a lot of ground stylistically, and includes classic 'Cantaloupe Island' and my favourite 'Oliloqui Valley'
Speak Like a Child is full of beautiful moments
Head Hunters - integral album really
The Piano - sometimes it's just nice to hear Herbie in a solo setting
VSOP, Tempest - My favourite of the quintet's live albums, a powerful - and the breakneck 'Red Clay' is pretty exciting stuff, I'd always thought it was hard to top the live version from Hubbard's reissue, but this one is somethin else
Gershwin's World - an earlier (and less commercial I suppose) 'guests' album, with some interesting pieces in its own right






Edited by dreadpirateroberts - 12 Jun 2012 at 8:13am

I've only got a few from here and there, Sean, so I know what you mean - in five years my list could easily undergo a big change in terms of the later stuff, as I reckon there's more than a few great albums I haven't found yet.

Speaking of overlooked, I may have overlooked 'Blow Up' myself!

my favourite is 'Crossings'

Maiden Voyage

The electronic HH album seems to be popular now. I think that Speak Like A Child and VSOP are good personally. The "Live Under The Sky" album that VSOP in particular went. Or the trio album which was derived from the formation. I recommend trio of 77 than trio of 81.

I don't know, aside from a tune here and there, I'm not really into his trio of 80s electronic albums like Future Shock, Sound-System, Perfect Machine. Very dated. There's good ideas, but he only needed to make one album. All 3 albums sound like they're part of the same album.

Don't even get me started on albums like Magic Windows or Lite Me Up. I even listened to Sunlight the other night, and it was pretty awful. I don't think I finished one song, except the last song which is a blazing post-bop/fusion tune with Tony Williams.

He did something right with Dis Is Da Drum. I can listen to that album any time.


Edited by darkshade - 12 Jun 2012 at 9:00pm

Well, I like Rock-it, I mean who doesn't? The rest of the album is good too, just very 80s-sounding. But that's all you need, the following two 80s electronic albums are just parts 2 and 3 of Future Shock (in other words, they all sound alike).

darkshade wrote: I don't know, aside from a tune here and there, I'm not really into his trio of 80s electronic albums like Future Shock, Sound-System, Perfect Machine. Very dated. There's good ideas, but he only needed to make one album. All 3 albums sound like they're part of the same album. Don't even get me started on albums like Magic Windows or Lite Me Up. I even listened to Sunlight the other night, and it was pretty awful. I don't think I finished one song, except the last song which is a blazing post-bop/fusion tune with Tony Williams. He did something right with Dis Is Da Drum. I can listen to that album any time.

Edited by Sean Trane - 13 Jun 2012 at 3:09am

Kazuhiro wrote: Or "Third Plane" is good, too. The album is an album in the name of Ron Carter, but may get the atmosphere like VSOP and the HH trio.

Mr Hands was a big surprise seeing as how much of what he had put out prior was pretty bad, I wrote a real positive review for it, some songs on there really smoke.