HERBIE HANCOCK — Thrust (review)

HERBIE HANCOCK — Thrust album cover Album · 1974 · Funk Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
bsidePL
This is an excelent example of a great, yet not fantastic album.

After recording four-track "Headhunters" LP it seems that Hancock found a formula for successful album - compose a funky groove, add many electronic colorations and play some space solos. Don't get me wrong - it isn't bad! But you have to had brilliant compositions and interesting new ideas.

Unfortunately the "Thrust" LP is opened by a bit dull "Palm Grease". As a big fan of jazz-funk it's quite attractive to me to listen to 10-minutes exotic funk jam, but when I'm listen closer to it, I found there really nothing as interesting as on "Headhunters". It can as well last for 5 or 20 minutes!

Fortunately the second track is a KILLER! "Actual Proof" comes with one of the most inteligent and creative bass lines EVER! This track, in contrast to the first one, successfully cathes the idea I wrote about above. The jazz-funk drive is so gorgeus that Herbie managed to play almost every solos and we don't feel bored with it! Also Maupin turned from harsh sax to a gentle flute.

Third track is "Butterfly". It's good to notice how well it is built. And how well title matches the music. It begins with a sluggish trance theme, that somehow reminds a morning on a glade or a meadow. The music get thicker about 2:00, the rhyhtm is slowly speeding up and Maupin starts with soprano sax solo. After next 2 minutes track becomes more dense, Herbie begin his Fender solos and add some more Arp background and Clavinet about 7:00 what makes this whole Butterfly fly really fast!

Album ends with more funk-jazz oriented "Spank-A-Lee". But the fantastic theme wasn't filled up properly. Although it's full of brilliant, "fat" bass and synthesizer notes, great drums playing and you can listen to it endleslly, it really lacks something really gripping in the middle.

Still, "Thrust" is one of the classic jazz-funk albums that is absolutely worth hearing. However some synth-maniacs can be dissapointed that despite cover with keyboard-spaceship the LP isn't as cosmic and synth-oriented as it could be.

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