The quintessential jazz-funk / fusion album and, at the time of its release, the best-selling "jazz" album of all time. People had already been pretty successful in the jazz fusion vein, but it was Herbie Hancock who really captured the vibe and the audience with his backbone of funk. "Watermelon Man" is probably the most famous cut on here with the long looped intro and funky breakdown (even made it so far as skate video fame). "Chameleon" is equally head-nodding and carries out some excellent solo goings on with Herbie getting loose all over the synthesizers and arps and rhodes and stuff. I can't imagine what all those post-LSD heads were thinking listening to this shit in 1973. Like... wow man. Pretty much the same crew, with the addition of Soul Honkey #1 Mike Clark on drums and the subtraction of Herbie, went on to record under the band name Headhunters, releasing the classic "Survival Of the Fittest." A note on this deluxe audiophile reissue from the label: "Columbia's LP release had decent sound, but Analogue Productions' new vinyl mastering by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound takes the sound up several notches from there. The LP is housed in a gorgeous film-laminated jacket from Stoughton Printing — it looks and sounds better than ever." Cut nice and loud at 45 RPM on double vinyl, with a dedicated side per track. Recommended.

• 200g double vinyl pressing
• gatefold sleeve
• old-style deluxe film-lamination tip-on jacket
• remastered at Sterling Sound
• limited edition
• music label: Analogue Productions 2017

reviewed by the mgmnt 06/2017