Search - Herbie Hancock :: Future to Future

I think this is a work of art.

Tunnelpet | Forestville, CA, US | 01/31/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not sure. I think this is a great work of art. To hear such a great musican working with some very contemporary arrangements....this thing really turns me on. I was driving with that drum and bass with Herbie playing on it...man. This is bad. I mean. Plus with this strange "wisdom of the future" concept going on. Guy Called Gerald? Listen to that 24 Hour Party People thing..."Voodoo Ray" sounds like a reexamination of indigineous perpective in a post-modern frame-work...and that was in 1987..(after that we got FSOL ..but I suppose Peter Gabriel's Security and My Life in the Bush of ghosts does some of that too..)..but with that "house"thing..you get Coil's "solar lodge"...I don't know man....In a way..THIS piece seems like a group of musicians that have been decades beyond of their contemporaries joining to together to check out "today" ..which just happens to be hot as hell and cool. but...I would like to see another project like this where pure feeling and having confidence in contempoary styles like drum and bass,etc...they can even feel free to even move past that. I think that is something Miles Davis would do. i also think this record is something that Miles davis would have liked very much actually. But...it is pretty intellectual...I don't think it is mainstream. Interesting that Drum and Bass is "mainstream" for these guys. I think this could be a required disc for musicains working with electronics these days. I did enjoy burning my tongue on this."

Great recording!

T. Hoberg | 07/12/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As a long time jazz lover, I was thrilled to see something new from Mr. Hancock. The recording is amazing! Kebero makes the walls feel like their tumbling in... Tony Williams, in my opinion, is the best song on the CD. I really like The Essence and Virtual Hornets, as well. As for the rest of it, I find it hard to "feel". I can appreciate electronica and many artists pull it off with enormous feeling (although somewhat different, MMW is a great example). I think I was looking for less sound and more substance. I think some of Mr. Hancock's magic got lost in the experimentation."

An almost-classic recording

deltafront | Silverdale, WA United States | 01/30/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Herbie Hancock and Bill Laswell (whose work with Public Image Limited and Jah Wobble are in and of themselves worthy of recognition) team up once again to produce yet another groundbreaking work twenty years after "Future Shock," the recording whose "Rockit" single thrust HH into the mainstream eye once again. This time, however, insted of pandering so much to percieved public tastes, Herbie Hancock allows his own vision to reign, resulting in a rather cohesive work that is inspiring, groovy, thought-provoking, and pleasent to listen to."Keboro (Part I)" is an inspiring choral introduction, while "Wisdom" is a provocative spoken-word peice. Both of these songs lead into the groovy "The Essence," a song that features some excellent vocals. "This is Rob Swift" would be a fine song were it not for the annoyingly overproduced (and overused) scratching. "Black Gravity" is another low point, a rather forgettable peice. Herbie Hancock quickly redeems himself with the free-flowing "Tony Williams," a song that features both more excellent vocalisations and extremely impressive saxaphone work. "Be Still" is an okay enough peice, but sounds a bit too much like a retread of "Tony Williams." "Ionosphere" is a smooth, ambient song, one that is extremelly relaxing. "Kebero (Part II) builds impressivelly upon "Kebero (Part I), allowing the concepts that were introduced in the first song to build upon themselves, develop and mature. This blends smoothly into "Alphabeta," a cool, danceable track that is both sparse and intricate. "Virtual Hornets" closes out the disc, a very clean jazz/hip-hop/rock fusion track."