Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters ALBUM REVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 12 янв 2024
- Listen: • Chameleon
Classics "Week" 2024 ends as it begins: getting kinda funky.
More classic reviews: • Classics
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HERBIE HANCOCK - HEAD HUNTERS / 1973 / COLUMBIA / JAZZ FUSION, FUNK
CLASSIC/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right? 
Видеоклипы
I love that you did 10 classic albums this year. Please do 10 every year from now on.
I second this.
Third agreement from me
I fourth this
He should do one every month
Hopefully Melon’s mental health isn’t on the line cause 10 classic reviews seems challenging
BRO THIS ALBUM IS SO GOOD TOO. WATERMELON MAN IS GOATED! AHHH
Hi brad
Maybe this time Fantano will see the comment and appear on your channel
I love you, Brad
Agreed
*POP CHAMPAGNE* 🗣️🗣️‼️‼️‼️‼️🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾
my grandfather was a jazz musician, and he knew herbie. one time when I was teenager, he came into town for a show, and I got to meet him afterwards. it was so cool. my grandfather passed a month ago, but I’ll always have music to remind me of him. amazing album, thanks for reviewing it
🙏🙏❤️
My condolences
If you don't mind answering, what was his name? Would love to hear some of his stuff.
Yeah whats his name? Would love to listen in on his stuff :)
That's awesome bro. I'm sure your grandfather is/was one awesome dude!
One of the things I absolutely LOVE about Herbie is how open minded he was and still is to different styles of music, as well as staying in touch with younger musicians. Herbie isn’t afraid to experiment and push boundaries, and I think that’s awesome. I bought a copy of Headhunters on vinyl a little over a year ago and I’ve been hooked on it ever since.
He’s also just a very kind man from interviews, personal anecdotes, etc. Herbie is one of the greats💖
Headhunters is an album that listening to it for the first time completely blew my mind and is still one of my favorite jazz albums. Truly feels boundary pushing and above all fun and funky
WaterMELON man right here
We use to play this to warm up ...sound checks...pre gig
"It's quite the odyssey"... Nicely fitting since Herbie played the iconic bassline of Chameleon on an ARP Odyssey synthesizer. Thanks for your review of this much beloved album.
This was my introduction to Jazz as a genre and remains as one of my favorite albums of all time. Glad you’re reviewing it
Mannn that’s a great introduction! lol
Yeah 👍
Too many pretentious jazz musicians and jazz fans huffing their own farts stroking themselves off to how superior they are to other people or how smart they are because "they get it". What a bunch of pricks.
I wrote my college admissions essay on Head Hunters, it holds such a special place in my heart. Fantano hit the nail on the head on what makes this album so great. A jazz funk and fusion classic
This is the best classics week he’s ever done
Weeks*
It’s weird, because I discovered Fiona Apple and Headhunters at the same time around 2000. Both were on rotation along with some Drum & Bass
I am all in for this extended classics week. So many amazing albums to cover.
This was the very first jazz record I ever listened to, and even as an adult, I consider it to be one of the most perfect albums ever recorded. I've listened to it countless of times yet not once have I ever gotten sick of it. While there are only four tracks, not a single one slouches or borders even remotely on being skippable. They're all S-tier for me. This record was so fundamental and important for jazz, funk, fusion, and music as a whole. I love this review and I thank you for saying your peace on what is, in my own personal opinion, the classic album of all classic albums. Perfect sendoff to the expanded classics week this year.
This album is so nostalgic for me. My dad would always play it on saturday mornings. I remember waking up or eating breakfast to Watermelon Man. Such a great slow addition of instruments and phenomenal loops of chords and notes.
Is it me or does the intro of Watermelon Man remind me of Soul Bossa Nova by Quincy Jones?
Probably the most important album for my musical journey. When I heard Chameleon for the first time something in my brain clicked. I had never heard something like this before or had thought, that you can approach music in this way. To this day it's one of my favourite and in my opinion one of the greatest pieces of music ever created
Holy shit what a loaded classics week. Demon Days and Head Hunters ARE the two albums that changed the way I listened to music. Demon Days kinda introduced me to music, I listened to it basically from birth. Head Hunters made me fall in love with jazz and heady music in general, and set me on my musical path ever since I heard it at 11. Such a perfect blend of jazz and rock and r&b and soul.
I was not expecting a Head Hunters review, I was literally listening to it last night. Absolutely insane classics week.
These classics have been some great videos. Hope you are able to do this many classic reviews every year moving forward.
Chameleon has one of the finest baselines ever recorded
100%
Great pick! Such an amazing funky jazz album, I saw Headhunters perform in London last month and they were absolutely amazing! Every musician a master, the drummer is 78 and absolutely cooking, he said he's been playing with Bill the percussionist for 50 years and had 4 marriages in that time. Truly legendary group, was a privilege to see them lay it down.
Omg im so happy to see an album which holds such a special place in jazz be reviewed
Herbie Hancock has to be the most important musician of the 20th century. Like you said, he played a pivotal role in the biggest American music movements from Post-Bop to Jazz-Funk to Jazz Fusion to even Hip Hop in a much more smoother way than Miles Davis did from the 70’s to the 80’s but both are obviously great. Him, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams are an amazing rhythm section
Fun Fact: Herbie Hancock beat Kanye and Foo Fighters in the 2008 Grammys for Album of the Year
Keiji Haino
If you like the fusion but Headhunters is a bit too accessible, and Sextant is too out-there, I can heartily recommend the underrated Mwandishi! It's still got great fusion elements but it's also quite atmospheric and transcendental, it's got an atmosphere that hasn't been replicated elsewhere including by Herbie!
mwandishi is my favorite Herbie album, perfect blend of interesting ideas and fun grooves 😊
🙏❤️
Mwandishi is incredible. There is also the album called crossings that feels like a mix between headhunters and mwandishi
@@Amjos-r4q Yeah, Crossings is the one for me!
This is exactly what i meant about jazz fans who huff their own farts, when they talk about jazz music and albums being "accessible" it just comes off as being a stuck up, pretentious, elitist prick who stroke off to how thy "understood the song/genre" and how smart they are.
Thanks for the extra mile you guys went with this Classics Week! Always really in the pocket with these reviews and it was a treat to get a double dose.
Back in 2000 I think, Rolling Stone put out an issue with a comp CD and 'Watermelon Man' was on it. I was already listening to Mikes and Trane but something about this track blew my mind and wasn't like any of the other jazz I had been listening to. Bought a copy of Headhunters and I was hooked. In college I had a radio show and I used 'Chameleon' as my intro music, just the first 1:30 of the song. This album is amazing.
SO MANY CLASSICS THIS YEAR! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely loved your classic reviews this year! You should do more jazz reviews
I found a copy of Headhunters at my local thrift store when i was in college, needless to say it sent me down a rabbit hole of Jazz and Fusion records that changed my perception of the genre as a whole. I owe this album a lot in terms of the development of my musical taste over the past decade
Discovered this as a kid in my dad's record collection in the basement (in the 80s). Thought it looked silly so I put it on and it blew my mind. Nearly 40 years later it's still 1 of my all time faves...
I recently got into Herbie Hancock and this album is great. Sextant is even more incredible.
First heard this album only a few weeks ago and I was blown away. The production is incredible!
Man, I love the classic reviews, and you really outdid yourself this year. I love this record and absolutely love the Sextant trilogy during the Mwashandi era. It's really sick early use of electronics in jazz that still hold up today and are bugged out and experimental as heck
This is easily my favourite album. That punchy bass line that kicks things off when you first put it on had me hooked at the first listen. You did it great justice. I really liked this review. ❤
I spin this at work at least once a month, just to watch people Shazam it.
"Watermelon Man" is still my joint how Diddy flipped it for SuoerCats song" Dolly My Baby" is still one of the best dancehall hip-hop tracks from the early '90s
I literally just got done spinning this record minutes before seeing this was posted lol…crazy timing. But yeah, this album is so unique sounding, yet catchy enough to where it’s very memorable with high reply value. Amazing album for sure
Very very cool Anthony! Classics week has had a lot of heat this year
This classic week was literally made for me. Good work Mr. "best teeth in the game"
WHY SO MANY GREAT REVIEWS TONY
NO WAY!!! Thanks for reviewing this melon! My favorite album of all time and more people definitely need to hear it! Love vein melter
Holy moly, we've really been spoiled with classic week this year. Glad Herbie is getting love while we still have him.
This is a great album to break your jazz cherry. I think it's far more accessible than other standards because of catchy, funky tunes like Chameleon and Watermelon Man.
This might be a strange question, but I want to learn about the culture and artists of older generations. What is the best/easiest form of media or way to gain knowledge about music from older generations in today's world? I love reviews like this but can't fathom where someone can get so much information on older subjects.
Herbie and Wayne went crazy in the 70s. I personally like his albums that followed. Thrust is probably my favorite.
It makes me sad that there are people out there who will never listen to this absolute masterpiece. If you’re one of those people, GO LISTEN TO IT NOW!
Very interesting that Anthony reviewed an album which has a song called "Watermelon Man".
it's like how Pitchfork does the "record we haven't reviewed" review every Sunday of old albums and it's always a great score!
Just wanted to give a shoutout to a later era Herbie album, titled "MR HANDS". Not only does it have one of the best aging album titles of all time (don't google it), it also has some fantastic songs on it, notably Textures. Maybe not as complex as some of his early fusion stuff, but just a truly enjoyable and vibey album. Worth checking out.
Been istening to Headhunters a lot over the last few months, Mahavishnu's Birds of Fire too. That 70s fusion is a vibe.
Fantano thank you so much for doing this review but please please please can you do a classic review of Illinois by sufjan stevens. I just listened to it again and omg it’s sooo goated.
Can you take a look at Kazumi Watanabes Olives Step Album?
I love this album, and it is one of my treasures in my ever-growing vinyl record collection! ❤
I first heard this album when watching a video talking about the sound design in Wario Land 4 and it's been a favorite ever since, glad to see it on the channel here.
gah damn we eatin this classics season
Appearances in classic reviews by decade:
60s: 10
70s: 15
80s: 11
90s: 25
00s: 16
10s: 1
One time I saw this album in a local small record store and I had no clue what I was looking at, but the album cover was so interesting I was this close to just grabbing it and listening to it at home lol
YES! great choice. would also recommend listening to "Thrust", which is the next album and is even better
could you maybe review Einstein on the beach at some point? Would be interested what you think about it
Thank you waterMELON man
these were standards in my mind for a long time. Herbie is pushing 80 and I saw him on tour in my country, he was still rocking and doing jumps on stage with the keytar!
Can you do Linda Ronstadt’s Heart like a wheel review next? Ps. loved your Joni Mitchell’s Blue review.
Saw Herbie last summer at my city’s outdoor jazz fest, helluva show!
WE'RE EATING THIS YEAR! EATINGGGGGG
One of my favorite albums ever! Herbie was wayyy out there with that one especially considering the time it dropped
I have some anecdotes of Herbie Hancock from when I saw him at the State Theatre here in Sydney Australia around 2010.
At one stage Herbie attempted a free jazz freakout using the sounds of the Australian rainforest programmed into his synth. (It didn't seem to be going anywhere, and he promptly turned to the grand piano and began Cantaloupe Island).
During the fadeout of Watermelon Man (fusion version), a train passed under the State Theatre (Town Hall Station), Hancock clearly didn't know what the weird groaning noise was, and he said "Oooh, spooky!"
At one stage, at the end of a particularly complex piece, Herbie said: "Whole lotta notes. That's all fusion is. Whole lotta notes. SOME fusion, anyway!"
I still remember most of the set list, I think. Rainforest freakout - Cantaloupe Island - Seven Teens - Watermelon Man (fusion version) - Rockit - Actual Proof - Chameleon.
Would you consider reviewing Ways To Place The Hand by Ben Manz? It’s obscure, but he’s a living nick drake/leonard cohen if they lived on a space station.
Two weeks of classics reviews was a great choice. I hope that you do it again in 2025!
I have this album cover tattooed on my body, the only tattoo I have on my body. It got me into all the music I listen to now. I have it on vinyl as well. I remember hearing Chameleon all the way through for the first time still, 2017, in the car, summer. Time flies.
Dude same for me, album cover tattooed on my thigh, don't have any other tattoo
@@el_rabserinoWe are spiritually connected brother.
@@taylorroberts1657 What's crazy is that 2017 was also the year I delved deep into Herbie 🤯
@@el_rabserino If you are also 25 years old, I will lose my shit.
Best classics "week" yet, your on a roll 🙏
This might be the best records to get hip-hop heads into jazz
I’d love a series on your second channel, “beginners albums for xyz genre”, been trying to expand my listening habits
That series already exists, is called starter packs
You are getting better at reviewing jazz classics!
Sextant is such a unique album, its got a little of the vibe from the album after and before it, but somehow that makes it just totally different from either of them, too, if that makes sense?
We appreciate your reviews. You'll always have our support.
Thrust the album after I prefer but this was one of the first jazz records I bought 25 years ago when I was trying to learn about jazz. A good entry point with Kind of Blue!
Hey, you should make a review of album from the Kinks like Something Else, Are The Village Green Preservation Society & Arthur (or the decline and the fall of the british empire) those are good albums, probably
Are we getting a whole month of these? Nice
I’m you’ve said previously you don’t quite look forward to classic week and don’t find it as fun to make. But thank you for covering 10 this time. These were all great. Can’t wait for next year.
One of my favourite of all time, thanks for reviewing it
Awesome album!! This one really helped me get into jazz a while back
Thanks for teaching me that a week is apparently 10 days, Melon 👍😃
2024 is packed with releases.
I grew up with 90s rock on one side and my brothers borrowed jazz records on the other. When I heard Headhunters I thought "this is what I've been looking for." This album is so satisfying to me.
My favorite Jazz album! Thank you Anthony!
damn ur going in bro. that opening is the best synth bassline of all time. and the tight drums…man. best
One of my favourite albums. Iconic album.
I've heard watermelon man and low key thought it was a bit, but now I need to listen to this album I guess.
Oh he’s really poppin off for this year’s classic week what the hell
This is the album that got me into Jazz, along with Gran Turismo 3’s OST
Overall great picks for classics “week”, though I am a bit sad to not see White Pony, especially with how many people requested it in the livestreams
Theory: Fantano is retiring from RUclips hence the amount of classics he’s done, guessing he has a list of future classics but since he won’t be doing it next year then he’s knocking them all out now
Lol...lol....as a baby boomer who purchased this album in 1973 ! It's hilarious to hear your interpretation of what we actually heard !!! Lawd !!! 😅😅😂
I love the Classics series, please keep them coming, also consider some prog rock albums, maybe In Absentia or Shrine of New Generation Slaves.
Also I'm upset we didnt see a DEVO classics review, we certainly got fed this year but fingers crossed for next year
This year is opposite year
Five days where a classic album video doesn’t drop
YO THIS ALBUM IS FIRE! Thank you for giving it some more attention, especially to some new people who haven't checked out Herbie before
The first time I ever heard this album was my freshman year of college. I made it maybe 12 bars into Chameleon before I stopped it and literally ran to my friends' dorms to play it for them.
Watermelon man is the track that got me into jazz, goated
Fairly certain the sound at the start of watermelon man is blowing on an empty beer bottle
I'd love to see more Jazz reviews