Herbie Hancock and Friends - Spotlight (Day 6)

Hello again. I have a few great albums to squeeze in this week before the weekend. Next week I'm hopeful to wrap this series up b/c I'm excited about some other things I have to share. Gonna keep this one brief b/c I'm short on time.  I'll stick to personnel and the tracklist for today.

First for today is a live album, recorded in Tokyo in 1975. While I'm not always that into live albums, Flood features some of Herbie's absolute best tunes. 

Herbie Hancock - Piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet and synthesizer.

Bennie Maupin - Tenor and soprano saxophone, saxello, bass clarinet, flute. 
Blackbyrd McKnight - Electric guitar.
Paul Jackson - Electric bass.
Bill Summers - Percussion.
Mike Clark - Drums. 

Tracklist:
1) Intro and Maiden Voyage
2) Actual Proof

3) Spank-A-Lee

4) Watermelon Man

5) Butterfly

6) Chameleon

7) Hang Up Your Hang Ups

Not really a weak spot here. I love "Actual Proof" and "Butterfly" but top to bottom this is a great listen. 

1975 also saw the release of another one of my favorite albums of all-time in Man-Child. I'm not sure where this album ranks amongst others - but I can't find a flaw. It's absolutely perfect to me. Technically considered the last album of the HeadHunters group, Herbie employed quite the group of musicians for this one. I'm not certain of a track by track breakdown of who was where - all I can say is Herbie was in his bag on this one, as the kids say. There's even a wicked harmonica solo from Stevie Wonder. 

Herbie Hancock - Piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet and synthesizer.

Bennie Maupin - Tenor and soprano saxophone, saxello, bass clarinet, bass and alto flute.

Wayne Shorter - Soprano saxophone.

Ernie Watts - Saxophone and flute.

Jim Horn - Saxophone and flute.

Garnett Brown - Trombone.

Bud Brisbois - Trumpet.

Jay DaVersa - Trumpet.

Dick Hyde - Tuba, Bass Trombone.

Blackbyrd McKnight - Electric guitar.

Wah Wah Watson - Electric guitar.

Louis Johnson - Bass.

Paul Jackson - Bass.

Henry Davis - Bass.

Bill Summers - Percussion.

Stevie Wonder - Harmonica.

Harvey Mason - Drums.

James Gadson - Drums. 

Mike Clark - Drums.

Tracklist: 

1) Hang Up Your Hang Ups

2) Sun Touch

3) The Traitor

4) Bubbles

5) Steppin' In It

6) Heartbeat

Again, not a weak point here. Personally, "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" and "The Traitor" are my favorites here. I prefer the studio version of HUYHU over the live version on Flood with a quicker tempo. "The Traitor" might be my favorite song in general - it perfectly embodies what I enjoy the most in music. Classic material.

After Man-Child, guitarist Wah Wah Watson was a mainstay on Herbie's albums throughout the rest of the 70s. Take a peak at the credits of his career and you'll be hard pressed to find a guy that played with more legendary musicians. Mostly a session musician, Watson did release a solo album in 1976 titled Elementary. Some of the tunes are a little vanilla but there are definitely some jams here. "Cry Baby" "Together (Whatever)" and "Good Friends" are all worth checking. There's also a nice version of "Bubbles." Vocals almost on every track so I've included a copy of instrumentals with mixed results. 

Wah Wah Watson - Guitar, synthesizer, talkbox.

Ray Parker Jr. - Guitar.

Louis Johnson - Bass.

John Barnes - Clavinet.

Joe Sample - Piano.

Sonny Burke - Piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer.

Clarence McDonald - Piano.

Ollie Brown - Drums.

Tracklist:

1) Goo Goo Wah Wah

2) Love My Blues Away

3) Cry Baby

4) My Love For You Comes And Goes

5) Together (Whatever)

6) Sunset Boulevard

7) Love Ain't Somethin' (That You Get For Free)

8) I'll Get By Without You

9) Bubbles

10) Good Friends

One takeaway from Man-Child for me was the exceptional bass player Louis Johnson. I wasn't aware of his career until recently and learned that he is one half of the funk band The Brothers Johnson. In 1976, they released their debut album, the Quincy Jones produced Look Out For #1. A similar situation as the Wah Wah Watson album, there are definitely some jams here along with some tunes that don't do much for me. I've again included an instrumental copy with mixed results. The personnel list for this one is massive so I'll leave it to you if you'd like to investigate it further. Harvey Mason is on drums which doesn't hurt anything, though. "Thunder Thumbs and Lightnin' Licks", "Get The Funk Out Ma Face" and "Dancin' and Prancin'" are all worth a listen. "Tomorrow" is a nice little tune as well - one I've heard sampled before but can't recall the song. 

Tracklist:

1) I'll Be Good To You

2) Thunder Thumbs and Lightnin' Licks

3) Get The Funk Out Ma Face

4) Tomorrow

5) Free And Single

6) Come Together

7) Land Of Ladies

8) Dancin' And Prancin'

9) The Devil

Have a great weekend!