Needle Time

  Herbie Hancock - Man-Child [PC 33812 DEU 2013 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released on Columbia Records in 1975. I can't speak highly enough of the quality of releases from German reissue label Speakers Corner Records. Their attention to detail is outstanding, all releases are sourced from the original master tapes, cut all-analogue by skilled mastering engineers, pressed on some the very best quality vinyl and wrapped in high spec reproduction jackets. Recently, the rumour mill was suggesting the label had closed its doors, thankfully that has been quickly quashed and this small scale outfit remain in business. Hancock's stunning funk opus Man-Child was cut by Dutch mastering engineer Willem Makkee and pressed at Pallas in Germany. A1 Hang Up Your Hang Ups A2 Sun Touch A3 The Traitor B1 Bubbles B2 Steppin' In It B3 Heartbeat

  Herbie Hancock - The Prisoner [BST 84321 USA 2020 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Originally released in 1969 on Blue Note Records in the USA & Japan. Herbie Hancock's final album for Blue Note Records was a dedication to the late Martin Luther King, described by the pianist as a social statement written in music without words. Recorded over three days in April 1969 at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, NJ with Joe Henderson on sax, Hubert Laws on flute, Tootie Heath on drums, Garnett Brown on trombone, Jerome Richardson on bass clarinet, Johhny Coles on flugelhorn and Buster Williams on bass. This edition was part of the 2020 batch of the Blue Note Tone Poet Series, cut by Kevin Grey from the original master tapes.  A1 I Have A Dream A2 The Prisoner B1 Firewater B2 He Who Lives In Fear B3 Promise Of The Sun

 Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles [BST 84175 DEU 2023 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Featuring one of his most well known compositions,  Cantaloupe Island , Herbie Hancock's fourth studio album  Empyrean Isles was recently reissued as part of the Blue Note Classic Series. I have picked up many of this series over the last few years and this is the best sounding of the lot so far.  Originally recorded and released in 1964, this album was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder at his home  studio (in reality his parent's front room) in Hackensack, New Jersey. Kevin Gray cut the masters for this release direct from Van Gelder's master tapes.  Needle Time posts are going to be a little sporadic over the Easter break, I may find some extra time for a few more Digitalia posts this week and more normal service will resume in just over a week. A1 One Finger Snap A2 Oliloqui Valley B1 Cantaloupe Island B2 The Egg

  Herbie Hancock - Future Shock [25AP-2672 JPN 1983 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] The HumminGuru arrived yesterday and with a queue of stuff awaiting bath time, I will kick off with the original Japanese pressing of Future Shock. I say Japanese pressing with some intrepidation as there is no clue where it was pressed. The master was cut at Masterdisk in New York, but as always with some Japanese Sony/CBS/Columbia releases, the final product could have been pressed on either side of the Pacific. I would say this version is a decent upgrade on my original UK, which I ripped a few years back. The master of the jazz piano, Herbie Hancock went electro with this fine album from 1983. Whilst not groundbreaking, Herbie was one of the many musicians who dragged electro and scratch out of the underground and into the mainstream. Hancock still ladles out the jazz-funk during some tracks (like the title track), but it is Rockit which grabbed all the attention. Aided and abetted by Bill Laswell, this ...

  Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters [APJ 084 USA  2021 24-Bit FLAC] As it is a Sunday evening, you usually get some jazz, this week you get two jazz albums. Both in similar styles (funky & innovative), however they vary geographically and in the quality of the finished product. After Donald Byrd last week, it only seemed right that Herbie should follow next. Good copies of Head Hunters are extremely difficult to find these days, with Music On vinyl swamping the market with substandard product. I originally had in mind a 1977 Japanese repress from my usual source of Japanese vinyl, however without an obi, such records are not really worth the investment. So for the some cost (around fifty quid), I happened upon this 2021 repress on Chad Kassem's Analogue Productions label, imported from the US.  This version is mastered from the original analogue reels and pressed onto superior quality vinyl in limited batches by Kassem's own Quality Record Pressings plant in Salina, Kans...

  Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock - Butterfly [BEWITH028LP UK 2018 24-Bit FLAC] Sultry Japanese jazz voice Kimiko Kasai has released countless albums between 1970 & 1990, most of which never saw the light of day outside Japan. Her most famous recordings were with Herbie Hancock & Friends, released on Sony Japan in 1979. The Kyoto chanteuse and the Chicago ivory-tinkler combined for this album of seven Hancock standards, however for me, her belting cover of Stevie Wonder's As stands head and shoulders above the rest. British reissue/archive label Be With Records released this wonderfully mastered repress a few years back and this rip with my Hana Shibata SL is one of my finest rips. Just perfect for any lazy Sunday evening. Enjoy! A1 I Thought It Was You A2 Tell Me A Bedtime Story A3 Head In The Clouds A4 Maiden Voyage B1 Harvest Time B2 Sunlight B3 Butterfly B4 As

Herbie Hancock - Future Shock [CBS 25540 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] The master of the jazz piano, Herbie Hancock goes electro with this fine album from 1983. Whilst not groundbreaking, Herbie was one of the many musicians who dragged electro and scratch out of the underground and into the mainstream. Hancock still ladles out the jazz-funk during some tracks (like the title track), but it is Rockit which grabbed all the attention. The hype sticker suggests that Autodrive was a hit single, however I think they may be kidding you on. I quite like Rough with its heavier groove and I think it could have made a great Adrian Sherwood remix. A1 Rockit A2 Future Shock A3 TFS B1 Earth Beat B2 Autodrive B3 Rough