Funky
Herbie Hancock’ , * Sound System (CBS) pp/ ' After making a monster sound like ‘Rockit’, what do you do for the follow-up? Well, what Herbie has done is to make ‘Rockit’ again. Can you stand it?
The lead track Hardrock’ repeats a lot of what made Rockit’ so fresh and exciting but this time with a guitar break (he must have been listening to ‘Run DMC) and less turntable work from Grandmaster DST. There is just something missing aqd I think it’s that sense of fun and of experimenting with something new that the earlier album had. The best aspect of ‘Sound System’, apart from the great cover, is the use of talking drums and shekere, an attempt perhaps to merge the modern culture of Fairlight programming and computer graphics with traditional African music. It almost works on ‘Junku’ but gets a little lost on the title track. A bit of a disappointment but maybe Herbie will surprise us with something fresh next time. KB Kenny G G-Force (Arista)
The sub-genre of jazz-funk does not hold any appeal for me, it tends to lack the hard edge and soul that black music should have.
G-Force is a case in point. It’s the sort of music you hear when you buy shirts or ride in elevators a lot. The best tracks are the two vocal workouts, with the British hit 'Hi, How Ya Doing’ hitting a nice ballad groove, but things go downhill after that. The rest of the tracks are strictly background instrumentals, produced by Kashif with his eyes closed. ' KB Smokey Robinson Essar (Motown)
One of the most frequently played records in my collection is Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' Greatest Hits, a vital selection of super-fine black pop music. What makes it so good is the pure and cool vocal style of Smokey Robinson and, thankfully, on Essar the voice remains just as emotive and thrilling as it ever was. The whole first side is simply perfect, from the midtempo 'And I Don’t Love You' and 'Train Of Thought’ to the classic ballad form of ‘I Can’t Find’. Side two is plagued by weak material like the West Coast-sounding ‘Driving Through Life In the Fast Lane’ but still has its sweet moments on a couple of great, slinky ballads.
This is Smokey’s best work since the sublime ’Cruising’ and at times on ’And I Don't Love You’ it comes close to catching the magic of his early work. Kerry Buchanan
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/RIU19841001.2.38
Bibliographic details
Rip It Up, Issue 87, 1 October 1984, Page 24
Word Count
411Funky Rip It Up, Issue 87, 1 October 1984, Page 24
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