Herbie Hancock
Future Shock

THE REVIEW

Ever since Herbie Hancock debuted on the record market in 1962 with "Takin' Off", he demonstrated that he possessed not only top-notch technical/compositional skills but also, and above all, a great desire to experiment to expand his musical horizons towards "little-known" territories. This quest for novelty has often led the American pianist to compose true masterpieces, recognized as such by both the public and critics. However, in other cases, much more rarely, the result of this desire to experiment was not the best.

Unfortunately, in this latter category falls "Future Shock", an album dated 1983, where it seems Hancock forgot that he is, first and foremost, a jazz pianist. The work indeed moves on coordinates that range from hip hop to electronic music, also presenting some passages that very much recall '70s dance, leaving jazz in a more marginal place. Naturally, "Future Shock" does include some rare happy moments: it is impossible not to mention among these "Earth Beat", which unfolds on a mix of oriental, electronic, and rap sounds, but "TFS" is also interesting, within which fusion elements converge alongside the ever-present electronic base. On the other hand, we find tracks like the mega-hit "Rockit" (a mix of rap and something else not well defined) or even the repetitive and static "Rough", really unconvincing and which notably pale when compared to Herbie's past productions.

In conclusion, what really fails to convince in this album is the constant and forced union of diametrically opposed genres that do not seem to belong to Hancock's musical background; the stylistic and compositional confusion, which makes listening to the album really unpleasant, also notably impedes it. Despite the somewhat unsatisfactory final result, some positive elements can be found. Besides the already mentioned presence of tracks like "Earth Beat" and "Rough", the cleanliness of sounds and truly superior recording quality stand out, along with a hint of groove that occasionally emerges.

This time, the pass mark does not seem to have been reached, but "Future Shock" is just a slight lapse of style in a career, like Herbie's, mostly filled with great and unforgettable successes.