Herbie Hancock - Crossings CD (album) cover


Herbie Hancock


Jazz Rock/Fusion

4.30 | 204 ratings

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Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Probably the biggest difference between "Crossings" and the previous album "Mwandashi" is the electronics. David Rubinson, Hancock's manager and producer thought that adding synths to the music might link the band to a wider audience even though he knew the music here was far from being commercial. So Rubinson brought in Patrick Gleeson and his moog synthesizer. Although Herbie "was skepticle at first, he was quite taken by the synthesizer and asked Gleeson not only to do the overdubs on his album but join the group, making it one of the first groups to take a synthesizer out on the road. On the strength of the new electronic sounds,the band was booked into rock venues such as Filmore, Filmore East, the Winterlands and San Francisco's Bath / And.The spiritual / sensual space grooves of his "Crossings" music and the spiral of rhythms swirling within created music that not only was of it's time but has outlived them". Hancock once said this about people who hear his music but know really nothing about it. "Their hearing can sometimes be so pure that it can go right to the heart, and they can really love it without having any intellectual understanding of it. And that kind of music, even though intellect went into playing it, the purpose was really non-intellectual. It was purely emotional". Man that so describes me sometimes as a listener.

"Sleeping Giant" is the side long, almost 25 minute opener composed by Herbie. I haven't mentioned the album cover yet, but let me just say it's stunning. And the first 2 1/2 minutes of this track make me think of that picture.The drums, percussion and electronics then fade as electric piano and bass take over, drums continue. A calm 7 1/2 minutes in as we get lots of atmosphere. Deep bass after 9 minutes then trumpet joins in. It's building. It kicks in after 11 minutes. Another calm before 13 minutes before it kicks in again.The electric piano and drums sound great 15 minutes in.The contrasts continue.

"Quasar" is a Maupin composition. Actually the last song is as well.These are my two favourite tracks on here. Piano to start before we get some cool sounding synths. A melody comes in at 1 1/2 minutes but it's brief. Flute before 2 1/2 minutes. Listen to the different sounds that come and go here. Just listen.This is a fantastic song. "Water Torture" continues with the atmosphere, in fact this is haunting. Bass and a melody before 2 minutes but then it settles again as sounds continue to come and go. Check out the mellotron and synths at 10 1/2 minutes !

You might call this experimental, avant and atmospheric Jazz. You might call it amazing as well.

Mellotron Storm | 4/5 |




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