Track Listing

1. Palm Grease
2. Actual Proof
3. Butterfly
4. Spank A Lee

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17469 in Music
• Released on: 1998-07-13
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Freshly remastered and reissued with all its pop and zip enhanced, here is one of the stellar recordings of the jazz-rock fusion era. Underpinning this jumping, multi-rhythmic, fathoms-deep groove music is the percussive power that Herbie Hancock, on squawking, scratching, stuttering, pulsing electronic keyboards, and Paul Jackson on thrumming, wah-wahing bass, add to Mike Clark's straight-up, rock-solid, propulsive drumming. From there, any band member can swoop and dive in celebration of Hancock's vibrant compositions. Bennie Maupin brilliantly deploys several horns in spare, soulful, and otherworldly ways. But listen carefully, too, for the broad palette Hancock employs in lead and comping roles. He augments the streak of Bill Evans melodicism evident in earlier, acoustic years with sustained funk fire and shuddering R&B drive. --Peter Monaghan

Customer Reviews

Butterfly makes it
Having read great reviews for this album, after having listened to Headhunters and after having see him live in the best musical experience of my life in November 2006, I decided to by this album. Frankly, I was slightly dissapointed, but perhaps I had been previously spoilt by the offering of Headhunters and the amazing live performance. I do not profess to be a jazz expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I can only describe my own feelings towards the tracks on this album:

I found Palm Grease to be a rather protracted track and, while it may be unfair to compare it with the equaivalent first track on Headhunters, it lacked the mind-blowing high that Chameleon has. 3/5

Actual Proof is a very intelligent track which introduces the melody extremely well, before allowing Herbie to play a pretty decent solo accompanied by breaking riffs at regular intervals. Again, I feel as if it's leading us up to heights which it never manages to reach. 3.5/5

Spank-a-lee I found to be a slightly funkier version of Palm Grease. 3/5

So, why have I given this album 4 stars? Well, because the 3rd track Butterfly is by far the most astounding tune I have heard by Hancock - or anyone - to date, having since puchased Secrets, Fat Albert Rotunda, Mwandishi and Sextant. It starts off with a dreamy, mellow melody allowing you to sit back and relax to Maupin's saxophone, with Hancock playing simple flowing chords. Suddenly, the accompanying bass changes and we are greeted with Herbie's presence becoming more involved, playing alongside a fantastic solo by Maupin, which manages to take you up to the high that the album's been begging for.

Hancock's susbequent solo takes you down from the high with a beautiful, dreamy sequence, before the pace suddenly changes and we are treated to 2 minutes of an amazingly groovy, funky rhythm, until the pace changes back again and the opening melody is played out until the end of the track. 5/5

Butterfly is a true musical journey for me, and I would certainly recommend purchasing this album for this tune alone, if you haven't already got it elsewhere (e.g. on the Essential Herbie Hancock compilation). Otherwise, I would recommend you get a good listen to this album first before committing to buy.

Different, but brilliant
Herbie Hancock is a clever man. In 1974, recording his third album on Columbia, after the huge success of Head Hunters, he knew exactly what kind of sound he wanted for his follow-up. The end result, Thrust, is a dizzying cocktail of fast-and-furious funk, and trippy grooves. While it never quite reaches the giddy heights of Head Hunters, it gets damn close, and Hancock deserves credit for taking his sound in dazzling new directions.

If it ain't broke, Herbie will fix it; in '74, he fiddled with a line-up that recorded the second most successful jazz album of all time. By replacing the brilliant Harvey Mason with newboy Mike Clark on drums, Hancock changed the sound of his whole group- giving the music more of a straight funk feel rather than the earthy jazz-funk sound witnessed on Head Hunters.

From the outset, Mike Clark makes his presence felt on Palm Grease. A straight-up funk intro which defies his jazz roots is followed by catchy riffs, awesome percussion, and a far-out, cosmic ending. The incredibly tricky Actual Proof showcases brilliant technical ability all round, with a great solo from Hancock, reminding us that this is still his album.

Track 3, Butterfly follows- spellbinding, awesome, cool, mind-blowing. Simply brilliant. Hancock takes a "simple" fm11-am9 riff, and turns it into something majestic. But, we are given no time to rest because the final track, the hideously named Spank-a-lee, combines awesome playing with.....well, just awesome playing. Hancock seems to take a back-seat in this funk-romp, rightly letting Bennie Maupin and Mike Clark steal the last few minutes through the latter's brilliant filling, with the former's maniacal soloing.

And that's Thrust. Thrust is as much an awesome album as it is a showcase of Herbie Hancock's honourable standings in the music world. Where many people would have stuck to the same formula of their previous ludicrously successful album, Herbie continued to creativley push himself, and came up with a mini-masterpiece.

Funk,Funk,Funk,Funk,Funk!!
I have seen Herbie live at the Barbican (best gig ever!!!) and I have been loving Headhunters for a long time now but wasn't sure where to go next so I looked up reviews on Amazon about this CD called Thrust. I went out and bought this CD and it is absolutely fantastic. Herbie maintains the funky, groovy interlocking rhythms that defined other classics such as Fat Albert Rotunda and Headhunters. The first track "Palm Grease"
Immediately dives into the groove with the thumping drums of Mike Clark (who has written an essay inside the liner notes). The different effects Herbie has at his disposal are extraordinary and these kinds of things have helped Herbie develop his restless sense of creativity and more importantly his career. Another awesome element of this album is Bennie Maupin's superb horn-blowing (he even uses a wah-wah) pedal. He was great on Headhunters and he maintains that brilliance here especially on "Spank - a-lee". As said on the back of the CD: Thrust remains a bible of advanced, but still accessible groove playing. If you love Herbie and you love funk then this is THE album for you. Or even if you're looking for a CD that picks up where Headhunters left then BUY THIS CD NOW!! You are guaranteed to love this disc.