Future Shock (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Future Shock
Type = Studio album
Artist = Herbie Hancock


Released = January 1, 1983
Recorded = 1982
Genre = Electro, Instrumental Hip Hop, Jazz-Funk, Jazz fusion
Length = 37:58 (original release) / 47:52 (remastered edition with bonus track)
Label = Columbia Records
CK-38814
Producer = Material
Herbie Hancock
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0cfyxqqgldfe link]
*PopMatters Rating|4|5 [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/h/hancockherbie-reissues.shtml link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|2|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/herbiehancock/albums/album/208944/review/5943095/future_shock link]
*Warr.org Rating|3|5 [http://www.warr.org/hancock.html#FutureShock link] | Last album = "Quartet"
(1982)
This album = "Future Shock"
(1983)
Next album = "Sound-System"
(1984)

"Future Shock" is Herbie Hancock's thirty-fifth album and the first of his Electro-jazz era.

About the Album

Composed in 1983, Hancock enlisted avant-garde bassist and record producer Bill Laswell to record an album that would go towards a postmodern direction, instead of his usual straight-ahead jazz. The result was a hip-hop influenced album, which combined Hancock's keyboard mastery with Laswell's innovative arrangements and Grand Mixer DXT's turntablism. According to 1999 re-issue's liner notes, when Laswell went to buy speakers at a music equipment store he would insist on testing them by playing the demos of "Rockit" and "Earth Beat". While those songs were played through the speakers, passing by customers apparently liked what they heard and danced to the music. Soon after Laswell let Hancock know about the incident, eventually telling him: "We got something good here."

"Rockit", the album's big hit, was accompanied by one of the most successful music videos ever. The video, directed by Godley and Creme, featured dancing robots, moving around to the beat of the music and the turntable scratching. Hancock won several MTV Music Video awards in 1984, as well as the Grammy award for best R&B performance.

Track listing

All songs written by Hancock/Laswell/Beinhorn (except where noted).

#"Rockit" - 5:22
#"Future Shock" (Curtis Mayfield) - 8:02
#"TFS" - 5:15
#"Earth Beat" - 5:10
#"Autodrive" - 6:25
#"Rough" - 6:57
#"Rockit (mega mix)" - 6:18 (remastered CD only)

Production Credits

Producers

*Material
*Herbie Hancock

Musicians

*Herbie Hancock: Piano, synthesizer, Fairlight CMI, keyboards
*Bill Laswell: Electric bass
*D.S.T.: Turntables, "FX"
*Pete Cosey: Electric guitar
*Michael Beinhorn: keyboards
*Daniel Poncé: percussion
*Sly Dunbar: drums, percussion
*Dwight Jackson Jr.: Lead vocals on "Future Shock"
*Bernard Fowler, Roger Trilling, Nicky Skopelitis: backing vocals