Herbie Hancock - Mr. Hands (1980 Japanese CBS/Sony Vinyl LP)

Herbie Hancock - Mr. Hands | Vinyl LP, 1980 Japanese CBS/Sony (25AP 1943)

• Six tracks with different personnel on each, including Jaco Pastorius on “4 AM”, Sheila Escovedo (Sheila E.) on “Spiralling Prism”, the Head Hunters rhythm section of Paul Jackson and Harvey Mason on “Shiftless Shuffle”, and “Textures” performed entirely by Hancock alone on synthesizers and drum machine
• A return to creative fusion after a run of dance-oriented albums, mixing Moog and Mini-Moog synthesizers, clavinet, vocoder, acoustic piano and one of the earliest uses of the Linn LM-1 drum machine
• 1980 Japanese pressing manufactured by CBS/Sony, with liner notes by Shoichi Yui

Mr. Hands arrived between Monster (a disco album) and Magic Windows (another commercial effort), and it sounds like Hancock reminding himself and everyone else what he could do when the music came first. Each track uses a different group. “Spiralling Prism” opens with layered synthesizer textures over Leon “Ndugu” Chancler’s drums and Byron Miller’s bass, with Sheila Escovedo and Bill Summers on percussion. “Calypso” is lighter, rhythmically buoyant. “Just Around the Corner”, co-written with Freddie Washington and Wah Wah Watson, has a guitar-driven funk feel. “4 AM” is the track that draws the most attention: Jaco Pastorius on bass, Harvey Mason on drums, Bill Summers on percussion, and Hancock on keyboards, building a groove that is spacious, nocturnal and unmistakably the work of two musicians (Hancock and Pastorius) who understood each other’s instincts. “Shiftless Shuffle” reassembles part of the Head Hunters lineup: Paul Jackson on bass, Harvey Mason on drums, Bennie Maupin on saxophone. “Textures” closes the album with Hancock playing everything himself, overdubbing synthesizers, electric piano, clavinet, vocoder and a Linn LM-1 drum machine in a solo multi-tracked piece that points toward the electronic direction he would take further on Future Shock.

The album was produced by Hancock and David Rubinson across three studios: The Automatt and Filmways/Heider in San Francisco, and The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. It was reportedly the first album on which Hancock used a computer (an Apple II) in the recording process. This 1980 Japanese pressing is manufactured by CBS/Sony Inc. Catalogue number 25AP 1943 (original US Columbia catalogue: JC 36578).