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Herbie Hancock - V.S.O.P.: Live Under the Sky Audio CD

A fair review of the Herbie Hancock "V.S.O.P.: Live Under the Sky" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Herbie Hancock reviews here, or go back to the Herbie Hancock tabs.

Herbie Hancock Band: Herbie Hancock
Title: V.S.O.P.: Live Under the Sky
Rating:
Release Date: 2004-09-21
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Opening 2: Eye of the Hurricane [#][*] 3: Tear Drop 4: Domo 5: Para Oriente 6: Pee Wee 7: One of Another Kind 8: Fragile 9: Opening [#][*] 10: Eye of the Hurricane [#][*] 11: Tear Drop [#][*] 12: Domo [#][*] 13: Para Oriente [#][*] 14: Pee Wee [#][*] 15: One of Another Kind [#][*] 16: Fragile [#][*] 17: Stella by Starlight [#][*] 18: On Green Dolphin Street [#][*]

A Classic
Listen to Eye of the Hurricane from Maiden Voyage and then listen to this version - Tony Williams amazes me! They all seem to play with such emotion on this recording and compared to the VSOP Quintet album - the sound quality is stunning! I don't know which drum solo is better - Byrdlike from The Quintet or the drum solo on this album. The critics of this either hate it or love it - to me, it's the perfect blend of rock meets jazz - acoustically. Ron Carter really shows his stuff too. I wish they'd release Tempest in the Colesseum in AMERICA! I can't find it anywhere!.


These are giants but this can be passed by
I bought this with excietment but: I dare say that Wayne's playing is pretty poor on some cuts. I'm a great lover of the Davis Quintet 1965 to 68 and have searched out everything I can find by them. The mix and recording are poor, Carter being way too loud and electronic sounding. I also could have done without Herbie's comments in between songs. We all know how great these guys are and the level of playing aside from Wayne in some spots is supurb but If I had to do over, I'd have skipped this. Gets 3 stars only because of who they are.


ELEGANT FURY
With me being a fan of fusion jazz, I once thought this type of jazz was too primitive for my radical taste. At one time, I wasn't a fan of this type of jazz music (forgive me I'm only 25!). The only way I can hear the original bebop jazz flavor is through live recordings (since the performances are often more upbeat and vibrant than the studio versions).

Live under the Sky was the album that change how I felt about jazz and now I can call myself a legitimate jazz fan! This album is one of the best live jazz albums I've ever heard. What makes this album great is Tony Williams. He's the most consistent performer throughout the whole concert. Tony williams is the x factor that breathes life into these performances and brings out the very best in everyone else. Listening to Tony's hammering and precision is equivalent to being in a handicapped boxing match with Ali and Tyson with one hand tied behind your back. Expect to be pounded on!

That's not to discount the rest of the band as Ron Carter turns out some interesting bass vamps (weird yet unique at the same time) while Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter does a solid job on the trumpet and sax respectively. Mr. Hands of course turns out some stellar performances on the piano as always. The collective musicanship between the band is great (like as if the Miles Davis quintet haven't been away from each other too long). While some can nit pick about Miles not being a part of the magic that happens on this album, Freddie Hubbard fits in perfectly with the rest of band with his tiger styled delivery on the trumpet. Wayne Shorter turns out his usual set of exotic chops that gives the performances the sensual beauty amidst all of the aggressive undertones.

Eventhough this album is packed with highlights, there are a few flaws that hold this album back. For starters, is a bonus disc of the same material neccessary. Sony could've simply taken the best performance of each composition from each disc plus the two final tracks on disc two and came out with a much tighter live album (that would've made it a five star album). Another flaw is some of the solo perfomances. While freddie and Wayne does a solid job, you can hear them struggling through some of their performances as they repeat the same sax and trumpet riffs over and over again. Perhaps the biggest flaw is the sound quality of Herbie Hancock's piano performances. How come his piano performances is not as loud and clear as the solo performances from the rest of the band. This is Mr. Hands album! since he's the leader. It's only right that his performances are loud enough for the listeners!

In spite of these setbacks, this album should be in every jazz fans collection. If V. S. O. P. is your weapon of choice, you might wanna get a shot of this!

.


VSOP indeed
I've owned the original VSOP disc for awhile and am glad that more music has been released by this incredible group. This double album is incredible. This group is essentially the second great Miles Davis Quintet without Miles. Herbie Hancock seems to be the leader here with Freddie Hubbard filling in the trumpet chair. Freddie does an outstanding job of filling in for Miles. In my opinion, Freddie is the standout of this group. His playing is out of this world and during this period (1975-1985ish) he is untouchable. His solos are inventive and brash,and always make your jaw drop at one time or another. Herbie is no slouch either playing some beautiful solos himself. I recommend this album, but also suggest picking up the first VSOP album featuring the same band. .


VSOP quintet in high spirits
It's a great album, but this 24-bit remaster with unreleased takes is even better [IT SOUNDS GREAT]! "Eye of the Hurricane" was not on the original CD release, and Disc 1's take of the Hancock standard is high-water-mark V. I own an import pressing of Live Under the Sky which I purchased about ten years ago (it includes all of the tracks identified on this release as master takes). S. O. P.
A must have for any Herbie Hancock /Ron Carter /Tony Williams rhythm-section fans. And of course Wayne Shorter is Wayne Shorter.

Jazz at its very best.


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