Editing Head Hunters

{{about|the 1973 album by Herbie Hancock|other uses|Headhunter (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Head Hunters
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Herbie Hancock]]
| cover        = Herbie-Hancock-Head-Hunters.png
| alt          = A human figure wearing a horned mask with its face resembling a reel-to-reel tape recorder playing keyboards in the foreground, while four unmasked men in the background hold instruments. The keyboardist has shades of yellow and red, while the musicians in the back blend with the blue background
| released     = {{start date|1973|10|26}}
| recorded     = September 1973
| studio       = [[Wally Heider Studios|Wally Heider]] and [[Different Fur]] (San Francisco)
| genre        = * [[Jazz-funk]]<ref name="pitchfork" />
* [[jazz fusion]]<ref name="Erlewine" />
| length       = 41:52
| label        = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| producer     = * Herbie Hancock
* [[David Rubinson]]
| prev_title   = [[Sextant (album)|Sextant]]
| prev_year    = 1973
| next_title   = [[Dedication (Herbie Hancock album)|Dedication]]
| next_year    = 1974
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine">Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/head-hunters-r140166/review Review: ''Head Hunters'']. [[AllMusic]]. Retrieved on January 7, 2010.</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[DownBeat]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Down">Columnist. "[http://www.tower.com/head-hunters-herbie-hancock-cd/wapi/106693029 Review: ''Head Hunters''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604153454/http://www.tower.com/head-hunters-herbie-hancock-cd/wapi/106693029 |date=June 4, 2009 }}". ''[[DownBeat]]'': January 17, 1974.</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Jazzwise]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="JW">{{cite web |title=Herbie Hancock – Headhunters ★★★★★ |url=https://www.jazzwise.com/review/article/herbie-hancock-headhunters |website=[[Jazzwise]] |language=en |date=July 22, 2019}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings]]''
|rev5score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref name="Penguin">{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |authorlink1=Richard Cook (journalist) |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |authorlink2=Brian Morton (Scottish writer) |title=[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz|The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings]] |year=2008 |edition=9th |publisher=[[Penguin Books|Penguin]] |isbn=978-0-141-03401-0 |page=642}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev6score = 10/10<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/herbie-hancock-head-hunters/|title=Herbie Hancock: Head Hunters Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Larson|first=Jeremy D.|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=none|journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|page=100|date=February 2000}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Hoard">Hoard, Christian (ed.) "[https://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&pg=PA361 Review: ''Head Hunters'']". ''Rolling Stone''. 361. November 2, 2004.</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide]]''
| rev9score = {{rating|3|5}}<ref name=RSJRG>{{Cite book|editor-last=Swenson |editor-first=J. | year = 1985 | title = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | publisher = Random House/Rolling Stone | location = USA | isbn = 0-394-72643-X | page = 94}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
| rev10Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Carr |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Carr |date=July 1997 |title=Miles Davis: ''Kind of Blue'' / The Dave Brubeck Quartet: ''Time Out'' / Herbie Hancock: ''Headhunters'' |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |page=107 |issue=2}}</ref>
}}

'''''Head Hunters''''' is the twelfth [[studio album]] by American pianist, keyboardist and composer [[Herbie Hancock]], released October 26, 1973, on [[Columbia Records]]. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at [[Wally Heider Studios]] and [[Different Fur|Different Fur Trading Co.]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]].

The album was a commercial and artistic breakthrough for Hancock, crossing over to [[funk]] and [[rock music|rock]] audiences and bringing [[jazz-funk]] [[jazz fusion|fusion]] to mainstream attention, peaking at number 13 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. Hancock is featured with woodwind player [[Bennie Maupin]] from his previous sextet and new collaborators – bassist [[Paul Jackson (bassist)|Paul Jackson]], percussionist [[Bill Summers (musician)|Bill Summers]] and drummer [[Harvey Mason]]. The latter group of collaborators, which would go on to be known as [[the Headhunters]], also played on Hancock's subsequent studio album ''[[Thrust (album)|Thrust]]'' (1974). All of the musicians (with the exception of Mason) play multiple instruments on the album.

==Structure and release==
''Head Hunters'' followed a series of experimental albums by Hancock's "Mwandishi" sextet: ''[[Mwandishi]]'', ''[[Crossings (Herbie Hancock album)|Crossings]]'', and ''[[Sextant (album)|Sextant]]'', released between 1971 and 1973, a time when Hancock was looking for a new direction in which to take his music. He later reflected on moving away from this style:

{{quote|I began to feel that I had been spending so much time exploring the upper atmosphere of music and the more ethereal kind of far-out spacey stuff. Now there was this need to take some more of the earth and to feel a little more tethered; a connection to the earth. ... I was beginning to feel that we (the sextet) were playing this heavy kind of music, and I was tired of everything being heavy. I wanted to play something lighter.|Hancock's sleeve notes: 1997 CD reissue}}

For the new album, Hancock assembled a new band, [[the Headhunters]], of whom only woodwind player [[Bennie Maupin]] had been a member of the "Mwandishi" sextet. Hancock handled all synthesizer parts himself (having shared these duties with [[Patrick Gleeson]] on ''Crossings'' and ''Sextant'') and he decided against the use of guitar altogether, favoring instead the [[clavinet]], one of the defining sounds on the album. The new band featured a tight [[rhythm section]] composed of [[Paul Jackson (bassist)|Paul Jackson]] (bass) and [[Harvey Mason]] (drums), and the album has a relaxed, [[funk]]y sensibility that gave it an appeal to a far wider audience. Among the defining moments of the emerging [[jazz fusion]] and [[jazz-funk]] movements, the album made jazz listeners out of R&B fans and vice versa.

Of the four tracks on the album, "[[Watermelon Man (composition)|Watermelon Man]]" was the only one not written for the album. A hit from Hancock's [[hard bop]] days, originally appearing on his first album ''[[Takin' Off]]'' (1962) and later covered by [[Mongo Santamaría]], it was reworked by Hancock and Mason for this album, featuring Bill Summers blowing into a beer bottle in imitation of the [[Pygmy music|hindewho]] flute used by the Mbuti [[Pygmy peoples|Pygmies]] of [[Zaire]]. The track features heavy use of African percussion. "Sly" was dedicated to [[Sly Stone]], leader of the funk band [[Sly and the Family Stone]]. "Chameleon" features a famous bassline played by Hancock on an [[ARP Odyssey]] synthesizer. Closing track "Vein Melter" is a slow-burner, predominantly featuring Hancock on [[Rhodes piano]] and Maupin on [[bass clarinet]]. Heavily edited versions of "Chameleon" and "Vein Melter" were released on two sides of a 45 RPM single.

The album was remixed for [[quadraphonic sound]] in 1974. Columbia released this mix on [[LP record]] in the [[Stereo Quadraphonic]] matrix format and [[8-track cartridge|8-track tape]]. The quadraphonic mixes feature elements not heard in the stereo version, including an additional keyboard melody at the beginning of "Sly". Surround sound versions of the album have been released a number of times on the [[Super Audio CD]] format. All of these SACD editions use a digital transfer of the original four-channel quad mix re-purposed into [[5.1 surround sound]].

''Head Hunters'' became the biggest-selling jazz album of all time until surpassed by [[George Benson]]'s ''[[Breezin']]'' in 1976.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

The Headhunters band (with [[Mike Clark (jazz musician)|Mike Clark]] replacing Harvey Mason) worked with Hancock on a number of other albums, including ''[[Thrust (album)|Thrust]]'' (1974), ''[[Man-Child]]'' (1975), and ''[[Flood (Herbie Hancock album)|Flood]]'' (1975), the latter of which was recorded live in Japan. The subsequent albums ''[[Secrets (Herbie Hancock album)|''Secrets'']]'' (1976) and ''[[Sunlight (jazz album)|Sunlight]]'' (1977), had widely diverging personnel. The Headhunters, with Hancock featured as a guest soloist, produced the albums [[Survival of the Fittest (The Headhunters album)|''Survival of the Fittest'']] (1975) and ''Straight from the Gate'' (1978), the first of which was produced by Hancock and included the hit "God Make Me Funky".

The image on the album cover, designed by [[Victor Moscoso]], features Hancock wearing a mask based on the African ''[[Goli (dance)|kple kple]]'' mask of the [[Baoulé people|Baoulé]] tribe of [[Ivory Coast]].  Positioned clockwise around Hancock from lower left are Mason, Jackson, Maupin, and Summers.

==Legacy==
In 2005, the album was ranked number 498 in the book version of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]. While it was not included in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'''s original 2003 online version of the list, nor its 2012 revision, it was ranked at number 254 in the 2020 revision.<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/herbie-hancock-head-hunters-2-1062979/ The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rolling Stone]</ref> ''Head Hunters'' was a key release in Hancock's career and a defining moment in the genre of [[jazz]], and has been an inspiration not only for jazz musicians, but also to [[funk]], [[soul music]], [[jazz funk]] and [[hip hop music|hip hop]] artists.<ref name="Erlewine" />  The [[Library of Congress]] added it to the [[National Recording Registry]], which collects "culturally, historically or aesthetically important" sound recordings from the 20th century.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98723278| title= 'Head Hunters' Found A New Direction In Jazz| website= NPR.org| access-date= March 10, 2020}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{tracklist
| all_writing = Herbie Hancock, except "Chameleon" by Hancock, Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, & Bennie Maupin.
| headline = Side one
| title1 = [[Chameleon (composition)|Chameleon]]
| length1 = 15:41
| title2 = [[Watermelon Man (composition)|Watermelon Man]]
| length2 = 6:29
|total_length= 22:15
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = Side two
| title3 = Sly
| length3 = 10:15
| title4 = Vein Melter
| length4 = 9:09
|total_length= 19:33
}}

==Single==
*"Chameleon" (2:50)/"Vein Melter" (4:00) - Columbia 4-46002 (U.S.); released 1974
The single edit of "Chameleon" was released on the 2008 compilation ''Playlist: The Very Best of Herbie Hancock''.

==Personnel==

===Musicians===
* Herbie Hancock – [[Rhodes piano|Fender Rhodes electric piano]], [[clavinet|Hohner D6 Clavinet]], [[ARP Odyssey]] & [[ARP Pro Soloist]] synthesizers
* [[Bennie Maupin]] – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, saxello, bass clarinet, alto flute
* [[Paul Jackson (bassist)|Paul Jackson]] – bass guitar, [[marímbula]]
* [[Harvey Mason]] – drums, arrangement on "Watermelon Man"
* [[Bill Summers (musician)|Bill Summers]] – agogô, [[balafon]], [[cabasa]], congas, [[agogô|gankogui]], [[slit drum|log drum]], [[shekere]], [[surdo]], tambourine, beer bottle on "Watermelon Man"

===Production===
* Herbie Hancock – producer
* David Rubinson – producer
* [[Fred Catero]] – engineer
* Jeremy Zatkin – engineer
* Dane Butcher – engineer
* John Vieira – engineer

==Charts==
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1973–1974)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|13|artist=Herbie Hancock|rowheader=true|access-date=July 9, 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|2|artist=Herbie Hancock|rowheader=true|access-date=July 9, 2021}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1974)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US ''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1974/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1974|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 9, 2021}}</ref>
| 21
|-
! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1974/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1974|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 9, 2021}}</ref>
| 3
|}
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* ''[http://www.discogs.com/Herbie-Hancock-Head-Hunters/master/19493 Head Hunters]'' at [[Discogs]]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=rQgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40 A Crossover Artist Who Feels None the Worse for the Trip] —  ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=G4mP7u6mPdkC&pg=PT129 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music: ''Head Hunters'']
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/09/arts/music/herbie-hancock-head-hunters.html How ‘Head Hunters’ Shook Up Jazz (and Herbie Hancock’s World)] — New York Times
{{Herbie Hancock}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1973 albums]]
[[Category:Herbie Hancock albums]]
[[Category:Columbia Records albums]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Dave Rubinson]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios]]
[[Category:Jazz fusion albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Jazz-funk albums]]
[[Category:Funk albums by American artists]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry albums]]