Description
Gathered here for the first time are all of the recordings Herbie Hancock (b. 1940) made for Columbia Records U.S. and CBS/Sony Records Japan between 1972 and 1988--a stunningly creative, 17-year period, yielding 31 albums. Eight of the titles in this set have never been released outside of Japan. This collection of 34 newly-remastered CDs showcases Herbie's virtuosity in a dazzling display of musical styles. It is a testament to his fearlessness, innovation, and ever-evolving curiosity, as well as his significant commercial success--the platinum certifications of Head Hunters and Future Shock. Herbie's influence on countless musicians and musical styles has been and continues to be enormous. The elegant, highly-stylized 200-page book contains an insightful overview essay, complete discographical data, mini-histories of each album, an electronic instrument glossary, and dozens of striking images. The 17 remarkable years captured here find him at his very peak.

Includes 3 albums made for Columbia U.S. which have never been on CD - Sunlight, Magic Windows, and Lite Me Up.

Contains the only 2 piano trio recordings ever made by Herbie as a leader (both featuring Ron Carter & Tony Williams) + his only solo piano/solo keyboards sessions ever (The Piano and Dedication).

Other highlights include Herbie's Mwandishi band (Sextant); the platinum-selling Headhunters period (Head Hunters/Thrust/Flood); his enormously popular, MTV-pioneering Rockit band (Future Shock/Sound-System/Perfect Machine); and historical acoustic jazz recordings featuring Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter and Tony Williams among others (the VSOP bands; his duet with Chick Corea; trio recordings with Ron Carter & Tony Williams; and his brilliant solo piano/solo keyboards recordings).

[tracklisting]CD 1: Sextant (1973)
1.Rain Dance
2.Hidden Shadows
3.Hornets

CD 2: Head Hunters (1973)
1.Chameleon
2.Watermelon Man
3.Sly
4.Vein Melter

CD 3: Dedication (1974)*
1.Maiden Voyage
2.Dolphin Dance
3.Nobu
4.Cantaloupe Island

CD 4: Thrust (1974)
1.Palm Grease
2.Actual Proof
3.Butterfly
4.Spank-A-Lee

CD 5: Death Wish: Original Soundtrack (1974)
1.Death Wish (Main Title)
2.Joanna’s Theme
3.Do a Thing
4.Paint Her Mouth
5.Rich Country
6.Suite Revenge
7.Ochoa Knose
8.Party People
9.Fill Your Hand

CD 6: Flood (1975)
1.Introduction & Maiden Voyage
2.Actual Proof
3.Spank-A-Lee
4.Watermelon Man
5.Butterfly
6.Chameleon
7.Hang Up Your Hang Ups

CD 7: Man-Child (1975)
1.Hang Up Your Hang Ups
2.Sun Touch
3.The Traitor
4.Bubbles
5.Steppin’ in It
6.Heartbeat

CD 8: Secrets (1976)
1.Doin’ It
2.People Music
3.Cantaloupe Island
4.Spider
5.Gentle Thoughts
6.Swamp Rat
7.Sansho Shima

CDs 9-10: V.S.O.P. (1976)
1.Piano Introduction
2.Maiden Voyage
3.Nefertiti
4.Introduction of Players/The Eye of the Hurricane
1.Toys
2.Introductions
3.You’ll Know When You Get There
4.Hang Up Your Hang Ups
5.Spider

CD 10: The Herbie Hancock Trio (1977)*
1.Watch It
2.Speak Like a Child
3.Watcha Waitin’ For
4.Look (aka “Harvest Time”)
5.Milestones

CD 11: V.S.O.P.: The Quintet (1977)
1.One of a Kind
2.Third Plane
3.Jessica
4.Lawra
5.Darts
6.Dolores
7.Little Waltz
8.Byrdlike

CD 12: V.S.O.P.: Tempest in The Colosseum (1977)*
1.The Eye of the Hurricane
2.Diana
3.Eighty-One
4.Maiden Voyage
5.Lawra
6.Red Clay

CDs 13-14: An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea in Concert (1978)
1.Someday My Prince Will Come
2.Liza
3.Button Up
1.Introduction of Herbie Hancock by Chick Corea
2.February Moment
3.Maiden Voyage
4.La Fiesta

CD 14: Sunlight (1978)
1.I Thought It Was You
2.Come Running to Me
3.Sunlight
4.No Means Yes
5.Good Question

CD 15: Feets Don’t Fail Me Now (1978)
1.You Bet Your Love
2.Trust Me
3.Ready or Not
4.Tell Everybody (CDo Version)
5.Honey from the Jar
6.Knee Deep
7.Tell Everybody (Original Album Version)

CD 16: Directstep (1978)*
1.Butterfly
2.Shiftless Shuffle
3.I Thought It Was You

CD 17: The Piano (1978)
1.My Funny Valentine
2.On Green Dolphin Street
3.Someday My Prince Will Come
4.Harvest Time
5.Sonrisa
6.Manhattan Island
7.Blue Otani
8.My Funny Valentine (Alternate Take)
9.On Green Dolphin Street (Alternate Take)
10.Someday My Prince Will Come (Alternate Take)
11.Harvest Time (Alternate Take)

CDs 18-19: V.S.O.P. The Quintet: Live Under the Sky (1979)
1.Opening
2.The Eye of the Hurricane
3.Tear Drop
4.Domo
5.Para Oriente
6.Pee Wee
7.One of Another Kind
8.Fragile
1.Opening
2.The Eye of the Hurricane
3.Tear Drop
4.Domo
5.Para Oriente
6.Pee Wee
7.One of Another Kind
8.Fragile
9.Stella by Starlight
10.On Green Dolphin Street

CD 19: V.S.O.P. The Quintet: Five Stars (1979)*
1.Skagly
2.Finger Painting
3.Mutants on the Beach
4.Circe
5.Skagly (CD Version)
6.Finger Painting (CD Version)

CD 20: Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock: Butterfly (1979)*
1.I Thought It Was You
2.Tell Me a Bedtime Story
3.Head in the Clouds
4.Maiden Voyage
5.Harvest Time
6.Sunlight
7.Butterfly
8.As

CD 21: Monster (1980)
1.Saturday Night
2.Stars in Your Eyes
3.Go for It
4.Don’t Hold It In
5.Making Love
6.It All Comes Round

CD 22: Mr. Hands (1980)
1.Spiraling Prism
2.Calypso
3.Just Around the Corner
4.4 A.M.
5.Shiftless Shuffle
6.Textures

CD 23: Magic Windows (1981)
1.Magic Number
2.Tonite’s the Night
3.Everybody’s Broke
4.Help Yourself
5.Satisfied with Love
6.The Twilight Clone

CD 24: Herbie Hancock Trio with Ron Carter + Tony Williams (1981)*
1.Stablemates
2.Dolphin Dance
3.A Slight Smile
4.That Old Black Magic
5.La Maison Goree

CD 25: Quartet (1981)
1.Well You Needn’t
2.Round Midnight
3.Clear Ways
4.A Quick Sketch
5.The Eye of the Hurricane
6.Parade
7.The Sorcerer
8.Pee Wee
9.I Fall in Love Too Easily

CD 26: Lite Me Up (1982)
1.Lite Me Up!
2.The Bomb
3.Gettin’ to the Good Part
4.Paradise
5.Can’t Hide Your Love
6.The Fun Tracks
7.Motor Mouth
8.Give It All Your Heart

CD 27: Future Shock (1983)
1.Rockit
2.Future Shock
3.TFS
4.Earth Beat
5.Autodrive
6.Rough
7.Rockit (Mega Mix)

CD 28: Sound-System (1984)
1.Hardrock
2.Metal Beat
3.Karabali
4.Junku
5.People Are Changing
6.Sound-System
7.Metal Beat (Extended Version)

CD 29: Herbie Hancock and Foday Musa Suso: Village Life (1984)
1.Moon/Light
2.Ndan Ndan Nyaria
3.Early Warning
4.Kanatente

CD 30: Round Midnight: Original Soundtrack (1985)
1.Round Midnight
2.Body and Soul
3.Berengere’s Nightmare
4.Fair Weather
5.Una Noche Con Francis
6.The Peacocks
7.How Long Has This Been Going On?
8.Rhythm-a-Ning
9.Still Time
10.Minuit a Champs Elysses
11.Chan’s Song (Never Said)

CD 31: Perfect Machine (1988)
1.Perfect Machine
2.Obsession
3.Vibe Alive
4.Beat Wise
5.Maiden Voyage/P. Bop
6.Chemical Residue
7.Vibe Alive (Extended Dance Mix)
8.Beat Wise (12” Edit)

* First time on CD outside of Japan.[/tracklisting]
Amazon USA
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003M3UJIK/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon Canada
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B003M3UJIK/?tag=imwanca-20

Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003M3UJIK/?tag=imwan-21

The Second Disc alerts us to a forthcoming Complete Columbia Collection for Herbie Hancock (akin to the one for Miles a while ago). 32 albums on 35 CDs.

I haven't done any counting, so I'm not sure what all's included... I seriously hope it has some of the Japan-only stuff under both his own name and as part of VSOP The Quintet. (Been looking for "Dedication" for quite a while now...)

I also saw advertisement for a similarly ambitious Yo-Yo Ma box set (with two discs of unreleased material, I believe)... seems like Sony has embraced this mega-box concept for the time being.

1973- Sextant
1973- Head Hunters
1974- Dedication (JPN)
1974- Thrust
1974- Death Wish score
1975- Man-Child
1975- Flood (JPN)
1976- Secrets
1977- VSOP
1977- Trio (JPN)
1977- VSOP The Quintet
1977- VSOP The Quintet- Tempest in the Colosseum (JPN)
1978- An Evening with Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea in Concert
1978- Sunlight
1979- Directstep (JPN)
1979- The Piano (JPN)
1979- Feets Don't Fail Me Now
1979- VSOP The Quintet- Live Under the Sky (JPN)
1979- VSOP The Quintet- Five Stars (JPN)
1980- Mr. Hands
1980- Monster
1981- Trio (JPN)
1981- Magic Windows
1982- Quartet
1982- Lite Me Up
1983- Future Shock
1984- Sound System
1988- Perfect Machine

The above totals 28. So I dug around for four more, and I found:

1979- Butterfly (with Kimiko Kasai) (JPN)
1982- Jazz at the Opera House
1985- Village Life (with Foday Musa Suso) (JPN)
1986- Round Midnight (soundtrack)

32. Neat. Looks like a must-buy.

Does anyone know ANYTHING about this? I haven't heard any form of news since I posted Second Disc's announcement here. I really hope it's not cancelled. Still, it would at least be good to KNOW it's dead instead of just hanging on...

Let me tell you, it's really disconcerting when I do a Google image search and all I get are the Miles Davis box and the guy from the Art of Noise video...

Amazon.com has the release date listed as October 5, 2010.

According to CDUniverse, the release date is November 16, 2010.

Is anyone still interested in this besides me?

Amazon UK has a date of February 21.

Amazon US has a description and listing. There are still 32 albums, but only 30 are named (missing Sextant and [probably] Jazz at the Opera House).

Here it is, for those who care. (Titles in bold are two discs.)

32 albums on 35 CDs in original LP replica sleeves. 100 page full color book with rare photos, new essay, discography and more
Albums:
Head Hunters [1973]
Dedication [1974] -- Japan only
Thrust [1974]
Death Wish (ST) [1975] -- never on CD in U.S.
Flood [1975 -- Gatefold] -- Japan only
Man-Child [1976]
Secrets [1976]
V.S.O.P. [1976 -- 2CDs / Gatefold]
Herbie Hancock Trio [1977]
V.S.O.P. : The Quintet [1977 / Gatefold]
V.S.O.P. : Tempest In A Colosseum [ 1977 -- Gatefold] -- Japan only
Sunlight [1978] -- never on CD in U.S.
An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea [1978 -- 2CDs / Gatefold]
Feets Don't Fail Me Now -[1978]
Kamiko Kasai w/ Herbie Hancock: Butterfly [1978] -- Japan only,
Direct Step [1978 -- Gatefold] -- Japan only
The Piano [1978]
Live Under The Sky: V.S.O.P. Quintet [1979 -- 2 CDs / Gatefold]
Five Stars: V.S.O.P. Quintet [1979 -- Gatefold] -- Japan only
Monster [1980]
Mr. Hands [1980]
Magic Windows [1981] -- never on CD in U.S.
Lite Me Up [1981] -- never on CD in U.S.
Herbie Hancock Trio with Ron Carter & Tony Williams [1981] -- Japan only
Herbie Hancock Quartet (w/ Wynton Marsalis) [1981]
Future Shock [1983]
Sound-System [1984]
Village Life w/ Foday Musa Soso [1984]
Round Midnight (ST) [1985]
Perfect Machine

It's a great release for Hancock fans, as he has a lot of material (as noted above) previously available only in Japan. But I still haven't been able to find any confirmation that this is actually being released.

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about, too. I'm kinda counting on it, as my attempts to get, at the very, very least, Dedication, have so far been fruitless.

I am sure that when this if finally scheduled for release, Columbia Legacy will have a separate page for it, as they now do for the upcoming Aretha Franklin, Phil Spector, and Simon & Garfunkel reissues.

Sometime in mid-December, Sony released a 103-disc box set of violinist Jascha Heifetz. The packaging was a dead ringer for the Miles Davis box.

That definitely gives me hope for Herbie.

Oh, I think it will happen -- as I've said before, Sony seems to be ardently embracing this trend of $uper Boxe$ -- but it's a question of when.

Bump: Patrick had brought release details to the thread, and Pete provided the full track listing, now I've moved all that information into the first post.

Needless to say, I am very happy and excited.

Would love to have just the VSOPs as set.

The pre-order price has dropped by about $30, to $187.45:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003M3UJIK/?tag=imwan-20

Could resist no longer! Snagged! $160 on Amazon.

Awesome!

You made a damn good purchase.

I'd love to have this-maybe someday...

Lovin this set - particularly the VSOP sides, some of which I've never heard.

Looks like Wounded Bird will be reissuing Herbie's previous Japan-only titles singly this September:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... g=imwan-20

I had forgotten about this release until it showed up in the (now deleted) thread about Amazon UK having this and several other large box sets for ridiculously low prices. Even though they realized their mistake & didn't honor those orders (I don't even know what the low prices were), I see that the current price is only £34.99. When VAT is removed and conversion rates applied, I could get this for around $46. Should I assume this is too good to pass up and jump on it? I love his Blue Note recordings as well as any of the later fusion material I've heard, but I only own one or two albums in this set. Looks like this is one of the well-packaged complete albums box sets that includes a sizable book with info about every album.

I couldn't wait for confirmation so I went ahead and ordered this. How can I go wrong with 34 discs at $48 or less?