It's Funky Monday... because Friday has been owning that shit for way too long.
When it comes to the funkier side of Herbie Hancock‚ people swear by Head Hunters and Thrust (see the album cover below -- how can you not dig a record with Herbie driving a keyboard spaceship?)‚ but the sleeper from that era is 1975's Man-Child.
The record's filled with groove gems and even Stevie Wonder makes a guest harmonica appearance. But the timing of the record was just on the brink of a sound evolution… you know‚ when warm sounding synths were slowly merging and being replaced with sonic cheese. On Man-Child‚ Herbie and his band were on top of their game‚ and even with the introduction to some less flattering sounds‚ Herbie uses them right.
The first track‚ "Hang Up Your Hang Ups‚" is the best on the record. A classic funk score with each moving part as tasty as it can be -- just listen to the guitar riff and then the synth's reaction to it. Complete polyphonic bliss. And then it shifts gears with an explosive acoustic piano outro that reminds you‚ "Oh shit‚ that's right! Herbie is a world class jazz pianist." "Hang Up Your Hang Ups"… words to live by.

Herbie Hancock Spaceship