Herbie Hancock completely overhauled his sound and conquered MTV with his most radical step forward since the sextet days. He brought in Bill Laswell of Material as producer, along with Grand Mixer D.ST on turntables — and the immediate result was “Rockit,” which makes quite a post-industrial metallic racket. Frankly, the whole record is an enigma; for all of its dehumanized, mechanized textures and rigid rhythms, it has a vitality and sense of humor that make it difficult to turn off. Moreover, Herbie can’t help but inject a subversive funk element when he comps along to the techno beat — and yes, some real, honest-to-goodness jazz licks on a grand piano show up in the middle of “Auto Drive.” – Richard S. Ginell
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