SUNLIGHT

The 70s are coming to an end and with them came the decline of jazz-rock. There is no better (worse) example to illustrate this then Hancock's own Sunlight, a lame disco-soul album with little music and lots of aged jazzy pop. Well, look at the cover and you'll see what I mean.

The preceding electrical jazz-rock album Secrets already hinted at the direction Hancock would take, but here he lost what little edge remained in his music and the only thing remaining is run-of-the-mill end 70's disco-pop that, unfortunately, doesn't have any of the catchy hooks to make this type of music come alive.

At least this is the story of the first three tracks. The remaining two instrumental tracks don't seem to have much ado with what preceded. No Means Yes is a funk-jazz piece that would have fitted nicely on Man-Child or Secrets. It's hardly remarkable but ok. Good Question is an entirely different matter, it's a frantic and stunning piece of intense jazz-rock that sits very close to Magma's music on Attack. No funk or disco in sight and the dazzling acoustic piano and pulsating bass dominate this excellent track (that also features Tony Williams and Jaco Pastorius by the way).

If it wasn't for the closing track this would be a perfect candidate for just 1 star, but fans might still enjoy bits and pieces of it, making this a typical album to pick up from the library.