Possibilities - Hancock, Herbie (CD 2005)

Ahhh...the all-star compilation album.

We've seen it quite often lately from the likes of Ray Charles, B.B. King and Santana. A legendary musician, years past their commercial prime, decides to place him/her/themselves back within charting reach by combining their talents with the best of what the new pop music scene has to offer. If I can be honest, I've not heard Charles' or King's attempts enough to render a decision, but the last two Santana efforts, while bringing Carlos firmly back into the light commercially, have been quite inconsistent affairs. The songs are only as good as the chemistry generated between the artists. For every success with a song like "Smooth" with Rob Thomas, there's one of those awkward Wyclef collaborations that tries to uneasily bring a classic artist into the hip-hop age.

Herbie Hancock's been in the game for a minute. The keyboardist began his career as one of Miles Davis' sidemen before splitting off to create a set of soul/jazz fusion albums. He reached his career peak in 1983, when the synth-drenched "Rockit" caught the then-novel wave of turntable scratching and found itself all over urban radio and MTV (remember the video with all the robots? If you're under 25, probably not). To this day, he's a heavy concert draw and noted sideman.

"Possibilities", like all of these sorts of albums, is notable in theory but flawed in execution. Some of the songs hit the right sweet spot and perfectly capture the energy between performers. Others sound cold and calculated. Some would have been better had Hancock performed them alone, some would have been better had they been performed without Hancock. Nevertheless, this is an interesting listen with as many stellar performances as there are head-scratchers.

As a keyboardist, the best songs on here are the ones that are a true collaboration between Hancock and the vocalist, as opposed to songs where Hancock has to shoehorn a piano solo in just to be a part of the song. John Mayer's "Stitched Up" is one of the highlights. It's a very loosey-goosey performance, sounding like John just walked into the studio, picked up a guitar and started jamming. With the "jammy" flavor of the song, it's no surprise that Mayer sounds more like Dave Matthews than he usually does. Nevertheless, it sounds much more freewheeling than most of Mayer's work.

Christona Aguilera pops up for a performance of Leon Russell's "A Song For You", which was popularized by the late, great Donny Hathaway. Aguilera's vocal performance is pristine, although at her best, she can't come close to the emotional effect Hathaway created with his version. She comes close though, and Hancock would've been right had he shaved a minute or so off of his piano ponderings and just let the girl sing. Annie Lennox provides vocals for the morose Paula Cole ballad "Hush Hush Hush". I love sad songs as much as the next guy, but Lennox's beautiful vocals can't keep the song from dragging. Her male counterpart in pretentious Britishness, Sting, re-records "Sister Moon" for the 9,687th time. It's got more of a jazz flavor than the other recordings of it, and is enough of a good song that it sounds good no matter what, but geez Sting, pick a *different* song to sing, yanno?

Folksy Irishman (and woman) Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan contribute one of the album's best performances. Their rendition of Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain" could've fit right onto Damien's excellent "O" albim. It's morose and mournful (find me a Damien Rice song that isn't), and is perfect for one of those late night in the dark headphone listens. On the upbeat side of town, our man Carlos Santana provides a typically fiery Latin guitar performance on "Safiatou". This salsa-flavored jam features some fine electric piano work from Hancock and the members of Santana's band, as well as a charming vocal from African singer Angelique Kidjo, whose energetic vocals suggest an African version of Celia Cruz.

I love Stevie Wonder like I love few musicians on Earth. With that said, "I Just Called To Say I Love You" should be locked in a safe, never to return again. Stevie's most saccharine songwriting effort is resurrected by Hancock, with an assist from promising young newcomer Raul Midon. Stevie himself assists on harmonica, but that's not enough to save the clumsy rearrangement and Midon's tentative vocals here. Hancock also wastes a perfectly good vocal performance by noodling for far too long on the piano during his rendition of U2's "When Love Comes To Town". The "Rattle & Hum" chestnut is resurrected by powerful blues belter Jonny Lang in collaboration with Brit soulwoman Joss Stone. Lang's Clapton-esque growling is perfect for this song, and Stone (for once) doesn't sound overwhelmed by the song, but, aside from the piano overkill, this song doesn't have the grit that U2's version had.

In some ways, this album is a frustrating listen, and I have to attribute that to the material chosen. When the songs are a true collaboration, they usually work. Hancock's piano asides are short and tasteful on the Mayer track (even though it still sounds like "John Mayer featuring Herbie Hancock"), while the Aguilera and Rice tracks are pure piano ballads. The frustration comes when songs like "When Love Comes To Town" are amended just so they can have a piano solo squeezed in. It adds unnecessary length to what would have been a fine cover version, and also unnecessarily turns a somewhat bluesy piece into an upscale jazz track...not the best mix of genres in the world.

Ultimately, while the listening can be laborious on occasion, the album is thankfully brief (10 songs), and there are enough twists and turns to keep you interested throughout. With a little less unnecessary noodling, this could have been a 4 star experience, but as it stands, it's still a solid 3 with a recommendation from me.

"Possibilites" by Herbie Hancock & Friends

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Repeat: "Don't Explain" featuring Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan, "Stitched Up" featuring John Mayer, "Safiatou" featuring Santana & Angelique Kidjo

Skip: "I Just Called To Say I Love You" featuring Raul Midon & Stevie Wonder, "Hush Hush Hush" featuring Annie Lennox

Great Music to Play While: Wondering why Hancock didn't follow "Rockit"'s lead and do another cutting-edge hip-hop track.