Death Wish [Original Soundtrack]

Herbie Hancock extends the reach of his Head Hunters-vintage electric music into the soundtrack field, with some switchbacks to earlier styles and old-fashioned movie suspense music thrown into the eclectic mix. Jerry Peters provides the requisite orchestral backgrounds, and the wah-wah guitar licks give some indication as to where Herbie's funk music would be going in the future. The main title music is the best track -- tense, streaked with Hancock's echo-delayed electric piano and understated orchestrations. A good deal of the record, alas, is filled by listless film cues that are meaningless without the action in front of you. Still, the results are, in general, more intriguing than usual for the film genre. ~ Richard S. Ginell