There is a fascinating debate to be had about the respective merits of Blue Note Herbie and Columbia Herbie, given the attack dogs each camp can unleash. ‘Maiden Voyage’ vs ‘Rain Dance’? ‘Watermelon Man’ vs ‘Chameleon’? The rub is of course that the piano legend reprised some of the work done in the early stage of his career for Alfred Lion's label when he was later motoring on the fast track to pop success at Columbia. So one of the most appealing points of this handsomely repackaged 4CD set is precisely the way the visionary Chicagoan's ongoing relationship with his past is clearly signaled. The inclusion of the lush 13-minute 1977 version of ‘Maiden Voyage’ from the somewhat overlooked VSOP is an inspired choice as it shows how connected the electric warrior remained to the acoustic tradition, and more to the point, how the ‘Second Great Quintet’ lexicon could still be grist to his creative mill, sans Miles. Indeed the appearance of Freddie Hubbard in the dark prince's role, and the deep empathy he has with Herbie and the other members of that boundary-breaking ensemble give a fascinating twist to our reading of jazz history, namely the importance of the Herbie-Freddie union as well as the Herbie-Miles tandem. Elsewhere our hero's contribution to the birth of fusion, above all the fizzing funkiness in the groove, is represented by a glorious run of tracks – ‘Nobu’, ‘Butterfly’, ‘Actual Proof’ – while his memorable foray into film music is captured in the Death Wish theme. 1980s and 90s Herbie is arguably less consistent and yet ‘Rockit’ remains a key statement in the somewhat vexed debate about the shotgun wedding of jazz and hip-hop while pieces from the lesser fancied Sound- System also show Hancock's huge influence on modern electronica. Presumably Flying Lotus, today's überproducer who is currently in line to work with the Herb man, already has a copy of this stashed bible-like on his iPod.