Because for me, the more I dive into the stories behind these albums, the more meaningful they become – and I suspect that’s why you’re here, too.
Well, while I was researching Herbie Hancock’s Thrust, I heard mention of a recording of Herbie talking about the origins of “Actual Proof” on a “flexi disc”. Flexi discs were flexible records that labels would slip inside copies of Downbeat Magazine, often to promote upcoming albums.
I thought … somewhere, some copy of this MUST exist online. I wanted to hear the story of this song, in Herbie’s own words, at the time he was creating it.
I couldn’t find a recording of the disc anywhere. But then I found something even better: An original copy of the 1973 edition of Downbeat with the flexi disc still inside. It was for sale on eBay.
So obviously, I bought it.
And I sent it to Adam and Peter as a surprise. They had no idea what was inside when they opened the package. We recorded their reactions here.
We also recorded the audio off the disc, which we’re sharing with our newsletter subscribers only. You can listen to the whole thing here.
