Guest artists include saxophonist Wayne Shorter, guitarist Henry Kaiser, kora player/percussionist Foday Musa Suso and drummer Anton Fier.

"Junku" for instance, featured Foday Musa Suso and also was written for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Where's-the-melody is beside the point, because even when they're just hooks the melodies seem a little obvious, without the physical or intellectual bite of the rhythm tracks (nowhere mightier than on the amazing "Metal Beat," recommended to those who think Trevor Horn is into something heavy).

And me, I doubt Herbie should be playing more "jazz"—several of the false moments here are provided by Saint Wayne Shorter himself.

"[2] Richard S. Ginell of AllMusic noted "In the grand tradition of sequels, Sound-System picks up from where Future Shock left off – if anything, even louder and more bleakly industrial than before... Hancock's electric music still retained its adventurous edge.