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Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
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The Hidden Land
Columbia Records
Release: 2/14/2006
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Rated:
Review by:
xok Matt
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For those of you who have never had the opportunity to
listen to the new Bela Fleck and the Flecktones album, for
shame. Their new album, titled The Hidden
Land, has the traditional spices and stylings of their
previous albums, but from the beginning of track one this
new album starts off like a new album should;
different.
The album's first song is possibly the jazziest I've heard
come from Bela Fleck and his fellow musicians. At first it
sounds almost as if some old CBS jazz recording somehow
made its way onto the album by accident, but after this two
minute song ends, the 50s feel and sound drops out and is
immediately replaced by a nice, new and very crisp sound in
track two ("P'lod in the House"), sounding more reminiscent
of songs from Outbound or Little
Worlds. Some of the other songs that stand out are
track four, "Labyrinth," track seven, "Weed Whacker," track
nine, "Chennai," and track 13, "The Whistle Tune."
"Labyrinth" cops an almost In the Heat of the
Night feel and sound, but unlike the boring 80s
television dramas' theme, "Labyrinth" offers musical depth
with each instrument, most notoriously the bass guitar,
played by none other than bass guitar guru Victor
Wooten.
"Weed Whacker" provides the best bluegrass touch on the
entire album. Bela Fleck seems to be nodding in Earl
Scruggs direction while playing some of the best banjo I've
ever heard. Wooten uses a synth-pedal during a terrifically
strange bridge that substitutes the earlier and more
traditional bluegrass sound for an absolutely amazing funky
one. Because of the slight and subtle touches like that of the
synth, "Weed Whacker" is my favorite track on the
album.
If you're looking for dark and melodic, don't skip over
"Chennai." It's eerie yet comforting tone has several
different and obvious influences fused throughout it, most
noticeably the Egyptian melody that the saxophone offers
during a solo. It's definitely a song to fall in love
with.
The last track on the album, "The Whistle Tune," brings back
some more of that excellent Bela Fleck bluegrass that helped
make them famous from the beginning. It's the perfect song
to end the album with. One thing that sticks out about "The
Whistle Tune" is the flute that masquerades throughout the
song freely. It's a wonderful addition to an already perfect
song.
The Hidden Land is a Bela Fleck lover's album,
hands down one of their best. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
are a music coinsurer's dream, and a musician's inspiration.
Whether you prefer jazz, funk, bluegrass, or even classical,
after listening to The Hidden Land you will
prefer Bela Fleck and the Flecktones to just about anything. |
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