Bela Fleck Greatest Hits Of The 20th Century CD

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones: Bela Fleck (acoustic & electric banjos, guitar, synthesizer); Roy "Future Man" Wooten (vocals, SynthAxe Drumitar); Howard Levy (harmonica, piano, synthesizer); Victor Lemonte Wooten (fretted & fretless basses).
Additional personnel: Dave Matthews (vocals); Jeff Coffin (soprano, alto & tenor saxophones); Paul McCandless (soprano saxophone); Sam Bush (mandolin, fiddle).
Includes liner notes by Bela Fleck.
Digitally remastered by Keith Blake (1999, Warner Bros. In-house Studio).
Composer: Béla Fleck & the Flecktones.
Béla Fleck & the Flecktones: Béla Fleck (banjo); Sam Bush (fiddle); Howard Levy (harmonica); Paul McCandless (soprano saxophone); Jeff Coffin (alto saxophone); Victor Wooten (bass instrument); Future Man (unknown instrument).
Additional personnel: Dave Matthews (vocals).
Whenever a group with the stature and critical reputation of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones issues a career-spanning collection, the quality of the work is not measured in the same way that an original album would be. The question isn't so much whether or not Béla Fleck & the Flecktones are talented musicians capable of producing worthwhile songs, but whether or not the editor of the collection has chosen wisely from their repertoire. On the satirically titled Greatest Hits of the 20th Century, someone has done a good job. In roughly chronological order (with the exception of the last song, "Sunset Road," from very early in the band's history), the collection presents a mixture of live and studio tracks and previously released and unreleased material, each song showing off a different facet of the band's style and abilities. There is the tight, funky quartet sounds of their first hit, "The Sinister Minister," the strong bluegrass influence on "The Yee-Haw Factor," the pleasant guest appearance by Dave Matthews on "Communication," and the sweetly minimal "Sunset Road." There isn't a dud in the bunch of this concise history of the Flecktones. An inventive blend of a world of influences, this collection offers an extremely pleasant listening experience. ~ Stacia Proefrock
Beyond the droll title there indeed lies some of the finest material these jazz-bluegrass cross-pollinators have ever recorded. This compilation documents the Bela Fleck & The Flecktones from their start as a trio in 1990 up to their expanded lineup on 1998's LEFT OF COOL, culling the cream of the albums in between. The avant-banjo virtuoso himself sheds some light on the inspiration for each song by including track-by-track annotations in the booklet.
GREATEST HITS begins on the same auspicious note as did the band's popularity, with the Grammy-winning instrumental "The Sinister Minister." It's a mysterious, quirky tune that creeps and crawls to Howard Levy's haunting harmonica playing. Two previously unissued tracks are included, with "Shocktime" surely being one of the more mind-blowing examples of the musicianship at hand. Originally intended to be on THREE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, this cut shines a welcome spotlight on Victor Wooten's ebullient, jaw-dropping bass pyrotechnics. "Road House Blues" funks from the Mississippi Delta to the Big Apple with a down-home combo of Bela Fleck on slide-banjo and Jeff Coffin's alto sax grooves.