Anyone who knows anything about Victor Wooten knows that he's one of those rare souls: he gains a rep for playing the bass. Soul Circus, however, isn't just an extravaganza for bass players. Wooten, as it turns out, is also a heck of a writer and, as the listener will learn on the first track, a fine singer. The unusual first track, "Victa," is a funky, soulful hymn in praise of -- who else -- Wooten himself, while "Bass Tribute" offers accolades to those who've come before him. If the subject matter sounds a bit strange, the confident delivery, understated humor, and fine songwriting make it all work. Soul Circus' production is a nice merger of keyboards, drums, lots of bass, and multiple voices. While this combination and Wooten's production does provide a blueprint sound for the album, it's never predictable. "Back to India," for example, combines soul and sitar for an unusual but winning mixture. There are other oddities like "Cell Phone," complete with dialer effects, spiritually tinged material like "Prayer" and "Back to India," and songs about the power of love such as "Can't Hide Love." Overall, Soul Circus has the adventurous, confident feel of an old Sly Stone album while still being completely of its time. It's also certain that the album will convince listeners that Wooten, while still a fine bass player, has many talents. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.
Live Recording
Personnel: Victor Wooten (vocals, guitar, sitar, keyboards, midi bass, acoustic bass guitar, bass guitar, drums, electronic drums, drum programming, scratches); Bill Miller (vocals, flute, frame drum, shaker); Joseph Wooten (vocals, keyboards); Kurt Storey, Steve Bailey, T.M. Stevens, Will Lee (vocals, bass guitar); Christian McBride, Gary Grainger , John Cowan, Alvin Chea, Oteil Burbridge, Saundra Williams, Bill Dickens, Adam Wooten, MC Divinity, Kit Leblanc, Kelly Gravely, Kaila Wooten, Rhonda Smith , Bootsy Collins (vocals); Count Bass D, Speech, MC Sookie (rap vocals); Arianna Wooten, Holly Wooten, Radmila Bowers, Jeremiah Abel (spoken vocals); Regi Wooten, Larry Jarvis (guitar); Eric Silver (acoustic guitar); Shawn "Thunder" Wallace (saxophone); Rod McGaha (trumpet); Barry Green (trombone); Jacques Jones (bass guitar); Dennis Chambers, Howard Levy, J.D. Blair, Derico Watson (drums); T.H. Subash Chandran (ghatam, percussion); Ganesh Kumar (kanjira); Darrell Tibbs (percussion).
JazzTimes (p.119) - "Extremely versatile and flamboyant, Nashville bassist Victor Wooten is a dominating, exciting personality on electric bass, something that's reaffirmed by the best pieces on SOUL CIRCUS."
Good Funk CD I really like this cd. Victor gets funky, not so much solo bass stuff Submitted by deanb (St Catharines Ont Canada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
good Could have been better,but nice,great for bass player aficionados like me Alessandro Submitted by alettoni (roma-italy) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
plunkin' pleasure Wonderful bass player. Had breiefly heard one song of his and felt the need to hear more. If you like the deep beat of a bass guitar then Victor Wooten is the man. I am enjoying it more each time I listen to it..
Submitted by juju554 (bay area, california) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Splendid BassPlayer Victor never let one down and here he´s open som more musical doors.
Singin, laughin and jooking. By myself I regard Victor as one of the best bassplayer ever. Allmost a 5!
Lars Submitted by lelarsson (Gothenburg, VG, Sweden, Europe) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
bass lovers..this is for you! fun c.d. quality stuff, great bass playing..sit back and enjoy Submitted by DLBYDGTL (peoria il) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
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