I’m giving this DualDisc four stars strictly due to the continually creative music of all sorts coming from Bela Fleck plus the clever and humorous short film on the band – not for the DualDisc format on which it comes to us. The disc refused to play on either of my Macs or my car CD player, and the CD side refused to play on my best DVD/CD player. The case says “Entire album in enhanced PCM Stereo,” yet the soundtracks for the three videos Dolby Digital 5.1 surround – the music album being only 48K PCM instead of 96K. Why didn’t they mix the music album for DD 5.1 while they were at it?
Fleck has done albums of Bach and other classical keyboard music on banjo – not an easy transformation – and he has the guts to open this album with a Bach Fugue, No. 20 in A Minor. Accompanied by alto sax, electric bass and Future Man’s various real and synth drums, it really gets the proceedings underway. Fleck plays a variety of banjos, switching among the 13 tracks from instruments made in the 1930s to modern banjos and even an electric model, plus something called a stereo guitar on one track. The range of styles and sounds of the tunes is wide. The tunes are all his originals or written in conjunction with other band members, and they delve into rock, funk, world music and bluegrass along the lines of David Grisman’s dawg music but with a twist.
Jeff Coffin is supports the front line of the band with Fleck, playing not only various saxes but also flute and keyboards. You get to know the four band members’ personalities in the delightful short film titled “Bring It Home,” and there is another video of a music workshop the band did, including a question and answer session with young musicians. Another great album from Bela Fleck…if you can play it.
TrackList: Bach Fugue No. 20, P’Lod in the House, Rococo, Labyrinth, Kaleidoscope, Who’s Got Three?, Weed Whacker, Couch Potato, Chennai, Subterfuge, Interlude, Misunderstood, The Whistle Tune.
– John Henry
