Victor Wooten. Jack of all trades. He can play everything from funk, to jazz, to reggae, to hip-hop, to classical, and nothing shows his talent more then his solo debut album
A Show of Hands**
At the age of four his brothers where starting a band and needed a bassist. So vic’s older brother took him aside and gave him a bass and the
Wootens where formed.* After recording an album in 1985, but after receiving little to no commercial success the wootens found other gigs.* Vic decided to move to Nashville and met a banjo player by the name of Béla Fleck. Adding Fleck’s brother for drums and Howard Levy on keyboards and harmonica the
The Flecktones where born. The group earned numerous accolades, including four Grammy nominations and a number one album on the jazz charts. *
As the 90’s went on still playing with
The Flecktones Wooten also started a solo career.* And in 1996 he released the album that is in constant rotation in my stereo.* The only two instruments on the album are bass and vocals.* Now don’t stop reading now, because I know your saying to yourself “how can a CD with only bass on it can only be called music, and how could it even attempt to hold my attention." Simple.* When you hear him play the bass you just get a feeling like this is what he is meant to do and he does it damn well.* Wooten fills every song with passion and emotion, and with all the high points and the few low points in this magnificent CD it to will be on constant play on your play list.*
Highpoints
U Can’t Hold No Groove starts out with some sound advice for victor.* A few bass strums later and we are right into the funk.* This song just makes you want to bob your head along with it. It’ll give you a bounce in your step, and makes me just feel good whenever I give it a listen. About 2:50 through the song come some voices that are very sing alongey, but don’t get me wrong they are not cheesy at all. Just sing along and be a good boy. Remember that reggae I was telling you about. Good because here it is in the shape of
More Love This has more of a psychedelic to it but it is still mind blowing to hear what Wooten is doing on the bass. He can literally make that instrument of his sing.*
Now turn down the lights and call that special someone in the room with you, because the next song of notice is
Overjoyed This song gives you a sense of being on a nice boat in the middle of the pacific without a care in the world.* Waves of peace of solace should just be running over your, as you drift away. Sadly though at 2:56 it is the shortest song on this album.* The next song takes a complete U’e. At the beginning of
A Show of Hands he is poping those strings like he is angry at them. Playing two melodies at once going from left to right it creates a sense of confusion, and distortion. At around 1:30 the anger stops and it becomes peaceful again. Just close your eyes and let the music wash over you. Slowly it build. Faster and faster until we are at that hectic pace again, but this has a much happier jazzy felling to it. A bit further he drops an octive and the music becomes overwhelming. He goes back to the first bass line and cutts you off their.*
“You have just been listening to a melody of jazz tunes performed on the electric bass guitar performd by Victor Lamant Wooten.We will now hear his performance classic thump prelude written in G major. Written for qutro stringgendo elktronik.* Your listening to the classical hour on W-00-10.”* If you have ever heard a classical music station then you’ll know that they sound just like that. Now on to the real song. Breath taking. Stunning. I need a thesaurus to describe how good
Classical Thump is. Now imagine, if you will, if Yngwie Malmsteen played slap bass. That is proably as close as I can come to describing what this song sounds like. It is as if Mozart came into his body and composed this for him. If I am ever abele enough to play this song I know that my life is complete. *
Now take what you just heard on the last song and transfer it to funk. It grooves and wooves and moves, and around 2:25 Vic just goes off and blows your mind with a crazy triplet slap solo. He brings it down but don’t change the song he isn’t done yet. He brings it back and just grooves out for a few more minutes.*
Jiga ba jiga ba jig jig jiga ba
The Low Point
There are some Medicore songs on this believe it or not.
The Vision proably could’ve been stronger. And
Justice … well I don’t really like any hip-hop songs. I guess that’s it ;)
Final Word
I’m not going to waste my time doing a recommended track section and just say save yourself the hassle and go get this album. Run, walk, jump, drive, even push over an old lady or two if you have to just do yourself a musical favor and get this… well what are doing go get it.
`Ace*
. Classical thump is my favorite its jsut so fucking good. I still have trouble playing it. I hope to meet him one day.
