(Jazz Fusion, Progressive Bluegrass) Bela Fleck & The Flecktones - UFO TOFU - 1992, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

progarchives.com
Review by Tapfret
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars
Enigmatic/Eclectic Groove Band's Musical Pinnacle
Sub-genre: Jazz/Rock Fusion (.for hip hillbillies)
For Fans of: Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea Electric Band, any stylistic crossover based on solid groove. People who can't stand the rest of your collection will end up tapping their toes.
Vocal Style: none
Guitar Style: none
Keyboard Style: Primarily midi-piano with rare use of string synth patches and classic electric piano sounds
Percussion Style: Futureman's Synthaxe Drumitar, one of the trademarks of the band. Few can tell the percussion is from a source other than a traditional jazz/rock drum kit.
Bass Style: Slappy, tappy, abundantly groovy and soulful. A number of different electric basses are used, both fretted and fretless.
Other Instruments: Banjo! (electric and acoustic), harmonica, jew's harp, whistles.
Summary: Bela Flek is a banjo player who's fundamental influences and earlier works were primarily shaped by bluegrass. His band, The Flektones, peppers modern jazz writing, production value, and technicality with bluegrass folksy-isms. UFOTOFU represents, in this reviewer's opinion, the pinnacle of this artful blend. The first two works, the self-titled debut and Flight of the Cosmic Hippo were good albums, but lacked the full-flavored spirit of this album. The canvas was stroked with broader textures of the incorporated styles. Flek's banjo tore in with more edge, occasionally using distortion, dissonance and discordance to linger in territories rarely heard from the instrument. Flowing arpeggios backed by Howard Levy's eerie, echoing harmonica create an ambience that tempers the music's technicality with a deep soulfulness. He uses multiple harmonicas to accommodate the vast number of key changes in the music. The album would mark the multi-instrumentalist, Levy's, finale as a full-time member of the group. Victor Wooten, easily a top 5 bass talent in the Jazz/Rock community (and probably all of music, his work on Tribal Tech Tones with Scott Henderson and Steve Smith is highly recommended), mixes wicked funk slapping with warm walks and slides with a fretless bass, not to mention occasionally providing simultaneous bass and melody by playing 2 basses at once. His bass playing supplies an undeniable groove to the project. While his talent in previous albums is evident, it is broadcast in full force in UFOTOFU.
The album opens with a frantic arpeggio that fades into a subtle drum shuffle on The West County. The song is a perfect introduction as it exemplifies the unfamiliar yet comfortable stylistic blends of the album. The structure is so smooth that it is easy to forget how technically brilliant the playing is. The ambience is encountered in other similarly identified songs as True North and the spacey, melancholy closer After the Storm. Hard hitting funkiness breaks in with the second track Sex in a Pan as well as The Yee-Haw Factor, Scuttlebutt and the band's favorite song to display their soloing skills during live performances, Magic Fingers. More experimental musical territory can be found in Life Without Elvis, a somewhat psychotic sounding foray for the band. The technical highlight of the bands instrumental prowess, as well as ensemble cohesiveness is found in the title track, UFOTOFU written as a musical palindrome.
Final Score: An easy 5 stars. This kind of eclecticism is essential to any prog collection.

3348748087 47663324 01 - The West County.wav
3888901258 37497980 02 - Sex In A Pan.wav
4061863640 54241868 03 - Nemo's Dream.wav
2779617459 45671180 04 - Bonnie & Slyde.wav
2106978450 42877004 05 - Scuttlebutt.wav
1468349212 40136924 06 - UFO TOFU.wav
3470404072 55624844 07 - Magic Fingers.wav
801464939 51814604 08 - True North.wav
1413270775 54382988 09 - Life Without Elvis.wav
3268339140 38737484 10 - Saresta.wav
4084226829 73824620 11 - The Yee-haw Factor.wav
2381790979 40901324 12 - After The Storm.wav
auCDtect: CD records authenticity detector, version 0.8.2
Copyright (c) 2004 Oleg Berngardt. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2004 Alexander Djourik. All rights reserved.
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Processing file: [01 - The West County.wav]
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Processing file: [05 - Scuttlebutt.wav]
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Processing file: [07 - Magic Fingers.wav]
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Processing file: [08 - True North.wav]
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Processing file: [09 - Life Without Elvis.wav]
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Processing file: [10 - Saresta.wav]
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Processing file: [11 - The Yee-haw Factor.wav]
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Processing file: [12 - After The Storm.wav]
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Final Conclusion:
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