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Béla Fleck & The Flecktones
The Hidden Land [DualDisc]
(Columbia)
First Appeared in The Music Box, April 2006, Volume 13, #4
Written by John Metzger
In the midst of its year-long hiatus from touring, The Flecktones reconvened
at leader Béla Fleck’s home studio in
Nashville to begin work on The Hidden Land. Coming after the sprawling,
overly ambitious Little Worlds, the resulting album is a welcome return
to form for the group. The Hidden Land boasts no distracting special
guests, and containing a mere 13-tracks, it undeniably is a more focused affair
that largely sounds as if Pat Metheny and Dave Brubeck had collaborated on a
bluegrass project. At first glance, however, there also isn’t anything featured
on the set that will convince naysayers to pay attention.
Perhaps, that’s the reason that The Hidden Land is also available as a
DualDisc collection, though whether casual fans will shell over a few extra
dollars to purchase the outing in this format is questionable. Still, its crafty
surround sound mix not only enhances the drama that is inherent within The
Flecktones’ material, but it also more sharply defines the colors and textures
of the ensemble’s instrumental interplay. The percussion pops; the flute, sax,
and whistles flutter and dance; the banjo twirls; and the bass twists, turns,
bubbles, and bursts. In beginning with a pair of fugues by Bach, the orchestral
overtones of the collective’s arrangements are drawn into the spotlight. The
sound is crisp and clean, though it also is presented from a flat perspective.
However, as the music tumbles into the swirling bebop of P’lod in the House,
the sonic spectrum widens considerably, fully revealing the lush atmospherics
conjured by the band.
Throughout The Hidden Land, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones employs an assortment of odd time signatures, but by
combining polyrhythmic percussion, hypnotic banjo, soaring woodwinds, and
driving bass, the group effortlessly traverses the complexity of its material.
Waltzing through a whirlwind of jazz, classical, bluegrass, rock, country, and
world grooves — frequently within the same song — the band allows the
mesmerizing intricacies of its compositions to blossom organically. A short
documentary titled Bring It Home highlights the ensemble’s playful
relationship, though it more importantly demonstrates how a little time spent
apart sometimes can bring a collective a whole lot closer together.  ½
The Hidden Land [DualDisc] is available from Amazon.
To order, Click Here!
The DualDisc is no longer available in Canada.
For UK orders, please Click Here!
The Hidden Land [Standard CD] is available from Amazon.
To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
Click Here!
For UK orders, please
Click Here!
49th Annual Grammy Award Winner:
Best Contemporary Jazz Album
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006
The Music Box
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