Bela Fleck - "Drive"

Alright, now you know I'm being honest with this project. I'm certainly not posting this album to stroke my music collector ego. This was the first cd in the next drawer. The drawers are organized by genre, I figured I'd keep things interesting and not go through my entire soul/r&b/gospel drawer first. So, here we are, with Bela Fleck.

First of all, I need to apologize to my college roommate Kaho. Over the course of the two years that we shared a very tiny space, I made her listen to whatever album I was currently into while we fell asleep at night. Did I ever give her a chance to weigh in? Don't think so. Did it occur to me that she might really not enjoy listening to Bela Fleck? Nope. I know I definitely played this particular album many nights in a row. Sorry Ka.

Now, onto Bela Fleck. I will admit that I got way obsessed with him as a senior in high school when all of my friends started listening to the Flecktones. My high school boyfriend was part of a band, and they were all geeked out over the musicians in the Flecktones, especially the bassist, Victor Wooten. It was the nineties, the bass was king. When I got to Oberlin, I was thrilled to find that the Flecktones were coming in concert. They came often, and I was there every time. I even finagled an interview with Bela himself, but I was so nervous to talk to him (somehow the mullet didn't deter me from thinking he was cute!) that I forgot to hit "record" and sadly, my probing interview never made it onto the WOBC airwaves. But all of Bela's records made it into my collection.

Man, I feel like I just went to confession. Here's the saving grace: Bela Fleck is undoubtedly an incredible musician. Cheesy, sure. But extremely talented. His approach to the banjo is unlike anyone else's. This album, "Drive" was recorded in 1987, when he was part of the core of young musicians promoting the "new grass revival." So far as I can tell, all of these guys (were there any women among them?) were very well trained musicians, more than likely many of them were classically trained. They were super into bluegrass, and were working together to transform it with some late-1980s sensibilities.

So that brings us to "Drive." It's all instrumental, no vocalists. It was recorded before Bela gathered the Flecktones, but you can hear them coming. On a few tracks, namely "Slipstream," the "jazz" influence starts to come through. Other tracks, like "Up Around the Bend," "Down in the Swamp," and "The Open Road," are firmly rooted in traditional bluegrass. I even found myself wanting to stomp my feet to "The Open Road." I have to admit though, that the solid training of these guys means that even the more traditional tracks don't have the sawdust on the floor grit that bluegrass usually brings. It's all a little over-polished. Bela's pension for the shmaltzy side of life really comes through on a number of tracks that, though they don't have vocals, really sound like ballads. "The Lights of Home" is particularly syrupy, it's probably the one that soothed me to sleep back in college. Sorry again Kaho.

It really is hard to just toss this album to the side and declare it too cheesy for consideration. The line up of musicians is stellar: Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Mark O'Connor, Tony Rice. If you listen to any of this "newgrass," or even bluegrass, stuff you'll know those names. And depending on what your angle (if any) is on this type of music, there's probably something in there for you. At the very least, it might be nice for you to put on before you go to bed.

My verdict: Not one to put on the must have list. But personally, before it moves out of my life, I'm going to burn a few tracks just for nostalgia. Maybe I'll play them for my kids someday. I probably won't ask if they want to hear them. People don't really change, do we?