Customer Reviews

Live in America

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Based on a few listens, I cannot give this CD five stars. Like the person who did the review titled "just being selfish..", I am a little disappointed.

I am willing to conceed that I may have set expectations that were too high, but I am a huge Victor Wooten fan, and I know what he is capable of.

I love his bass playing, and I can't seem to get enough of it. These discs certainly represent what you will get at a Victor show--great improvization, some surprises, etc. However, for the album to have staying power, I think it needs to highlight his greatest strength--his incredible playing.

This album is a little short on that. For example, instead of listening to Divinity rap about how she does not have a record deal, I would like to hear Victor playing more.

I understand the direction that Victor is going, and I respect it, but for my money I would rather hear more bass playing.

I just recently saw Victor and his band on the Soul Circus tour and picked up this album on the way out. It was an awesome show, and this album does a pretty good job of capturing the band's upbeat energy and great grooves.

There's a lot to digest here, and the album isn't put together quite well enough to make it a seamlessly enjoyable listening experience. There are a number of excellent tracks on the first disc, mostly of the funk-groove variety. "Nobody Knows my Name," "Yinin' and Yangin'" and even "Hormones in the Headphones" all have great energy. Victor's solo spot on track seven is great, with the somberly captivating "Sacred Silence" leading into the tap-tastic "The Jam Man." Sadly, Regi Wooten's solo spot at the end of the disc doesn't translate quite right on the CD. This is unfortunate because his crazy guitar solo was one of the highlights from the Soul Circus show. Regi shines most in backup here, however.

Disc Two opens with one of the best recorded jam sessionsof all time, with Victor laying down the funk and Marcus Miller soloing seamlessly for upwards of ten minutes. There's more upbeat funk here, most notably "Imagine This." The second disc does drag a little in the middle with too much stage chatter. And did we really need to hear rapper Divinity playing bass?

This is a good album overall, there are just a few nagging problems that detract every time you hear them. Victor and his band are amazing, don't hesitate to check them out on tour now that the Flecktones are taking some time off.

Victor Wooten is a superb bassist, and his playing is excellent on this disc. The bass playing is strong enough for five stars, and that includes the guest spots (Marcus Miller shines!).

I have a few problems with the disc, though. It needs editing, for one. While it's fine to be at a show and listen to the stage patter, we don't need all of it on the discs. Some of the songs frankly sound dated and corny. The track selection on the discs are funny, sometimes it'll go from track 8 to track 9 in the middle of a song, sometimes the same track will be a medley of three songs with definite starts and stops between them. The keyboard sounds are cheap.

Despite it's flaws, if you like awesome bass playing, this is a good disc to buy. It's fun too, if you can overlook the corniness of a few of the songs.

Victor Wooten smokes on a Bass&is up there amongest Living Bass Players as among the Best in the Business.but this Double-Set tends to stretch a bit to long&the extra Guests&whatnot tend to make this Set last far longer than it should.with a touch up&Edit down on a few Parts this would have been a Really Good Concert.Victor makes His Bass Talk backwards&Sideways&the Playing is tight but another disc seems to loose it's steam.I dug that Bootsy,Marcus Miller got down with Victor&Crew.also the James Brown,Sly&The Family Stone Jimi Hendrix&Ozzy Osbourne Tributes were Cool.

I'm slightly bothered by the reviews on this page. This C.D is a must for anyone. Having lived in Nashville for 5 years and having seen the Wooten brothers at 3rd and Lindsey Bar and Grill every Wenesday night, I know how important that family was in Victors development as an amazing bass player. The Wooten brothers were playing shows when Victor was 5 years old and it was Regi Wooten, the guitar playing brother that taught Victor how to play and how to thump.
Among the thing not mentioned on this review page is the amazingly tight playing that Regi, Joseph, Victor and J.D Blair achieve whenever they play funky music. J.D Blair is the funkiest drummer I have ever seen, or heard. He is the backbone. Joseph, who plays keys, also has a few nice slow tunes including track 4 on disc 2. Jospeh is a quality musician and adds nice backups and a great solo in Hormones in the Headphones. Regi(who is THE TEACHER), who some refer to as not as talented as Vic, plays the hell out of the Wooten brother thump off found in Pretty Little Lady, track 8 on disc 2. His guitar playing on funk jams is also quite extraordinary as he plays guitar in a way most have never heard, He thumps the guitar like a bass.
The Wooten brothers, and not just Victor, should be recognized as amazing musicians. They make 70's funk tunes sound like you have never heard before, and on such tunes as What did he say, James Brown, Me and My Bass Guitar and Thank You(falletme be mice elf agin), they groove in a way that takes funk to the highest level. The talents of Joseph and Regi have been hidden for too long, and this disc is more musically fulfilling and more indicative as to what the Wootens are really about, than any of Vics solo albums. I love the grooves, I love the funk and I love the fact that brothers Regi and Jospeh get a platform to show off. Coupled with J.D Blair, the three guys can groove and play funk better than any musicians I have heard. My only complaint was too much Divinity, but anything involving the brothers and J.D was great.

But I wanted more Victor!! I can't believe I'm giving this 2-disc set (for the price of one) only four stars, but I wanted to hear more Victor on the bass and less of everybody else. I have heard Mr. Wooten live in concert several times on tour with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and I should have known better than to expect anything--part of the fun is the spontaneity and unpredictability of it all. Unfortunately I expected a lot of bass playing, soloing, and improvising from Victor. What the first disc contains is some really adventurous jamming, with some really cool spots, time/rhythm changes, and undercurrents. The first six tracks, though, are vocals. Victor's brother Regi and MC Divinity are both good, but they're not Victor. . . . Track 7, "Sacred Silence/The Jam Man," is more what I had in mind for the whole thing--I could listen to that one track over and over agian. He continues the more solo work in the beginning of Track 8, "Tappin' and Thumpin'," switches to a couple of vocal segments, and concludes Track 9 with a very cool spin of "Iron Man." Disc One: three stars.
Disc Two opens with a dream match: Victor Wooten and Marcus Miller fight for supremacy on two tunes, MM's "Panther" & Pastorius' "Teen Town." Great track, all eleven minutes, and probably worth the price of the whole set! Track Four, "I Dream in Color," is a very cool vocal tune sung by Regi. A couple of familiar tunes follow: "My Life," "U Can't Hold No Groove," & "Me and My Bass Guitar." He concludes the sessions with "Pretty Little Lady," vocals by Victor, Regi, and company, and "If You Want Me To Stay/Thank You," both with some vocals added. Disc Two: five stars.
Don't get me wrong, Victor is playing some serious bass lines underneath anything else that is going on and doing it better than anyone I've ever heard. I simply would have liked to hear less of his brother and Divinity and more of him. What this live disc does, though, is chronicle Victor's solo career quite nicely. His first CD is primarily instrumental, his second added a number of vocal tunes, and his last set has an entire CD of vocal arrangements by Victor. Knowing what it is, I will really love this CD in the future, but my initial reaction was a bit of disappointment. I'm not sure even he could have met my expectataions, but he came darned close in moments.
If you have been a fan of Victor throughout his solo career, this disc is very representative of what he has done over the last few years and discs. If you are just expecting a huge instrumental/bass jam-fest, it doesn't happen all the way through. Out of loyalty, I feel like I should give it five stars, but out of honesty I have to give it only four. Overall, well worth the price for the two-disc set! Next time, Victor, just play!!!

I am a fan and a bass player. to me a live performance without stage patter is not live. Its muscians sitting on stage and recreating studio renditions. Live shows are supposed to give you that personal experience that studio albums cannot give. I dissagree whole heartedly with the critics of this album!! Live in America ROCKED! When it was all over I felt as if I knew a little about the man WOOTEN, and his family! thanks for the lesson from the whole Wooten Crew!

This show had the most energy and funk I've ever seen!!! Victor & his brothers played for 3 1/2 straight & put more love & soul into their music than most could ever believe. The cd is a great representation of what they do live. Get it - you'll love it too!!!

Micahel, unfortunately your unfamiliarity with Victor Wooten and his band members shows. Victor is not "The Teacher"... that's Regi Wooten, his older brother who is referred to as "The Teacher". Maybe you should actually go to one of the live shows. You would have a greater appreciation of what they are about on this live CD. You might be surprised.

The sleeper cut on this albumn is "I Dream in Color" The words and music are beautiful providing inspiration and an optimism that is rare and suprising in today's world.

"I Dream In Color"

Some say we're living in the last days
We're entering the last phase
On this planet called Earth
But when I close my eyes
I see the brightness of a new dawn
A barrier to go beyond
I feel hopeful for what it's worth
But still
Some say, boy,
You're just too optimistic
Don't you know the world's going to end
We're just going to be statistics
I don't know
I see a rainbow as the product of a storm
As the sun shines down to keep us warm
And the winds of change blow
You might call it a dream
But when I dream
I dream in color

Let me be the first to say that Victor Wooten is an amazing musician. And let me also be first to say that Victor Wooten's live act is a delight to see in person, emitting obvious talent and musicality along with the positive vibe that comes from seeing his family and friends supporting him on stage. But, these things aside, I cannot recommend this CD for anyone trying to get a good cross-section of Victor's sound.

Part of the problem is the CD's panoptic view of the Wootens' live set, rarely editing out the lengthy segues and in-betweens of some of the songs that are much more fun to watch than merely to hear. This comes especially true with Reggie Wooten's guitar work, which is a little unbearable if you can't watch him getting into it. Similarly, lots of the very interesting songs are divided into breaks and comments that quickly lose their charm, beginning with "Hormones in the Headphones" and lasting through much of the album.

The other problem, as mentioned with Reggie Wooten's playing, is that a lot of the Wooten brothers' live set is best enjoyed in person due to the highly visual nature of their stage performance. A lot of entertainment goes on on many levels; it is not merely a funk or jazz show. It is Victor Wooten's unique creative vision, and in this form it is hard to capture as a phantasmagoric live recording.

Ironically, the best piece on this double-disc album does not feature Victor, but friend and musical peer Marcus Miller, a highly esteemed bassist known for his work with Miles Davis and his prodigious solo recordings. (While we're mentioning Mr. Miller, check out HIS live CD, The Ozell Tapes. It is much more effective.) When talking to Victor at an open clinic, I asked him about the track, and he said it originated from a show in San Diego when Marcus walked into the concert hall carrying a bass and Victor ushered him on stage. So the funk medley is largely an improvised amalgam of the two players' talents (Victor plays with Marcus after a minute or so of the "Panther" intro). Amazing! This track is easily the greatest moment the album captures, outshining all of the other groove-laden pieces in its sheer virtuosity and novelty. How often do we get to see two of the greatest bass players duel out on stage--and with such transcendental results?

Finally, I want to make one thing very clear: Victor Wooten and his band can't be faulted for this album's seeming unwieldiness. That is, don't buy this and subsequently turn down tickets to a show. To the contrary, most of what's on this CD really seems more like the background idea to a Victor Wooten performance--the icing, but little cake. Perhaps in a few years we'll get to hear a better live release from Victor and his family.