Rocket Science

Bela Fleck, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 17, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Entertainment One Music
• ASIN: B004S699GI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,999 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Bela Fleck is the only musician to be nominated for Grammys® in jazz, bluegrass, pop, country, spoken word, christian, composition and world music categories. His totalcount is 11 Grammys® won, and 27 total nominations. Groundbreaking banjoist/composer/bandleader Béla Fleck has reconvened the original Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, the extraordinary initial line-up of his incredible combo. Rocket Science marks the first recording by the first fab four Flecktones in almost two decades, with pianist/harmonica player Howard Levy back in the fold alongside Fleck,
bassist Victor Wooten, and percussionist/ drumitarist Roy Futureman Wooten. Far from being a wistful trip back in time, the album sees the Grammy® Award-winning quartet
creating some of the most forward thinking music of their long, storied career. While all manner of genres come into play from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances the result is an
impossible to pigeonhole sound all their own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable. Simply put, it is The Flecktones, the music made only when these four individuals come together. I didn t want to just get together to play the old music, Fleck says. That s not what the Flecktones are about. Everybody s full of life and ideas and creativity. I was intrigued by what we could do that we had never done before.
Visionary and vibrant as anything in their already rich canon, Rocket Science feels more like a new beginning than simply the culmination of an early chapter. The band now embarks on an extensive tour, and there s no telling how this new music will further
develop in performance. We re going to have to have this experience together and see how everybody likes it, Fleck says. I know that we haven t even come close to exhausting the possibilities with this record, but we sure went deeper than we ever had before.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "The" flecktones sound May 18, 2011

By J. Andrew Howe

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I first found the Flecktones thanks to BMG cd club (remember those?) in college. Flight of the Cosmic Hippo was one of my random "hm this seems interesting" selections. That sound and musicality make Flecktones my favorite band over the ensuing 15+ years, as I snatched up all their music. Rocket Science hails back to their Flight of the Cosmic Hippo era origins. It is so refreshingly Flecktones (and that means original) that I've listened to this album 4 or 5 time already since purchasing. If you liked the early work of the Flecktones, you will devour this new album from Bela+Victor+Futureman. I recommend Rocket Science without reservation.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars OG Flecktones May 18, 2011

By A. Swinney

Format:Audio CD

The Original Flecktones are back! Howard Levy rejoins the gang after nearly 20 years. With Jeff Coffin being out again on a limited $ummer DMB tour and his return questionable, Fleck-heads are being blessed with the return of The Man-with-2-Brains. The original fourth member, Howard Levy is back playing diatonic harmonica and piano (usually at the same time). Don't get me wrong, Jeff Coffin is great, but Howard always seemed to fit better with the other 'Tones. If you are familiar with the band's early recordings you will love this. If not, Rocket Science is one of their better entry level albums. For a band who defies the laws of physics as easily as the genres of music the do so in, I find it interesting that to show their uniform progression they had to take the band back in time. As someone who follows the band and the music of the individual members I am glad to say that you can hear the years they have been apart, all of the experiences are audible. They each bring new life to the music. But, most importantly it sounds like they had as much fun playing it as you will listening to it. Can't wait for the tour! Buy Now!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Levy returns May 18, 2011

By L. J. Rose

Format:Audio CD

Howard Levy is a good fit with the Flecktones, because he does the apparently impossible on harmonica, as do Fleck on banjo, Wooten on bass, and Future Man on whatever that thing is he plays. And while seeming impossible, it's fine and fun music. Great to have him back.