Victor Wooten's fourth solo record is a double-disc package documenting four years on the road with brothers
Reggie Wooten (guitar and vocals) and
Joseph Wooten (keyboards and vocals), as well as
JD Blair (drums and vocals). The
Wooten band serves up full-throttle
funk,
R&B, and
pop power
ballads, as well as feel-good
fusion, often with a dash of
hip-hop courtesy of rapper (and guest bassist)
MC Divinity. The leader's widely celebrated bass virtuosity is on display throughout, but most explicitly during
"Hey Girl," "Tappin' and Thumpin'," "Sacred Silence/The Jam Man," "Me and My Bass Guitar," and
"Pretty Little Lady." Disc one begins with a studio-recorded introduction from
P-Funk bass legend
Bootsy Collins, disc two with a bass duel featuring
fusion veteran
Marcus Miller. Tributes to other musical heroes (
Sly Stone,
James Brown, and
Jaco Pastorius) crop up during the course of the album's 118 combined minutes. While there's much to be said for their tightness and musicianship,
Wooten and company can get bogged down in overly long jams, and some of their live schtick doesn't translate so well on record. ~ David R. Adler
