I think I have a unique perspective on a one Victor Wooten's music. I say this because I am completely unfamiliar with his work, you see I listen primarily to music of the metal bent, although I venture outside those confines quite often to discover other styles and such that can expand my vision. A few years back a co-worker was playing something at his desk, it was a bass instrumental. I only heard some brief clips, but what I heard was incredible. I asked who it was and the response was "Victor Wooten." Victor who? Well, as hard as I tried, I could never remember his name. Then I saw this and suddenly it clicked, "Yeah, that incredible bass player I heard clips of many years ago." Anyway, I got the disk, Soul Circus, and I gave it a listen, and was initially disappointed, it was not what I expected.
While listening to it, I expected to hear a lot more lead bass work. What I wanted to hear was this bass virtuoso doing his thing front and center. I expected more bass jamming, I expected to hear some of the most unique bass playing ever recorded, well maybe not that extreme, but you get my meaning. If that is what you want to get from this album, you are sure to be disappointed. This is not to say this is a bad album, it is just not what I expected.
I have listened to it a few times now, each time is a little bit different. This is the kind of album that has layers. Each listen brings a new discovery, a little lick here, a fill there, maybe a quick riff in the back. It is not a pure bass soloing extravaganza, but it is an album where the participants are clearly having a blast making. Something else about this album is also very clear, it is catchy as hell.
The opening track, "Victa," has this groove that just won't quit. The opening riff just seems to dig itself into my brain and take up residence there, refusing to move out. This is followed up by "Bass Tribute," where Victor pays homage to those innovators who have come before him like Jaco Pastorious, Stanley Clarke, and Bootsy Collins, sadly I am unfamiliar with most of them. There are a couple of instrumentals on the disk, one being the smooth "Can't Hide Love." There is also the plain old fun "Cell Phone," which makes the best use of a ring that I can recall.
The album has a smooth jazz/funk feel to it which most of my other music doesn't come close to. The rest of the band fits in nicely, keeping that rhythm and groove going. Victor is clearly the star of the show, not always going crazy with the bass, but the groves laid down, and those fills in the back, basically I just really liked the album.
Bottomline. While initially a disappointment, this turned out to be a worthwhile listen. It was a journey, if you will. Listening and picking out the little things. From what I have read, this is not at the top of Victor's catalog, which means I have some more discovery to do, but this is a good place to start.
Recommended.
Also at Blogcritics.org.
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