''Greatest Hits of the 20th Century'' is the seventh album released by
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and their first
greatest hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
compilation album.
Reception
In her
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
review, music critic Stacia Proefrock wrote "There isn't a dud in the bunch of this concise history of the Flecktones. An inventive blend of a world of influences, this collection offers an extremely pleasant listening experience."
Track listing
All songs by
Béla Fleck
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...
unless otherwise noted.
# "The Sinister Minister" – 4:37
# "Stomping Grounds" (
Victor Wooten
Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...
, Fleck)– 5:26
# "Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo" – 4:28
# "Shocktime" – 4:25
# "Sex In A Pan" (Victor Wooten) – 3:34
# "The Yee-Haw Factor" – 6:58
# "Road House Blues" – 3:19
# "Vix 9" (Victor Wooten) – 4:29
# "Communication" (music: Fleck,
Future Man; lyrics: Fleck)– 4:16
# "Big Country" – 5:33
# "Sunset Road" – 5:01
Personnel
The Flecktones
*
Béla Fleck
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...
-
Banjo (tracks 1-3, 5, 6, 9, 11), slide banjo (track 7), Deering Crossfire electric banjo (tracks 4, 8), low-tuned Czech electric banjo (track 10),
synths (tracks 4, 10),
sustain pedal
A sustain pedal or sustaining pedal (also called damper pedal, loud pedal, or open pedal) is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. It is typically the rightmost of two or three pedals. When pressed, the sustain pedal "sustains" all ...
(track 8), Paradis Stereo Guitar with VG8 (track 9)
*
Future Man -
Synth-Axe Drumitar,
Vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
(track 9)
*
Howard Levy
Howard Levy (born July 31, 1951) is an American multi-instrumentalist. A keyboardist and virtuoso harmonica player, Levy "has been realistically presented as one of the most important and radical harmonica innovators of the twentieth century. ...
-
Synthesizer (track 1, 3, 11),
Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
(track 3, 11), Hammond B3 Organ (track 6),
Harmonica (tracks 1, 5, 6), synth (track 1), harp in a cup (track 3), Güiro (track 1)
*
Victor Wooten
Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...
-
Bass (tracks 1, 2, 4-9, 11), stereo effect (tracks 5, 8), fretless bass (tracks 3, 10)
*
Jeff Coffin
Jeff Coffin (born August 5, 1965) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, with whom he performed from 1997 until 2010. In July 2008, Coffin began t ...
-
Soprano Saxophone (tracks 9, 10),
Alto Saxophone (track 7),
Tenor Saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
(track 10)
Guest musicians
*
Sam Bush -
Mandolin on track 2 and 7,
Fiddle on track 7
*
Paul McCandless
Paul Brownlee McCandless Jr. (born March 24, 1947) is an American multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the American jazz group Oregon. He is one of the few jazz oboists. He also plays bass clarinet, English horn, flute and soprano saxoph ...
-
soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...
on track 2
*
Dave Matthews - Vocals on track 9
References
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones albums
1999 greatest hits albums
Warner Records compilation albums
{{1990s-compilation-album-stub