THREE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

This is the first album by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones after the departure of keyboardist and harmonica player Howard Levy. I would have thought the band would have gotten better without him, since I always felt that his harmonica and light keyboard style detracted from the overall sound, but this album is definitely a step backwards. At least they didn't regress all the way back to the sound of their debut album.

Where previous albums, especially Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo were exercises in adventurous fusion, this one, save for a nice romp in Bumbershoot, tends to be aiming more towards commercial viability (translate to boredom). I can't fault a band for trying to aim for a wider audience, but I can't praise them for it either.

And a rap song? Oh come on. I doubt the target audience for this album is children.

2.5 stars.