1. Whitewater
2. Slipstream
3. Up and Around the Bend
4. Natchez Trace
5. See Rock City
6. The Legend
7. The Lights of Home
8. Down in the Swamp
9. Sanctuary
10. The Open Road
11. Crucial County Breakdown
Amazon.com
When Béla Fleck produced this little-known gem in 1988, the New Grass Revival was winding down and the Flecktones had yet to be formed. Fleck's previous solo outings had strayed from his bluegrass roots to varying degrees, but what makes Drive so special is how closely it hews to traditional bluegrass in sound and instrumentation while still allowing for exciting new ideas, crisp ensemble passages, and brilliant improvisation. The musicians who help out are all tops in their field: Dobro player Jerry Douglas, flat-picker Tony Rice, mandolinist Sam Bush, fiddlers Stuart Duncan and Mark O'Connor (who team up for a twin-fiddle sound on two down-home cuts), and bassist Mark Schatz. There's not a missed note (or superfluous one for that matter) anywhere, from the steamrolling opener "Whitewater" to the minor-keyed, jazz-based "Natchez Trace" to the warm ballad "Lights of Home" to the powerful "Crucial County Breakdown." The much heralded, classical-influenced Strength in Numbers record came less than a year later and included Fleck, Bush, O'Connor, and Douglas, but Drive certainly deserves a spot next to it in your newgrass collection. --Marc Greilsamer
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Drive
- Audio CD: 0 pages (1992-02-14)
- Publisher: Rounder / Umgd
- Label: Rounder / Umgd
- Studio: Rounder / Umgd
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 30 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #14110
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Such an incredible album 2008-05-18
Comment: I REALLY recommend buying this album. It's so uplifting and the musicianship is just astounding. I don't even like bluegrass, and I think it's amazing! I'm a new convert to Béla Fleck.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Drive - a real bluegrass blast... 2007-10-27
Comment: This is surely the most awesome bluegrass album I have purchased to date - you can feel the wind in your hair while listening to "Slipstream"...
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: He never ceases to amaze me! 2007-02-17
Comment: The fact that this is one of the best banjo instrumental albums of all time is testament enough but to discover that it was recorded almost 20 years ago is absolutely mind boggling. He did things on his banjo that people still can't do today. He is truly the best banjo player on the planet. Oh yeah...the rest of the guys on the recording are pretty good too!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bela Fleck's Drive: Definitive Bluegrass!!!! 2006-08-29
Comment: Bela Fleck, banjo player extraordinaire, has come up with a winner in this CD, Drive. A Bluegrass masterpiece, Bela teams up with the likes of Sam Bush on Mandolin, Jerry Douglas on dobro, Mike Edgars on bass and Mark O'connor on violin and guitar. The quintet is really tight, and it shows that they have played together before, such as on the "strength in numbers" CD.
This music is all instrumental, and mostly fast paced bluegrass. Each musician is extremely proficient on his respective instrument, and their distinctive individual playing goes extremely well within the context of bluegrass music.
My favorite tracks are "whitewater", "slipstream", "down in the swamp" and "crucial country breakdown".
This CD is a must have for bluegrass fans and Bela Fleck fans.
Whether or not you are a fan of bluegrass music, you should check out this CD. Any lover of pure and true instrumental music will enjoy this.
0 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Same bass line on EVERy song 2006-02-22
Comment: Let first say that i like Bela, have seen him play once, and I LOVE the banjo. however, this cd its like they recorded ONE bass track and played it on every song, I mean the bass is the SAME for every song! and even worse the bass has as much if not more equal sound as the banjo. I knew this was not going to be Victor but come on. I bought this cd because people in here highly recomended it. wrooooooooong. waste of $15
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Drive
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