Drive marks one of Bela Fleck's clearest statements of his commitment to bluegrass as a banjo player even as the rest of his catalog was already moving toward the fusion territory that would define New Grass Revival's later years and his own solo career. The supporting cast — Sam Bush on mandolin, Tony Rice on guitar, Mark O'Connor on fiddle, Stuart Duncan on second fiddle, Jerry Douglas on dobro, Mark Schatz on bass — assembles roughly the entire first chair of late-1980s progressive bluegrass instrumental playing, and the album functions almost as a documentary of where that scene stood at the moment. The arrangements stay closer to traditional bluegrass than the surrounding work of any of the principals, a deliberate centering exercise. Released on Rounder, the album has come to be regarded as one of the strongest pure-bluegrass instrumental records of its decade, a benchmark for ensemble playing at the highest level of the field.
Tracklist
- 1 Whitewater Source Recording 3:09
- 2 Slipstream 5:08
- 3 Up and Around the Bend Source Recording 3:35
- 4 Natchez Trace 4:57
- 5 See Rock City 4:04
- 6 The Legend 4:19
- 7 The Lights of Home 5:07
- 8 Down in the Swamp Source Recording 3:36
- 9 Sanctuary 7:25
- 10 The Open Road 3:37
- 11 Crucial County Breakdown 2:58