Flight of the Cosmic Hippo

Flight of the Cosmic Hippo is the second album by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, released in 1991. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The album title came from an audience member who suggested "Flight of the Codeine Hippo" as a name for the title track. The band changed "codeine" to "cosmic" to avoid the drug association.

Flight of the Cosmic Hippo
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 11, 1991
Recorded1991, The Castle
GenreJazz fusion, post-bop, folk rock, bluegrass
Length43:57
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerBéla Fleck with the Flecktones
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones chronology
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
(1990)
Flight of the Cosmic Hippo
(1991)
UFO Tofu
(1992)

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

In his Allmusic review, music critic Brian Mansfield wrote of the album "The Flecktones owe more to bebop than bluegrass, and here the group finally names their style "blu-bop." That's why Flight of the Cosmic Hippo topped the jazz, not the country, chart. The Flecktones continue to make it look easy, adding banjo power chords to "Turtle Rock" and reworking Lennon/McCartney's "Michelle""[1]

Track listing

All songs by Béla Fleck unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Blu-Bop" (The Flecktones) – 4:22
  2. "Flying Saucer Dudes" – 4:51
  3. "Turtle Rock" – 4:12
  4. "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" – 4:29
  5. "The Star Spangled Banner" (Francis Scott Key, arr. The Flecktones) – 2:35
  6. "Star of the County Down" (P.D., arr. The Flecktones) – 4:21
  7. "Jekyll and Hyde (and Ted and Alice)" – 7:04
  8. "Michelle" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) – 5:10
  9. "Hole in the Wall" – 4:40
  10. "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (Reprise)" – 2:14

Personnel

Track notes

Production notes

  • Produced and mixed by Béla Fleck with the Flecktones
  • Bil VornDick – engineer, mixing
  • Carlos Grier – editing
  • Denny Purcell – mastering
  • Mark Nevers – assistant engineer
  • Keith Odle – mixing assistant
  • Richard Battaglia – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
  • Mark Tucker – photography
  • Elvis Wilson – design
  • Laura LiPuma – art direction
  • Mark Fox – artwork

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1991 Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums 1

References

  1. Mansfield, Brian. "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
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