Bee Speed CD Review By Dave Terpeny, KyndMusic Editor-In-Chief Sometimes going into things blindly is the best way to go. I mean, with no preconceptions you can really get to the honest heart of the matter and that truth is what´s most important, I feel. Such was the case with my review of Bee Speed´s self-title debut CD. Drawn to it by matters beyond my control, including the really cool honeycomb picture thing they do on the cover, I picked up the disc and put it in. My first impression was, ´wow, how does this guy tune his guitar to sound like that?´ A minimal amount of research (reading the liner notes) led me to discover that in fact, it wasn´t a guitar. It was a gentleman by the name of Charles Butler playing the electric banjo. So this of course led me to ask, ´how the hell does he make a banjo sound like that?´ But that is a question that will have to wait for an answer and, to be honest with you, I don´t much care. It´s just really cool. So, yes, we have a banjo that is distorted, bent, twisted, massaged, and manipulated to create amazingly unique but familiar and comfortable sounds. On top of that we have some pretty good bass rhythms by Christian Grizzard and wonderfully eclectic percussion by Justin Amaral. But what do they play? You thought I´d forgotten about that part, didn´t you? Well, Bee Speed plays an amalgam of roots rock, jazz, jammy psychedelic stuff, and a kick-ass cover of The Grateful Dead´s "Black Muddy River." But I´ll get to that later. First the roots rock/jazz/jammy psychedelic stuff. That is most evident on, well, nearly every song. From the frantic "Radio Bean," to the inspired and transcendent cover of Chick Corea´s "Spain" through the funky "Red Baron" Bee Speed blend genres into a wonderfully sweet Bee Speed honey-shake (sorry, couldn´t resist). And when they cover traditional music, like "Ground Speed" by Earl Scruggs or "Blackberry Blossom" (unknown) they instantly, almost instinctively, create a wonderful middle ground. By this I mean that they never lose the soul while always staying true to their own muse. But I digress. It´s time to go swimming in the black muddy river. I beat this dead horse for one reason only: this cover is majestic. Butler´s banjo conjures up a heavy, weeping flood with its token picking, while the restrained rhythm section allows Grizzard's voice to stretch out the words beautifully. Whew. This one is worth the price of admission alone. But I did want to mention one other song. "La Maddalena" by bassist Grizzard is the epitome of subdued psychedelics. The intermittent and sustained bass notes float over, above and around Butler´s moderated notes and Amaral´s percussion, which in and of itself is inscrutably appealing. And that´s Bee Speed. This will not be the last nor the best place that you hear about them. They are destined for greatness. And, really, how does he make a banjo sound like that?

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