Strength in Numbers - Slopes

[CosmosNut]

I just remember seeing two TV specials with these guys together, exceptional stuff and to me way ahead of anything else I was seeing done.  Amazing - thanks for posting this and proving it wasn't just a dream...

[johntrik]

Mark makes this TAK sing man !!!!!

[daw162]

man, I wish mark o'connor would've done more guitar work

[fourstringangler]

Let me make sure I have it all lined up. You want me to throw this thing into the tub when Belas banjo solo in "Slopes" peaks. Is that it?

[MilesZurawell]

Jesus. This might be the best banjo solo ever recorded. Bela does inhuman things with his instrument that no one in the world can do.

[metalmandoman]

@Airsasquacth Mark O'Connor would own Tony Rice on this song

[CharlieHend]

What a shame that they were together for only a short period of time. Their one album is definitely a classic among albums. Everything on it is unique and can be listened to for hundreds of times without your tiring of them. A work of genius by the best that ever played each of the instruments. What a phenomenal album!

[AirSasquatch]

basically an allstar lineup of the best modern bluegrass musicians alive. Missing Tony Rice though

[imnemigre]

A staggering array of talent!

[7211098]

GREAT GUITAR MARK!!!

[cinemarveler]

How I miss this tribe of troubadours, superbly sensational...

[Bdimorso]

WONDERFUL!!!

I think Slopes is the highlight of Telluride Sessions (with Macedonia). Bela's and Mak's solos are simply amazing and this live version adds Jerry's solo not included in the studio one. It's a pity Strength in Numbers soon disabanded but that was inevitable.

[cantbringmedown]

This is so INCREDIBLE - TTS is in heavy rotation on my player but to have a visual is just something else entirely. Thanks very much for sharing.

(PS - am only slightly freaked out by how young they all look.)

[tnguitarist]

speechless. wow.

[TheHeroicDoses]

Umphrey's McGee ripped off this riff for their song Great American

[HillbillyJ]

Amazing banjo break by Bela! Love this peice! For sure one of my favs on the album. These guys were simply the best on each of their instruments.

[mikeylikesit182]

3:01 if jerry douglas does that, you know the person is a DAMN good musician

[Wopple]

Yeah.  I love all these guys, but Mark O'Connor pretty much outclasses all humans, it's pretty amazing...

[vever]

Love all the part of this song ! Mark O'Connor has a fucking amazing feeling !

[kjmix1]

Awesome,I love it.

[ohkeepa321]

I suggest you all go out and buy Markology. It's O'Connor's album in which he plays everything. Must have for any Mark fan...

[capitalismforever]

@ohkeepa321 He didn't play everything on Markology. He played nearly everything on Retrospective and Elysian Forest. Matter of fact, it's a complete wives tale that he ever put out an album in which he played everything. That has been an erroneous rumor for as long as I can remember. Untrue, nevertheless. The only thing he played on Markology was the guitar. Dan Crary, Tony Rice, David Grisman, & Sam Bush all played on Markology.

[thiger89]

great song, great musicians!

[bluesbatch55]

I think I have every lick of this song memorized in my head and I had no Idea mark even played Guitar on it Im even more of a fan.If you wanted to put bluegrass in a time capsule this would be a good candidate

[dragknuckle]

I love Sam's mandolin as a percussion instrument approach. Way too cool.

[kmiller1610]

Mark was also a great mandolin player. Talk about multi-faceted!

[cmenthead1]

amazing guitar!

[slickrick134]

hah that bass line at 2:55-2:57!!!!so great. and that guitar solo is incredible. wow. i didnt realize that a fidddle player could rip harder than other guitar players!

[servusgeschaeft]

@slickrick134 Mark O'Connor won national fiddle _and_ guitar contests while a teenager.

[singin4joy]

Ya, This is some great pickin' I love the simple acoustic sound...

[SlickSmooth22]

at 0:43 i was looking frantically for Chic Corea haha.

[thedict8or]

two things.

1. though not surprising, i had no idea what a good guitar player mark o'conner is.

2. that is one thin edgar meyer

[Nameez17]

I love these friggin mofo's Just saw Bela at the Quick with the Tuvan throat Ensemble. Check it out...Jingle All The Way

[Lewey8705]

What a great collection of virtuosos, thanks so much for posting this. Does anybody have any idea what key they are playing in? G?

[fyzikfyzik]

it's obvious (mainly from the beginning guitar chord it's E9), that it¨s in E

[DaGuittarMan]

I agree, its in E, the most beginning, but the development I believe is also in E.

[cropsey8019]

These guys are, literally, the best. I can't believe Mark O'Connor on this song. At 3:00 Jerry Douglas is shaking head head as Mark rips it up. I wish they still played together.

[smolville]

I just went through every Bela Fleck tune

on you-tube trying to find this. They played

it once on a soap opera.

[musicianforjesus]

I think Jerrys main guitars are his Sheerhorns now and Beard has a Jerry Douglas Signiture Model and Gibson does too.

[dobro07]

i wish jerry would break out that r.q. jones more often..........incredible musicians all of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[VideoSamaritan]

This band was so hot!!! Thanks for posting!!! I can't believe that they only made one CD though! (Thank God I have that!) Oh, one more thing you should know: Bela turns "50" on 10 July'08! If you want to send him a B-day card...here's the address: David Bendett Artists, Inc., 2431 Briarcrest Rd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (This is Bela's Manager and he will see that he gets it) Thanks!

[musicmanstingray212]

Mark O'Connor absolutely rips at guitar, such an amazing natural solo

[vegislav]

Mark O'Connor is my all time favorite flatpicker. He could improvise endlessly, without relying on licks, really unpredictable playing. I regret he didn`t stick to his guitar,

apparently because of elbow problems.

[xms32]

Carpal Tunnel

[wilko2409]

are these guys still together?

[scmm42]

>> are these guys still together?

Nope. They were only together briefly, unfortunately. The one album the produced (The Telluride Sessions) is definitely worth the purchase.

[Laryodienhizer]

I seccond that

[thiger89]

wonderful harmonic

[fyzikfyzik]

lol at 3:00 Jerry Douglas's stupid look :)

but i love this song.

guitar+bassline solo, and then joins other instruments to get to the main theme again!

it makes that song grades!

[carpo101]

ive said it once and i'l say it again, these musicians are a class above.

[mahavishnu009]

Sooooo amazing. It's like classical bluegrass!!!

[bmcgee420]

Yes, we need a STRENGTH IN NUMBERS REUNION!!!

[bluefingaz]

it's the 1st time i've heard them..n am posting this after the 20th time i listened to them in a row!

[Texamigo]

Attention all Listeners/Viewers: Mark O'Connor truly is a genius. For contrast, i.e., consonance and dissonance, listen to Mark and Eddie Davidson doing Tom and Jerry - - - - the quintessential Texas style fiddle tune......In contrast to this it is very sparse, light and snappy - - - but pure O'Connor, Texas style!!!!!

[joelgenest]

i cant stop listening to this. whenever im not watching it its in my head.

[moeron21]

I love jerry douglas shaking his head in the background while oconnor is playing like "damn hes good"

[unitedmadman12]

Oconnor is as good as thile on mandolin, as good as bryan sutton on guitar, and prolly the best violin player as far as the bluegrass allstars go. hes a fucking prodigy

[marshaul]

Yeah but is he as good as Edgar on bass or Béla on banjo? ;-)

[unitedmadman12]

no sir, one of the reasons i love strength in numbers. we need a reunion:)

[BrainFPatterson]

O'Connor won a flamenco competition on guitar aged 10 and was US senior flat-picking champion when only 13!

[danjoeblue]

It amazes me that the guitar player's (Mark O'Conner) main instrument is not even the guitar but the violin and yet he is virtuosic on both. I think I also heard he play purcussion and piano quite well.

[cobrakai20]

I thought the exact same thing when I first saw this. Amazing guitar solo.

[carpo101]

thanks for posting this.

i think the guitar solo is one the finest i have ever heard. the diction the player is incredible.

nice one

[Shushapiller]

where was this filmed and is it available on dvd?

[fyzikfyzik]

oh my god..speechlessnever heard anything like this. groovy guitar solo, awesome melody.. reminds me of hippies a little.

is this kind of music still being created? amazing

[phriendlyphool]

this music is still around but not the band...just look for any of the musicians on here...they all do great stuff along the same lines and they all play on each others albums a lot despite not being a band...this band was short lived but amazing

[artistandwriter]

Absolutely one of the great acoustic confluences of our lifetimes thanks for posting this and all the others!

[J214]

There is something about the guitar solo in this... with the madolin chop in the back and hte bqass going. its on of those moments with chemistry or something but i love listening to it.

[2gtrmike]

I believe this band bent many a musicians ear and changed bluegrass

Red Neck Jazz ?

[Volksong]

It's great that these guys continue to appear on each other's albums, and pull in other similar artists into their scene, but I'd love to see them do another album and tour together. This stuff is still the best!

[bmcgee420]

I have enlightened SO MANY people with this ACL show vid! Doesn't get any better than this!

[padseenoodle]

That album has got to be in my top 5 favorites.

[kparkermurphy]

it's tuned in fifths, bass is in fourths

[jeff98wilson]

Mark O'Connor did some good work with Steve Morse and co. on The Dregs' Industry Standard (1982). I'd like to see Morse give that solo a try. Must be different for him since a violin is tuned in perfect fourths. Or is it perfect fifths? Either way, it's the opposite of guitar but the same as a mandolin.