Left of Cool is the first album to feature
Jeff Coffin, who had already toured with the band after the departure of
Howard Levy. The album cover depicts
Future Man,
Béla Fleck, and
Victor Wooten standing on Coffin's head.
On the Live at the Quick DVD, Fleck describes how, after the melody for "Big Country" came to him, he called his answering machine and sang it so it would not be lost.
A different arrangement of "Sojourn of Arjuna" appears on Victor Wooten's album What Did He Say? released the previous year.
In his
Allmusic review, music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "Often, it's enjoyable to just hear them jam; however, for most fans, the greatest pleasure on Left of Cool will be finding the little details within the solos. The opener, 'Throwdown at the Hoedown', is one of a handful of cuts that really makes a lasting impression."[1]
Track listing
Note: the
liner notes swap tracks 6 and 7 & 11 and 12. The list below reflects the tracks as they are ordered on the album itself.