Mild Leo Kottke

Leo Kottke - Time Step (1983) {Chrysalis BGOCD255 rel 1995}
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© 1983, 1995 Chrysalis Records / BGO Records | BGOCD255
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

Having followed Leo Kottke since 1974 I can honestly say this album is a keeper. All the tunes are vintage Kottke but "Rings", written as sort of a joke by Alex Harvey and Ed Reeves, is fantastic. Time Step is Kottke's last recording on the Chrysalis label. It is the first of two Kottke albums produced by T-Bone Burnett, the second being My Father's Face. Guests include Albert Lee and Emmylou Harris. After the release of Time Step Kottke went into a three-year seclusion. When he returned later in 1986, it was as a guest musician on The Blind Leading the Naked by Violent Femmes, then his own releases with a new direction and picking style.

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon - Sixty Six Steps (2005) {RCA Victor 82876 68909-2}
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© 2005 RCA Victor | 82876 68909-2
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Americana / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

The second collaboration of Leo Kottke with ex-Phish bassist Mike Gordon finds the duo exploring breezy Caribbean sounds, with a few surprise covers. The musicians work wonderfully together, with Gordon's meaty yet malleable bass grounding and darting around Kottke's distinctive and agile fingerpicked lines. Percussion reinforces the island sound (the album was recorded at the famous Compass Point Studios in Nassau) and provides a terrific backbone for the album's tropical approach. Neither Gordon nor Kottke have great (or even good) voices – the bassist's is particularly thin – but they admirably dig into the songs, singing on about half of the tracks with a charming, easygoing quality that suits the material and shows they are enjoying this ride.

Leo Kottke - One Guitar, No Vocals (1999) {Private Music–BMG 01005821712}
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© 1999 Private Music / BMG | 01005 82171 2
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

Leo Kottke has always been known primarily as a guitarist, yet it has been a number of years since he's released a solo guitar record, which is what makes One Guitar, No Vocals welcome. Kottke is at his most impressive at his most intimate, turning out alternately gentle and intense solo guitar pieces. No matter how complex the music is – and it is, at minimum, moderately complex – Kottke pulls it off with grace, making it all seem easy.

Leo Kottke - That's What (1990) {Private Music 260 883}
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© 1990 Private Music | 260 883
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz / Jazz Blues / New Acoustic

Leo Kottke has always been a highly idiosyncratic guitar player whose music is infused with his wry sense of humor. That's What is no exception, with Kottke's guitar work drawing from jazzy, blues and folk sources. Four of the tunes feature electric guitar, with some lively electric and string bass by sideman Billy Peterson, who also contributes touches of percussion, synth, piano and, on one piece, Farfisa organ.

Leo Kottke & Mike Gordon - Clone (2002) {RCA Victor 01934-11662-2}
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© 2002 RCA Victor / Private Music / BMG | 01934-11662-2
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

Phish bassist Mike Gordon and acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke are a natural multi-faceted collaboration. Akin to the cerebral interplay of the Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady of Hot Tuna and the early-'70s rootsy incarnation of the Grateful Dead, Kottke and Gordon complete each other's musical thoughts as they joyfully rumble through folk, blues, country, and bluegrass cuts with a breezy demeanor. Gordon's thick timbre and non-conformist phrasing compliment Kottke's polyrhythmic tendencies from cut to cut.

Leo Kottke - Ice Water (1974) {One Way Records S21-18458 rel 1996}
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© 1974, 1996 Capitol Records / One Way Records / GEMA SP | S21-18458
Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / New Acoustic

This is a good record, though not the Leo Kottke album to start with, as it is not representative of his usual work – it's mostly a vocal record, and a very country-flavored record at that, with Kottke's baritone, reminiscent in some ways of Leonard Cohen (and even moving into what one might consider Jim Morrison territory), serving as the dominant instrument on six of the ten tracks. His flashy 12-string playing and Cal Hand's Dobro do come to the fore on "Tilt Billings and the Student Prince." Tom T. Hall and Ron Elliott of the Beau Brummels are among the songwriters represented. Among the intrumentals, "A Good Egg" is just the kind of light-fingered, light-textured virtuoso piece that one buys a Leo Kottke album expecting to find, and much of the rest shows off his talents in some unexpected directions. The sound on the One Way label CD reissue is first rate as well.

Leo Kottke - 6- and 12-String Guitar (1969) {Takoma TSA-6503-6 rel 2004}
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© 1969, 2004 Takoma / Fantasy | TSA-6503-6
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

Leo Kottke's wide-release debut came about after he sent a cassette to John Fahey's Takoma label. Not surprisingly, it recalls Fahey's work in a number of respects: the synthesis of numerous influences from blues, pop, classical, and folk styles, the weirdly titled instrumentals, even the tongue-in-cheek liner notes. Kottke's brand of virtuosity, however, is more soothing and easy on the ear than Fahey's. It's far from sappy, though, the rich and resonant picking intimating some underlying restlessness, like peaceful open fields after a storm. Establishing much of the territory Kottke was to explore throughout his career, this release was also one of his most popular, eventually selling over 500,000 copies.

Leo Kottke - Standing In My Shoes (1997) {Private Music 01005821462}
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© 1997 Private Music / BMG | 01005 82146 2
Finger-Picked Guitar / Progressive Folk / Jazz Blues / Contemporary Folk / New Acoustic

Working with former Prince sideman David Z, Leo Kottke comes up with one of his most unusual records with Standing in My Shoes. David Z doesn't necessarily bring Kottke toward funk, but the spare rhythm section gives the guitarist a stronger sense of groove than ever before, and Kottke really shines in such a setting. His solos are loose and swinging, and even his trio of vocal numbers have a charming, carefree quality. Standing in My Shoes does bog down occasionally, particularly when the execution is more compelling than the material, but on the whole, it is one of his more fascinating records of the '90s.