i really like Leo Kottke

If you're into him, what are his best albums (like, what should I get)

and, if I like this stuff, what am I also going to like?

Well, which Leo Kotke do you like? The early records (probably on Lone Pine or a label with a similar name - something involving a tree...) had him playing a 12 string with finger picks; frenetic, flashy and to me, pretty damned annoying. But 10 or 12 years ago, he quit using the picks and concentrated more on a 6 string acoustic; his sound improved immensely. So early records and recent records are very different.

Michael Hedges

Maybe you wanna check an album simply called "Leo Kottke Guitar Music", could be you would also be liking Sammy Vomácka and maybe not too similar, but nice on steel strings as well and even more virtuos Al Di Meola. Admittedly though there are only a few pieces of him that really kick ass. The rest is more like playing around.
( And BTW, better never buy "Friday Night in San Francisco" where he plays with Paco de Lucia and McLaughlin although it was a success among "laymen". It would only be distracting from each´s best works as they don´t cooperate at all on this careless gig, merely each trying to prove their skills with less regard of playing a nice piece of music together. Just awful egomania obviously without too much of rehearsal.)

Ruphus

Definitely the later stuff. Apparently Kottke had to relearn to play after some bad habits caught up with him, and the later stuff is way more happening and way less glib.

There's a great anthology, can't remember the name. Look for the tune "Monkey Lust" dfegad (well, wrong color fluid...)

I second the Michael Hedges motion. Start with "Aerial Boundaries" and "Breakfast In The Fields".

My first exposure to Leo Kottke was "Six and Twelve String Guitar". I highly recommend this album, FWIW. Also, the Michael Hedges recommendation is right on the money, especially "Aerial Boundaries".

In a previous life I worked for Mr. Kottke.

As far as I know he stopped using picks in 1977 or 1978.

"Guitar Music" is one of his better efforts despite the fact that I was involved with it.

Leo is very intelligent, humorous, and he practices his ass off. He is very serious about his music and career.

He plays a Latch Lake "AcoustaGlide" guitar slide which he helped to design.

The most pain that I have ever experienced from laughter happened to me one night in Bellingham Washington when I first heard Leo's "Chicken Story".

It's about a 10 minute epic tale, and after three or four minutes I couldn't see and could barely breathe I was laughing so hard. The last 6 minutes were an exquisite combination of pain and paroxysms of laughter, and I was supposed to be running FOH at the time.

Go see him live if you ever get the chance. You will never see another finger picker of such skill or humor. The amount of music that he can get out of an acoustic guitar defies all reason.

After my first show with Leo in Europe, the Tour Director checked the guitars looking for tape players because he didn't believe that one person could play all of that music by himself. And this guy had previously toured with Leo.

If you like Leo, you may like John Fahey, and Phil Heywood.

wurly
Latch Lake Music

Leo plays a Taylor 12 string these days, in addition to whatever else. I could smell those guitars from 200' feet away.

John Fahey is absolutely fantastic. For sheer soul, I gotta say he's one up on Kottke. For chops, he's several down. Who isn't?

When I was but a lad I stumbled across a copy of "The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death" in a Haight-Ashbury music store. I thought for years it was one of the less than 100 originally printed, but on getting ahold of a new anthology with liner notes by Dr. Demento (they're old friends and neighbors), I learned mine was a reissue a few years later. Still unbelievable rambling complete MUSIC.

I remember being at Stanford Jazz Camp with a guitarist friend, and after hearing amazing jazz players rip all day and night, we would go back to the room and listen to "Blind Joe Death" again and again, convinced thoroughly that Fahey's musical understanding was far beyond anything we were getting in jazz land. A debatable conclusion, for sure, but how COMPLETE the MUSIC was out of that old guitar!

I love that tune "I am the Resurrection" from "Blind Joe Death". He makes the guitar sound like some kind of wild exotic Indian primitive instument. That cured me from ever pursuing my interest in all the world's neat little guitar-like instruments- it can all be wrung out of a dreadnought, and will be louder and bolder to boot!

Other great album title from Fahey: "The Dance of Death and Other Plantation Favorites".

His theory is that all that sells is Death and Christmas, so all his albums are themed one way or the other!

Cool - All I knew is that I have some Leo records from (apparently) the early days, and I really wasn't that knocked out by him until I saw him at the Winnipeg Folk Festival 10-15 years ago. At that point, he wasn't using picks and played his ass off. (And sounded wonderful as well). At some point after that I bought another of his records; he played a 6 string bass on that one. It was quite lovely.

I am loving this thread

But

Should there be something on Gearlsutz just called 'General'?

I like to ask 'musician' questions occasionally (ie What's your fave album from the 70's) but to be honest, it's not moan zone material and there's no other category for it here...

Perhaps there should be a more 'general' thread about 'whatever doesn't fit into these categories' so that when I ask what Leo Kottke's like i'm not getting in the way of people who are just looking for the new KurzweilKSP8RaindirkNEVECloneSpider thread.

I don't want to detract from what gearslutz is about, but also, I want my questions to only be answered by gearslutz, not some 'musos' fuuck

And hey, I'm a muso, that's why I can't stand 'em

Kottke's best is surely "Guitar Music" which came out in 1981. There are some great original and cover tunes on that one. I spent a few years learning how to play many of them.

This was really the introduction of what I call his "stutter" style, which is almost in every tune he has written since and is getting kind of old.

Next you must check out Pierre Bensusan. He will scare the living daylights out of any guitar player or composer. I sat next to Leo Kottke at a Pierre concert in 1984 and Leo was as stunned and depressed as I was after the show. Michael Hedges also wrote a song call "Bensusan" and cited Pierre as "the man".

I was quite involved in recording Pierre's last album "Intuite" which won the AFIM award for Acoustic instrumental album of the year in 2002. Check it out!

Jamie

thanks for the Bensusan tip - I'd never heard of him

he's playing over here (london) on october 5th I'll go and check him out

Also, i've just had a bash at one of his pieces (The Alchemist) which I found as a pdf. Quite good fun with that tuning.

(DADGAD - tuning)

Any ideas what tunings Hedges and Kottke favoured?

If you like Leo you'll like Richard leo Johnson. He's got his own take on that style and I've loved working with him on his new stuff.

He's on blue Note and a few other labels, i believe you can pick it up on amazon.com
Richard's site

Hi
Iwent to a Micheal Hedges Guitar clinic in Everett Wa. in the mid 90's,(I was the foolish guy that showed up without pencil and paper). But I do remember what I call the Micheal Hedges tuning. Stacked fifth's.
Leave high E alone. B down one step to A. G down to a D(same D as string 4)
A. down one to a G. Low E way down to a C. Love IT

Just to clarify (bottom string to top)

CGADAE ?

yes
If you haven't heard hedges yet, hear him first(early stuff, Airiel Boundries on windham hill) Then try stacked fifth's,I don't have a clue as to what notes/chords I'm playing (althought YOU might). without knowing helps put me more in that art side the brain(left ?/right ?)

just read again NO.
it's C (6) G (5) D (4) D (3) A (2) E (1)
Stacked 5th's w/two d's in the middle (The two d's of different guage strings give it a cool chorusey type thing