Leo Kottke suggested listening
 

I recently discovered Leo Kottke having seen him perform on a tour he is doing with Keller Williams. Needless to say....I was blown away. I know that six and twelve string guitars is a primer and I have that. He has a huge catalog. Can anyone suggest a few more critical pick albums?

Thanks

There are so many. I guess if I had to pick one to go along with 6 & 12 String Guitar it would be One Guitar No Vocals (1999).

The 2-disc "Leo Kottke Anthology" and the live "Home & Away Revisited" DVD.

Phil

I like A Shout Toward Noon.

(My wife and I saw that show in Beverly, MA, and we thought it was actually kind of a disappointment. Leo opened. I felt it took a while for Leo to get going. His last few numbers were good, some with KW. We left during the second half when Keller Williams was soloing. I had never heard of Williams before the show. Not really that musical (to me), and the lyrics were all about him. He had an act and liked controlling the audience. The audience was a bit raucous during both sets. Maybe I'm too old. The last time I saw Leo was around 1985.)

I think every Kottke record has good stuff on it. I've always liked "Greenhouse" of the records not mentioned yet. One cut on it "Tiny Island" would be on my Desert Island disk list, and apropos too.

I recommend "My Feet Are Smiling", a live album from 1973. Just Leo and his guitar. Fantastic stuff. It contains my favorite version of "Living in the Country".

And my favorite version of jesu, joy of man's desiring that Kottke does. Way cooler than the version on 6 and 12 string guitar.

I'll echo the suggestion for one guitar no vocals. Snorkel is one of my favorite Kottke tunes. A few others were great right away. Others grew on me for sure. Great album.

Leo Kottke Live from 1995 is phenomenal. Twelve string version of "peg Leg" blows my mind.

As an album "Burnt Lips" is my absolute favorite. As an individual song "Hear The Wind Howl" may be my favorite song of all time by anyone.

This is my favorite Kotke tune!: https://youtu.be/A6aUWCSh4Cw

Had dinner with Leo and then spent a couple of hours with him last night after his Madison (WI) show. Always such a treat to hear his stories. Talked a lot about gear and guitars. For example, Leo is a fan of pure, simple DI boxes.

As for the OP's question, for me Greenhouse and Anthology are loaded with wonderful tunes.

OK. Here is my take on this question.


1.) If there is to be one album acquired it should be My Father's Face. Circa 1990, which was produced by T Bone Burnett.

It is a very good overview of who he is as an artist, as it has a combination of solo guitar pieces, instrumentals with a variety of subtle supporting instruments and multi-tracked guitars, and pieces with vocals. These include "William Powell," the revamped "Mona Ray" that became the standard arrangement, and "Jack Gets Up," which was an alt-radio hit for him.

It was recorded with a Taylor 510, which he told me he just pulled off the rack at some L.A. guitar store and decided to buy, and an early version of his 12-string signature model, which was not exactly the same as what ended being sold commercially.

And there is ...

2.) His first live album on a major label, My Feet Are Smiling, which is entirely solo.

Here is found some of the definitive versions of signature tunes associated with his career, including the cover of Paul Siebel's "Louise."

3.) The video "Home and Away" that was shot just before he made My Father's Face. He is still relatively young and spry and at the top of his game, as well as being quite funny. Here too is his Taylor 510 and the prototype of his signature model.

And the modern extended version is worth tracking down. You may even be able to watch it in pieces on YouTube for free.

At the very least find the version of "Air Proofing" from that video (called "Air Proofing 2" on the studio album, A Shout Before Noon.

6 and 12 is required listening and I also like Greenhouse a lot. These are vintage Kottke. HIs newer material is good in many cases and worth listening to, but the essential Kottke is in his late 60s-early 70s material

I wish there was a way to get his performance on Soundstage years ago...that was my first exposure to him and it really stuck...

Feet 'n' Face
 

I agree with OMG. Feet is the best work of the young Leo, and Face is representative of the mature artist. It also contains my favorite, the later version of Mona Ray.

Haven't seen the DVD, will look it up.