MIKE GORDON/LEO KOTTKE
"SIXTY SIX STEPS"
AUGUST 23, 2005
50:46
1/Living in the Country (Seeger) 3:51
2/The Grid (Gordon) 3:17
3/Oh Well (Green) 3:22
4/Rings (Harvey, Reeves) 4:30
5/Cherry County (Kottke) 2:30
6/Sweet Emotion (Thomas, Tyler) 5:32
7/The Stolen Quiet (Gordon) 3:06
8/Balloon (Kottke) 3:26
9/Over the Dam (Gordon, Linitz) 3:40
10/Can't Hang (Gordon) 1:54
11/From Spink to Correctionville (Kottke) 2:28
12/Ya Mar (Ferguson) 5:01
13/Twice (Kottke) 4:10
14/Invisible (Gordon, Linitz) 6:35
Mike Gordon - Bass, Vocals
Leo Kottke - Guitar, Vocals
Jared Slomoff - Vocals
Neil Symonette - Percussion, Chimes, Cymbals, Drums, Triangle, Claves, Caxixi, Cajon, Madal, Shaker, Cowbell, Guiro, Talking Drum, Agogo Bell, Udu, Bell Tree, Cabasa, Flexatones, Frame Drum
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
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. "With a happy tune, anyone can become a singer" is a line from "Rings," an old Kottke gem revitalized here, and it fits the participants' scraggly style. Some tunes, such as Gordon's "Stolen Quiet," are so light and airy that they nearly float away. But they are saved by the stunning musicianship and often bizarre, stream-of-consciousness lyrics that veer between silly and thought-provoking. Hence, a few more instrumentals might be in order if there are future editions of this undeniably successful collaboration. Covers of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" and — more astonishingly — Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" seem a bit out of place, but nonetheless provide the album with head-turning highlights. The latter works off a slinky, swampy, funk bass-driven groove that affords a terrific framework for both musicians' talents. Kottke goes solo on "From Spink to Correctionville" and reprises his own "Twice," a terrific tune that benefits from the Caribbean arrangement. Production from David Z., which keeps the spaces open, and nearly perfect percussion assistance from Neil Symonette are the less obvious pieces that combine to put this puzzle together so effectively.
BIOGRAPHY (MIKE GORDON)
by Matt Collar
The bassist/vocalist for the jam band Phish, Mike Gordon is also a multi-instrumentalist and filmmaker. Born in Sudbury, MA, in 1963, Gordon formed his first band in high school. In 1983, while attending the University of Vermont, he formed the jam band Phish along with guitarists Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth and drummer Jon Fishman. On his own, Gordon has an inclination toward bluegrass and Jewish folk music and plays a variety of instruments including guitar, banjo, and piano. An avid filmmaker and photographer, Gordon has shot music videos for Phish and directed the 2000 feature film Outside Out. He released his debut solo album, Inside In, on Ropeadope in 2003. Green Sparrow followed on Rounder in 2008. Gordon stuck with Rounder for his eclectic 2010 effort Moss.
BIOGRAPHY (LEO KOTTKE)
by Jason Ankeny
Innovative acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke was born September 11, 1945, in Athens, GA. Raised in 12 different states, he absorbed a variety of musical influences as a child, flirting with both violin and trombone before trying his hand at the guitar at age 11. After developing a love for the country-blues of Mississippi John Hurt, Kottke lost much of the hearing in his left ear as a result of a mishap with a firecracker; during a later tenure in the Naval Reserve, his right ear suffered permanent damage during firing practice.
Discharged due to his impairment, Kottke entered college, dropping out after several years to hitchhike across the country as an itinerant musician. After settling in the Twin Cities area and becoming a fixture on the city's folk club circuit, he issued his 1969 debut LP, Twelve String Blues, recorded live at Minneapolis' Scholar Coffee House, on the tiny Oblivion label. After sending 1970's Circle 'Round the Sun to guitarist John Fahey, Kottke was signed by Fahey's manager Denny Bruce, who soon secured a deal with Capitol.
Kottke's 1971 major-label debut, Mudlark, positioned him somewhat uneasily in the singer/songwriter vein, despite his own wishes to remain an instrumental performer; in the liner notes to 1972's 6- and 12-String Guitar, issued on Fahey's Takoma label, he even described his own voice as "geese farts on a muggy day." Still, despite battles with label heads as well as with Bruce, Kottke flourished during his tenure on Capitol, as records like 1972's Greenhouse and 1973's live My Feet Are Smiling and Ice Water found him branching out with guest musicians and unusual song covers drawing on folk, rock, jazz, and bluegrass, all the while honing his propulsive fingerpicking mastery.
With 1975's Chewing Pine, Kottke reached the U.S. Top 50 for the first time; he also gained an international cult following thanks to his performances at folk festivals the world over. With his 1976 self-titled release, he moved to the Chrysalis label, although sales diminished for LPs including 1978's Burnt Lips, 1979's Balance, and 1980's Live in Europe. After 1983's T-Bone Burnett-produced Time Step, Kottke's contract with Chrysalis ended, and he moved over to the independent Private Music label.
Kottke's powerful technique, combined with his prolific output and extensive touring schedule, resulted in a lingering pain in his hands that began to hamper his playing in the middle of the 1980s. Consequently, the beginning of his tenure on Private Music coincided with the beginnings of a shift in technique closer to classical guitar performance; he also slowed his productivity, and after 1986's reflective A Shout Toward Noon, he did not re-enter the studio before recording Regards from Chuck Pink in 1988.
Simultaneously, Kottke cut back dramatically on his live schedule, settling comfortably into his role as a cult figure. He released an album annually from 1989 to 1991, following My Father's Face with That's What and finally Great Big Boy, which featured a guest appearance from Lyle Lovett. Two years later, Kottke returned with Peculiaroso, which featured production by Rickie Lee Jones. The solo One Guitar, No Vocals followed in 1999, but it was his collaboration with Phish bassist Mike Gordon, Clone, that caught audiences' attention in 2002. Kottke returned to the solo realm with 2004's Try and Stop Me, released on Bluebird. In 2005, Kottke collaborated with Phish bassist Mike Gordon on Sixty Six Steps.
"SIXTY SIX STEPS"
AUGUST 23, 2005
50:46
1/Living in the Country (Seeger) 3:51
2/The Grid (Gordon) 3:17
3/Oh Well (Green) 3:22
4/Rings (Harvey, Reeves) 4:30
5/Cherry County (Kottke) 2:30
6/Sweet Emotion (Thomas, Tyler) 5:32
7/The Stolen Quiet (Gordon) 3:06
8/Balloon (Kottke) 3:26
9/Over the Dam (Gordon, Linitz) 3:40
10/Can't Hang (Gordon) 1:54
11/From Spink to Correctionville (Kottke) 2:28
12/Ya Mar (Ferguson) 5:01
13/Twice (Kottke) 4:10
14/Invisible (Gordon, Linitz) 6:35
Mike Gordon - Bass, Vocals
Leo Kottke - Guitar, Vocals
Jared Slomoff - Vocals
Neil Symonette - Percussion, Chimes, Cymbals, Drums, Triangle, Claves, Caxixi, Cajon, Madal, Shaker, Cowbell, Guiro, Talking Drum, Agogo Bell, Udu, Bell Tree, Cabasa, Flexatones, Frame Drum
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
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. "With a happy tune, anyone can become a singer" is a line from "Rings," an old Kottke gem revitalized here, and it fits the participants' scraggly style. Some tunes, such as Gordon's "Stolen Quiet," are so light and airy that they nearly float away. But they are saved by the stunning musicianship and often bizarre, stream-of-consciousness lyrics that veer between silly and thought-provoking. Hence, a few more instrumentals might be in order if there are future editions of this undeniably successful collaboration. Covers of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" and — more astonishingly — Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" seem a bit out of place, but nonetheless provide the album with head-turning highlights. The latter works off a slinky, swampy, funk bass-driven groove that affords a terrific framework for both musicians' talents. Kottke goes solo on "From Spink to Correctionville" and reprises his own "Twice," a terrific tune that benefits from the Caribbean arrangement. Production from David Z., which keeps the spaces open, and nearly perfect percussion assistance from Neil Symonette are the less obvious pieces that combine to put this puzzle together so effectively.
BIOGRAPHY (MIKE GORDON)
by Matt Collar
The bassist/vocalist for the jam band Phish, Mike Gordon is also a multi-instrumentalist and filmmaker. Born in Sudbury, MA, in 1963, Gordon formed his first band in high school. In 1983, while attending the University of Vermont, he formed the jam band Phish along with guitarists Trey Anastasio and Jeff Holdsworth and drummer Jon Fishman. On his own, Gordon has an inclination toward bluegrass and Jewish folk music and plays a variety of instruments including guitar, banjo, and piano. An avid filmmaker and photographer, Gordon has shot music videos for Phish and directed the 2000 feature film Outside Out. He released his debut solo album, Inside In, on Ropeadope in 2003. Green Sparrow followed on Rounder in 2008. Gordon stuck with Rounder for his eclectic 2010 effort Moss.
BIOGRAPHY (LEO KOTTKE)
by Jason Ankeny
Innovative acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke was born September 11, 1945, in Athens, GA. Raised in 12 different states, he absorbed a variety of musical influences as a child, flirting with both violin and trombone before trying his hand at the guitar at age 11. After developing a love for the country-blues of Mississippi John Hurt, Kottke lost much of the hearing in his left ear as a result of a mishap with a firecracker; during a later tenure in the Naval Reserve, his right ear suffered permanent damage during firing practice.
Discharged due to his impairment, Kottke entered college, dropping out after several years to hitchhike across the country as an itinerant musician. After settling in the Twin Cities area and becoming a fixture on the city's folk club circuit, he issued his 1969 debut LP, Twelve String Blues, recorded live at Minneapolis' Scholar Coffee House, on the tiny Oblivion label. After sending 1970's Circle 'Round the Sun to guitarist John Fahey, Kottke was signed by Fahey's manager Denny Bruce, who soon secured a deal with Capitol.
Kottke's 1971 major-label debut, Mudlark, positioned him somewhat uneasily in the singer/songwriter vein, despite his own wishes to remain an instrumental performer; in the liner notes to 1972's 6- and 12-String Guitar, issued on Fahey's Takoma label, he even described his own voice as "geese farts on a muggy day." Still, despite battles with label heads as well as with Bruce, Kottke flourished during his tenure on Capitol, as records like 1972's Greenhouse and 1973's live My Feet Are Smiling and Ice Water found him branching out with guest musicians and unusual song covers drawing on folk, rock, jazz, and bluegrass, all the while honing his propulsive fingerpicking mastery.
With 1975's Chewing Pine, Kottke reached the U.S. Top 50 for the first time; he also gained an international cult following thanks to his performances at folk festivals the world over. With his 1976 self-titled release, he moved to the Chrysalis label, although sales diminished for LPs including 1978's Burnt Lips, 1979's Balance, and 1980's Live in Europe. After 1983's T-Bone Burnett-produced Time Step, Kottke's contract with Chrysalis ended, and he moved over to the independent Private Music label.
Kottke's powerful technique, combined with his prolific output and extensive touring schedule, resulted in a lingering pain in his hands that began to hamper his playing in the middle of the 1980s. Consequently, the beginning of his tenure on Private Music coincided with the beginnings of a shift in technique closer to classical guitar performance; he also slowed his productivity, and after 1986's reflective A Shout Toward Noon, he did not re-enter the studio before recording Regards from Chuck Pink in 1988.
Simultaneously, Kottke cut back dramatically on his live schedule, settling comfortably into his role as a cult figure. He released an album annually from 1989 to 1991, following My Father's Face with That's What and finally Great Big Boy, which featured a guest appearance from Lyle Lovett. Two years later, Kottke returned with Peculiaroso, which featured production by Rickie Lee Jones. The solo One Guitar, No Vocals followed in 1999, but it was his collaboration with Phish bassist Mike Gordon, Clone, that caught audiences' attention in 2002. Kottke returned to the solo realm with 2004's Try and Stop Me, released on Bluebird. In 2005, Kottke collaborated with Phish bassist Mike Gordon on Sixty Six Steps.
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