A fine piece of whatever

Leo Kottke signed on with Chrysalis in the mid seventies after quitting his torturous contract with Capitol. As a result, starting with this album, he made it a habit to prepare his material adequately before entering the studio. The result, as you might have guessed, is a little more refined.

There is no focus on this album. It really shoots off in all types of directions, but not in an annoying/ambiguous way. All of the songs are instrumental and fairly short (the whole CD is barely a half hour long!), so the whole album flows reasonably well.

Buckaroo is the country tune, Death By Reputation is the bouncy-electric rag, Maroon is the Spanish-influenced ballad, Range and Shadowland are the somber, soundtrack-like tunes, and Up Tempo is the let-it-all-hang-out boogie. There is lots more here to typify Kottke's restless musical interests.

All things considered, this is one of Kottke's five star achievements. It's a bit overlooked because it hasn't been remastered and redistributed, but it's still one of his best and most unique.