Kottke Live Is Simply Amazing

I own very album Leo Kottke has ever released (including the long out-of-print Circle 'Round the Sun). I first bought this on vinyl as an import when it was released in 1980. For my money, no one plays guitar like Kottke. Most of these songs are from Kottke's Chrysalis albums. And since Chrysalis has deleted their entire Kottke catalog except Essential Leo Kottke, this is the only way to hear some of these Kottke gems. Highlights include the seven-minute-plus "Open Country Joy: Theme and Adhesions." This CD rerelease also adds two bonus cuts: the instrumental "Range" and Kottke's lovely version of the Tom T. Hall chestnut "Pamela Brown," which first appeared on the Capitol album Ice Water. This album was recorded while Kottke was in Europe touring in support of Procol Harum. Even if you already own the studio versions of these songs, this will make a nice addition to your collection. RECOMMENDED

Studio recordings have more life than this

Leo Kottke Live in Europe has got to be one of the driest in-concert recordings I've ever heard from anybody. I am a big fan of Kottke, but it's really hard to love this CD because it's like a dead fish.

Part of that is not his fault though. In the liner notes for his latest live album, he describes the selection process for Live in Europe: the recording engineers would use screwdrivers to knock the tapeheads back into motion when they stopped spinning. As a result, most good takes of the concerts had these abrasive klunks in them. So naturally, they had to assemble this recording from anything that wasn't ruined. And it suffers.

Kottke's playing remains grand. He can still tear up a 12 string guitar as well as the best of them, but the sound quality does not do it justice. The sonics are muffled and weak, like someone threw a big, thick blanket over your speaker. Sometimes, the track fades out before you hear an audience reaction to a song, which destroys the feeling of this "live" performance you are hearing. And if anything, you are left with a desire to hear the original studio recordings.

When I saw him perform, he explained that this album was a mistake, just a contractual obligation that went wrong. This is for people who want all things Kottke. Others don't need to bother.