M1 Cripple Creek (Traditional), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:56)....................................................................
M2 Stealing (Kottke), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:35)....................................................................................
M3 Machine #2 (Kottke), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (3:00)...............................................................................
M4 Bourree (J.S. Bach), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:26).................................................................................
M5 Easter (Kottke), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (3:18)....................................................................
M6 June Bug (Kottke), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (2:20)...............................................................
M7 Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring (J.S.Bach), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (2:00).............................
M8 Twilight Property (Kottke), Dreams and All That Stuff, Capitol Records 1974 (3:11)..........................................
M9 Vertical Trees (Kottke), Dreams and All That Stuff, Capitol Records 1974 (2:34)
Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the artistry of American composer, arranger, and acoustic guitarist LEO KOTTKE. Leo Kottke was born in 1945 in Athens Georgia. As a youth he lived in several states, including Oklahoma ,,and Missouri and Minnesota and eventually settled in the Twin Cities. He released his first record on the Oblivion label in 1969 … and just 2 years later he signed on with Capitol Records … it was 1971 he was just 25 years old.
Kottke produces instrumental songs, mostly…. but on a few songs he adds his vocals. I selected the instrumental songs because I believe these best showcase his unique guitar and arrangement talent. For his guitars, Kottke uses signature Taylor 12-string and Taylor 6 string.. Kottke plays guitar by an innovative style of fingerpicking, and his style is considered “unconventional”. His style enables the mimicking of a rhythm section, His genres of music include jazz, rock, bluegrass, classical, and folk.
Kottke has also been “Different” as far his guitar tuning. He’s used different variations ranging from open tuning to tuning his guitar two steps below the traditional tuning. This produces a full and warm guitar sound.
When Kottke was younger, he suffered significant hearing loss from two events - - first from a firecracker incident as a youngster, and later during live-fire exercises while serving in the Naval Reserves.
He was inducted into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame in 1978 and scored two Grammy nominations --- 1988 and 1991
Kottke has released 40 records in 40 year period.