The Best (Leo Kottke album)

Infobox Album |
Name = The Best
Type = compilation album
Artist = Leo Kottke


Released = 1976
Recorded =
Genre = Folk
Length =
Label = Capitol (11867)
Producer = Denny Bruce
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:39ftxq8aldse link]
Last album = "Leo Kottke"
(1976)
This album = "The Best"
(1976)
Next album = "Burnt Lips"
(1978)

"The Best" is a compilation double album of American guitarist Leo Kottke's releases on the Capitol label. The liner notes were written by Dr. Demento.

The Rhino box set release "Anthology" covers the first 15 years of Kottke's career and includes selections from the Takoma, Capitol, and Chrysalis releases along with extensive liner notes. Capitol later released another compilation package titled "The Best of Leo Kottke". Chrysalis released "Essential Leo Kottke" covering Kottke's mid-career releases on that label. Blue Note Records also released two compilations, "The Best of the Capitol Years" and "The Best of the Chrysalis Years" on CD in 2003.

"The Best" was re-issued on CD by BGO (CD277) in 1996.

Track listing

*All songs by Leo Kottke except as noted.
*The four original records were labeled, in order, "Acoustic", "Electric", "Live", and "Singing"
*All songs taken from "Mudlark", "Greenhouse", "Ice Water", "My Feet are Smiling", "Dreams and All That Stuff", and "Chewing Pine"
*The 1996 CD release included two discs.

ide one

# "Machine No. 2" – 3:00
# "Cripple Creek" (Traditional) – 3:07
# "Bouree" (J. S. Bach) – 1:26
# "When Shrimps Learn to Whistle" – 3:28
# "Bill Cheatham" (Traditional) – 1:45
# "The Song of the Swamp" – 3:00
# "Last Steam Engine Train" (John Fahey) – 3:02

ide two

# "Bean Time" – 2:32
# "The Spanish Entomologist" – 2:19
# "Short Stories" (Leo Kottke, Cal Hand) – 3:01
# "Hole in the Day" – 2:50
# "Mona Roy" – 1:48
# "Venezuela, There You Go" – 3:08

ide three

# "Monkey Lust" (Kottke, Kim Fowley) – 1:48
# "Busted Bicycle" – 2:37
# "June Bug" – 2:06
# "Eggtooth" (Kottke, Johnson) – 5:15
# "Stealing" – 1:34
# "Living in the Country" (Pete Seeger) – 1:36
# "Medley Crow River Waltz/Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring/Jack Fig" – 7:20

ide four

# "Standing in My Shoes" (Kottke, Bruce) – 4:01
# "Bumblebee" – 3:39
# "Eight Miles High" (Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark) – 3:33
# "Tilt Billings and the Student Prince" (Leo Kottke, Ron Nagle) – 4:56
# "Pamela Brown" (Tom T. Hall) – 4:02
# "Standing on the Outside" (Leo Kottke, Mary Kottke) – 2:29
# "Power Failure" (Gary Brooker, Keith Reid) – 2:20

Personnel

*Leo Kottke - 6 & 12-string guitar, vocals
*Bill Barber - piano
*Bill Berg - drums
*Kenny Buttrey - drums
*Roy Estrada - bass
*Kim Fowley - vocals
*Cal Hand - pedal steel guitar
*Paul Lagos - drums
*Wayne Moss - bass
*Larry Taylor - bass

External links

* [http://leokottkeconnection.bravehost.com/reviews/best.html The Best liner notes]
* [http://www.leokottke.com Leo Kottke's official site]
* [http://www.guitarmusic.org Unofficial Leo Kottke web site] (fan site)
* [http://www.leokottkeconnection.bravehost.com/capitol.html The Capitol Years]