- 6- and 12-String Guitar
Infobox Album |
Name = 6- and 12-String Guitar
Type =Album
Artist =Leo Kottke
Released = 1969
Recorded = Empire Photo-Sound,Minneapolis, MN
Genre = Folk
Length = 34:36
Label = Takoma (C1024) (later as TAK 7024)
Producer =
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:003gtq1zbu43 link]
*"Rolling Stone " (favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/leokottke/albums/album/245954/review/6212647/6_and_12string_guitar link] |
Last album = "12-String Blues "
(1969)
This album = "6- and 12-String Guitar"
(1969)
Next album = "Circle Round The Sun "
(1970)"6- and 12-String Guitar" is the second album by
Leo Kottke , a solo instrumentalsteel-string acoustic guitar album originally released by John Fahey'sTakoma Records in 1969. It is popularly known as the Armadillo album after the animal illustrated in the distinctive cover art (by Annie Elliott). Although Kottke has recorded dozens of additional albums, "6- and 12-String Guitar" remains Kottke's best-known album.The album showcases Kottke's early, hard-driving polyphonic
finger-picking style (which eventually led to him developingtendonitis and having to change his playing approach). Even at the fastest tempos the notes are clean and crisp, with a distinctive tone. True to its title, the album contains performances on both 6- and 12-stringacoustic guitars , some using a slide. Although Kottke has included vocals in other albums, this album is all instrumental — the liner notes contained Kottke's famous apology that his voice "sounds like geese farts on a muggy day."All the tracks were written by Kottke except "
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring ", Kottke's arrangement of the familiar Bach piece.This album has been re-released as an SACD.
Track listing (with Kottke's notes)
ide one
# "The Driving of the Year Nail" - 1:54 "("From an old Etruscan drawing of a sperm cell")"
# "The Last of the Arkansas Greyhounds" - 3:18 "("A terror-filled escape on a bus from a man fired from Beaumont ranch")"
# "Ojo" - 2:14 "("Ojo Caliente where Zuni hid from Esteban, the Moor, and the Spaniards")"
# "Crow River Waltz" - 3:20 "("A prayer for the demise of the canoe and the radar trap without which Federal prisons will have to be rebuilt to accommodate prepubescence")"
# "The Sailor's Grave on the Prairie" - 2:34 "("Originally written to commemorate Nedicks and a Minneapolis musician's contempt for the three a.m. cheeseburger with a nickel slice of raw")"
# "Vaseline Machine Gun" - 3:11 "("1) for waking up nude in a sleeping bag on the shore of the Atlantic surrounded by a volleyball game at high noon, and 2) for the end of the volleyball game")"ide two
# "Jack Fig" - 2:14 "("A reluctant lament")"
# "Watermelon" - 3:12 "("While at Watermelon Park Music Festival I had the opportunity to play banjo in the middle of the night for a wandering drunk. When I finished he vomited -- an astute comment on my playing. Made me feel very distinguished")"
# "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring " (J.S. Bach) - 2:24 "("The engineer called this the ancient joy of man's desire. (Bach had twenty children because his organ didn't have any stops)")"
# "The Fisherman" - 2:32 "("This is about the mad fishermen of the North whoseice fishing spots resemble national shrines")"
# "The Tennessee Toad" - 2:40 "("Who made an epic journey from Ohio to Tennessee")"
# "Busted Bicycle" - 2:48 "("Reluctance")"
# "The Brain of the Purple Mountain" - 2:11 "("From A.L. Tennyson")"
# "Coolidge Rising" - 2:50 "("While rising from the sink, cupboard doors opened and engulfed his head; while turning to the right to avoid the whole incident he walked into a refrigerator -- which afforded a good chin rest for staring at some bananas in a basket")"All songs by Leo Kottke except as noted
Personnel
* Leo Kottke - 6- & 12-string guitars
Cover design by Annie Elliott (who also did the cover for
12-String Blues )External links
* Read some contemporary and retrospective reviews of [http://www.leokottkeconnection.bravehost.com/6and12.html "6 & 12-String Guitar"]
* [http://www.leokottke.com Leo Kottke's official site]
* [http://www.guitarmusic.org Unofficial Leo Kottke web site] (fan site)
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