Customer Reviews

Legs to Make Us Longer

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

This was exactly the album Kaki King needed to make after her impressive but shapeless debut, Everybody Loves You.

On this record, her major-label debut, Kaki King has retained most of her wild experimentations but refined it with melodic and rhythmic progressions that actually take you to different places rather than aimlessly noodling. And this was exactly what her music needed. Now her compositions create moods and paces, colours and feelings, while her ear-grabbing techniques help to keep things fresh. Witness Solipsist, which sonically and instrumentally sounds a lot like the songs from her debut. But this time, the music moves forward and makes variations, rather than repeat a rhythmic motif (as most of the material did on Everybody Loves You).

Several of the tracks here remind me of Joe Satriani in a good way, in terms of their rock-based rhythms and melodies, and King's chordal harmonies have gotten lusher and more interesting, jazzier yet more engaging, with much better recording to back it up. "Ingots" is my favourite track, opening on a galloping tapped beat with the acoustic guitar entering with mysterious accents, followed by a propelling octave melody and then a nervous, almost unhinged melody based on string slides, ending on a crescendo, building in intensity as no other King track has ever done. The New Age "All the Landslides Birds Have Seen Since the Beginning of the World" is lovely and sparse, dispensing with King's signature rhythmic tricks (again, a great sign of growth, adapting techniques to songs rather than the other way around), and King even attempts to sing on "My Insect Life". Her vocals are really nothing to write home about, being breathy and thin, but just because her main tool is her guitar doesn't mean she shouldn't explore her other dimensions. Even Eric Johnson sings occasionally on his songs, and if it helps convey different layers in the music, all the better.

I see the detractors to King's style and this record, and I understand some of their points. But I'll also say that I love this record, and if you've read enough of my reviews, you know I'm not exactly merciful if I don't like something. To me, this record is a gem, the coming of age of an artist who is fulfilling her potential.

It's kinda scary how much some people really, really hate this CD, saying Kaki King ripped off Hedges and Reed. Well, first off, she studied with Preston Reed and has his blessing "while I steal his best licks," and in an interview in acoustic guitar magazine, she even says that she sounds like Hedges and Reed right now but hopes to develop her own sound over the rest of her life. God, she's 25, if she doesn't have room to grow, what's she gonna do? Anyhoo, I enjoy this record. Alot. Her technique may not be new, but her sense of melody is quite stellar, as is her songwriting. Her note choices convey emotion and image. It is a real feat when one can write a song and tell a story, and not have any words to it. Her playing can be quite frenetic, especially on "magazine," or quite laid back, like on "My insect life," the perfect track to fall asleep to at night. Her strongest songs fall somewhere in between, like "Playing with Pink noise" and "Doing the Wrong Thing," though my personal track is "Ingots," a mid-tempo song you can just put on repeat and enjoy. A few songs seem to be lack luster and too long, but thankfully that doesn't make up most of the album. On a whole, this CD is great, it is a step up from the somewhat undefined "Everybody Loves You." She seems to be starting to develop her own voice and sense of melody, and she's so young, by the time she's as old as Preston Reed is now, I'm sure we can expect something amazing.

Listen to the clips on this site - if you like what you hear, buy this CD. If you don't like what you hear simply because she isn't the late great Michael Hedges, then I'm sorry. You're missing out on some really great music just because it isn't as good as music from the guy that INVENTED THE GENRE OF MUSIC.

I really don't understand the frantic name calling and out right stupidity of a lot of these reviews. This album, like the last, is good for what it is. Strong playing, not randomly beating by any means (come on now), and some good writing skills. Production is good and the sound reflects that.
For those that claim she is not the greatest, at this point in time, this is true. Does that mean this albums is weak, no. Every musician has a generation point, whether they sound like Hedges, Bird, Mozart, Trane, Dylan, Difranco, Radiohead, etc. The beautiful thing is that you can hear these musicians evolve into their own voices through their own work. I am 25 now, and god I hope I haven't figured everything out on my own instrument by now, much less to say that I won't develop as a writer either. How disappointing would that be?

I dont understand the "hype" leaning in either direction on this cd. I am a fan of music and guitar and I bought Kaki's first cd after seeing her open for Keb Mo last year. I thought that "Everybody Loves You" had some great songs on it, but needed a bit more direction in the music. I was looking forward to the release of a new cd and I am not at all disappointed by "Legs to Make Us Longer."

The album starts off with the slow, gorgeous, and almost chilling "Frame." Then it really gets going during "Playing With Pink Noise" which has a lot of guitar percussion and loud chords in it. As far as I can tell, there are only two other songs on the cd that utilize the Preston Reed style of tapping, "Solipsist" and "Magazine." (Looking over the notes inside the cd, I see that there is actually a special thanks to Preston Reed where Kaki thanks him for giving her his blessing for letting her steal his licks. At least she gives credit where credit is obviously due.) The other songs on the album are slower and showcase beautiful (anyone hear melancholy?) writing instead of fast technique. My favorites include "Doing The Wrong Thing," played on an electric guitar with bluegrass drums behind it and some surprise strings at the end, "Lies," a song that has a jazzy introduction but then starts in with a strong rhythm and melody, and "Can the Gwot Save Us?," which is a very slow, very sad song played on an electric lap steel. "My Insect Life," is the only song on which Kaki sings with a soft, childish, almost out of tune, but sweetly endearing voice. This overall is a very strong record that takes a few listens to get in to. Not for someone in need of instant gratification, but well worth it in the end.

Every bit of press I've read online about Kaki is incredibly positive, perhaps fawning at some times. I think that the best way to experience her is live, but admittedly, she isn't for everyone. Dont believe the hype, listen to the clips, and if you like them then buy the cd.

And check out the video for "Pink Noise" on the cd. She really does look cute.

Along with Goren Sollscher's ELEVEN STRING BAROQUE, this CD is just an amzing testament to an incredible guitarist, one you're not likely to hear as incredibly presented as this any time soon. Sollscher takes remarkable leaps with his dynamic 11 string work. Listening to King on this CD, I thought she could give the Viking a run for his money with just the 6 she plucks, strums, hammers and bends.
Having siad that, this is not the heavy mental stuff essayed by Michael Hedges, but more in touch with the melodic spirit embraced by middle period Bruce Cockburn or Leo Kottke. There is a sense of song about every track. There is precious little adornment and effects. None are needed. She is her own woman and she holds down the center brilliantly, while leaping in extraordinary directions. Imagine Bill Bruford playing guitar.
If you have an avocation for the six string, pick this up. This woman is going places. Ezra Mohawk finally has a worthy successor.

A friend of mine told me about this album. She said I'd like it because "it's really different". Well I can safely say that I've really never heard anything quite like this before. Back in the 80's, guitar visionary John McLaughlin put out a solo acoustic album that he titled "My Goal's Beyond". After listening to Legs To Make Us Longer a couple of times, I'm pretty sure that her goal was "beyond" as well. This is no conventional guitar hero--this is a composer bursting with creativity and a deep feeling for the moody and evocative. Can't wait for her next one.

I have suffered through each of the Kaki King discs. I find her music intolerable. She was recomennded to me with such high praise, but both her titles are terrible disappointments. The praise turned out to be hype. These pieces are studies in guitar histrionics, utterly devoid of emotion. This music doesn't begin to rise to the high standards set by her predecessors and peers. She plays lots of notes, but it's a clattering, random cacophany; the techniques she uses look interesting, but only to those who haven't seen them employed by the myriad acoustic guitar visionaries who originated and developed them - most notably, guitar giant Michael Hedges, and the excellent Preston Reed. Unorthodox techniques may attract attention, but in themselves they signify nothing. Kaki King's music is trite, perfunctory, and mechanical. She is a fantastically unimportant guitarist.

For those who say, "do not compare Kaki's music to others," every clear-thinking person recognizes comparative evaluation as the bedrock of objective criticism. At least two Michael Hedges CDs represent the pinnacle of achievement in the acoustic instrumental guitar genre: "Aerial Boundaries," and "Oracle." Leo Kottke's riveting debut, "Six and Twelve String Guitar," is a credible contender as best solo acoustic guitar album ever recorded. Both Hedges and Kottke have elevated the world of acoustic guitar music with a most distinguished oeuvre, advancing technicality, yet exploding with originality and emotion. Their work is universally accepted and recognized as the standard by which everything else is to be judged.

The Sony Records / Kaki King publicity team shamelessly spews out the hype, but that's all it is. Hype. Kaki King is no original. She is no heir to Hedges. She has earned no musical inheritance. Hers is the sound of an immature, obnoxious, irrelevant derivationist - a petty musical shoplifter. Her music is piffle. It is disorderly and dissociative. It is not at all cohesive from a compositional perspective. It conveys no sense of emotional equilibrium or continuity: Ms. King often shifts gears dramatically within the same piece, but never for any discernable musical reason. Her so-called compositions are incomprehensible. There is nothing "modern," "post-modern," "pan-tonal," or "architectonic" about her structures. She is no composer. She is a hack. This is raw sound, compulsively slapped together with techniques appropriated from more advanced artists, with no understanding of how those techniques evolved (incredibly, she only recently discovered Leo Kottke and John Fahey), or more to the point, why those other artists felt compelled to develop and incorporate them. Ms. King's priorities are elsewhere; she actually stated in print that she believes she has given a good live performance when she has made a large number of audience members want to sleep with her. Many of her other comments are so offensive they cannot be reprinted here.

While Kaki King's music may lure neophytes unfamiliar with the genre, in no way is her work sui generis, nor does it exist in a vacuum. Michael Hedges may be gone physically but his recordings are widely available and selling smartly. There are literally dozens of other stellar acoustic artists, male and female, touring regularly, in the prime of their careers, releasing oustanding music. The world of instrumental acoustic guitar boasts a proud tradition of excellence, and is propulsed today by a new generation of exceptionally talented musicians. Ms. King's overhyped, smarmy, and disingenuous attempt to position herself among that rank is nothing more than a personally financed, shrewdly calculated, and boldly executed misinformation campaign designed to suppress the devastating truth: when all is said and done, her music simply fails to measure up.

Instrumental steel string solo acoustic guitar is a genre populated by a lineage of towering creative spirits, many of whom have set the bar extraordinarily high. The only reason Kaki King hasn't knocked it to the ground is because she has jumped under it.

man o man kaki king is incredible she plays a very unique style that no composer or musician can describe its not conformed in any way shape or form,yet still very original and daring she doest just make music out of her guitar she expresses life and her experience and creates a true to life beautifully compelling sound.That said she inherself is an accomplishment,keep inspiring!!!!

I gave this to my son-in-law after hearing Kaki King on NPR one morning while extending my lie-in. Well, I gave it to my very discerning, musician, fabulous-guitar-player, composer son-in-law for Christmas and what a hit is was! His comments were that it was the best music gift that he had received in 10 years! "I wish I could play like that!"

I don't have the skill or expertise to reveiw her skills as a composer or artist, I'll leave that to Fred. But I can testify that this is a great treat both for those who are in-the-know and, for those like me who just plain love good, refreshing music.

I stumbled across this album at a listening station in HMV in Tokyo. Purchasing CDs in Tokyo is no small monetary expense, but I found myself wandering back in to hear more clips of more songs during my lunch breaks, and eventually decided that it was worth the expense. Now, over a year later, the album is still on constant rotation, and while I've sampled other fingerstylists and two-hand tappers to try to expand my acoustic guitar repertoire, none of them have quite managed to match up. Preston Reed has, predictably, come the closest -- it's not without reason that so many reviewers have shunned King for being "nothing but a Preston Reed rip-off." The influence is there, and she, herself, will be the first to assert that, but I really think this is a case of the student surpassing the master. Preston Reed has some absolutely beautiful jazzy/bluesy riffs, and some of the most incredible melody you'll ever hear (and I'm thinking more "sonata" than "new age"). But Kaki has been influenced by more than just Preston; the generation gap is audible, with the clear presence of 90s rock and (dare I say it?) ambient electronica in her sound.

Kaki King's songs don't always follow the crescendo-climax-decrescendo that we expect of instrumental music, nor do they follow the instrumental version of a verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus pop song. She's not afraid to start and end a song in the same place, not sitting still but moving laterally instead of forwards. There is often no sense of "resolution" at the end of her songs. This was even more the case in her first album, "Everybody Loves You," which is probably why it was a critical success but didn't get the popular notice that "Legs to Make Us Longer" has. That, by the way, is the ambient electronica influence I mentioned. I think parallels can be drawn between Kaki King's albums and Boards of Canada's first two, but in reverse order: "Legs" is to "Music Has the Right to Children" as "Everybody" is to "Geogaddi," with the former having clearer songs-structures and the latter being more atmospheric, but all being more about the situation and the experience than they are about the story of the music.

Everybody has influences. Kaki King wears hers on her sleeve, but as patches, torn up with a jagged blade and re-stitched into something a lot more colourful and less predictable, with a lot of pieces added in. I wholeheartedly recommend this album to anyone for whom the word "instrumental" is not an immediate turnoff.