Sixty Six Steps [Enhanced]

Leo Kottke | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 23, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: RCA Victor
• ASIN: B000A2APV2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,889 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Two of the most imaginative and mold-breaking musicians on the planet, Kottke and Gordon follow up their first collaboration, Clone, with an album that pays homage to and is an experiment loosely involving island rhythms. Sixty Six Steps is a mixture of originals and interpretations performed in ways that are vaguely familiar yet largely without precedent. For instance, you'll find a cover of Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion' sung in a deadpan monotone and performed on baglama (a Turkish banjo / mandolin type instrument), guitar and bass. Then there's a twisted Gordon original, 'Stolen Quiet' which professes mock gratitude for a partner's exodus from their shared abode. RCA. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great music, but copy protection limits usability, November 14, 2005

By 

Ivan Hrvatska (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sixty Six Steps (Audio CD)

The music on this CD is great. It's fresh, and Kotke's execution is as flawless as ever. Mike Gordon and Leo Kotke blend together to deliver a unique sound. The playing of Kotke and Gordon is complemented by the capable and imaginative percussion of Neil Symonette.

While I really enjoy the music on the CD, I'm finding the copy protection on it to be extremely limiting. I'm unable to use it on any of my portable players. This includes an iPod Nano and a generic MP3 player. I'm unable to include any of the songs on this CD on compilation CDs I put together for my personal use. Because of the limitations of the copy protection on this CD I will not be purchasing additional copies of it to give as gifts to friends and family who play most of their music on portable players.

I really resent being treated like a thief by record companies when I purchase close to 100 CDs per year. For those who want to make illegal copies of this CD, the copy protection will not stop them. I would have given this CD one more star if not for the copy protection. It's a real pita.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sixty Six Steps, August 24, 2005

By 

tanner llewellyn (Manakin Sabot, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sixty Six Steps (Audio CD)

i haven't read the other 4 reviews which are up on amazon right now, but here's my stab at one. i've been waiting all summer for this cd to come out. i had high expectations for this album and it basically lives up to them. it's hard to find fault with it, especially if you are a mike gordon aficionado first and foremost, and a more recent kottke fan due, in part, to his association with gordon (like myself). if you like clone, their 1st release together, then you'll like sixty six steps. it's pretty much the same thing as last time, with the addition of a drummer. mike gordon's songwriting skills are perhaps more prominent this time, and he continues to flourish in a post phish world with some of his best songs to date. he seems to have had the midas touch with all of his solo projects. if you are primarily a kottke fan this album may not seem as cool to you as it does to phishheads, but hopefully you'll get over that and give in the to the sheer joy these musicians obviously express when playing together. like they said on e-town recently, kottke and gordon were friends first and partners later. is any new ground covered? is it groundbreaking? will trendy hipsters even notice or care about this laid back islandy piece of work? probably not. but will it become an "island" disc for those who find themselves "off the grid" as it were, most definitely a resounding "yes". especially if that island happens to be anywhere tropical like the bahamas or costa rica and you're on a two-week vacation.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Play it Leo!, August 23, 2005

By 

Priscilla E. Flanagan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sixty Six Steps (Audio CD)

There have been a two reviews so far that say there is no chemistry between Leo and Mike (and now, Neil). Really, they couldn't be more wrong. I think what puts off a lot of Leo Kottke fans is that this "Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon", not "Leo Kottke featuring Mike Gordon in the background". Mike actually wrote more songs on this record than Leo did (5 by Mike, 4 by Leo, and 5 covers). For me, that's actually better than having Mike in the background. Kottke has tried playing with supporting musicians in the past with disasterous results. In this record, however, he shares his space and the two musicians get together incredibly well.

Anyway, the CD is fantastic. I prefer it over Clone, in part to its relaxed feel. I guess that's what happens when you make a record in the Bahamas. The album as a whole flows incredibly well. Highlights include Leo's third-and-best recording of "Rings", their cover of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion", and the Leo tune "Twice". The only complaint I have about this CD is that Mike Gordon's tune "Can't Hang" clocks in at less than two minutes, making it the shortest track on the album by almost half a minute. During their tour in 2002, that tune used to last five minutes. It's also in my opinion the best song Mike has ever written. The studio track also loses about all of the energy, fun, and funk that the live versions had.

Despite the one flawed track, this album is an awesome collection of laid back tunes. Pick it up.