Customer Reviews

Try and Stop Me

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Based on the previous reviews, Leo Kottke is both blessed and cursed with the reputation of being one of the best fingerpicking guitarists of the last thirty-five years. He is revered by a legion of fans, but it would appear that many of them (the amazon.com reviewers, anyway) aren't happy unless he keeps repeating 1971's 6- AND 12-STRING GUITAR.

At 59, Kottke is still performing and releasing a new album every few years. TRY AND STOP ME is similar in vein to his last solo effort, 1999's ONE GUITAR, NO VOCALS. In fact, except for the final track (recorded with Los Lobos), this is unadorned Kottke--just Kottke and his guitar creating his unique mixture of folk, jazz and blues.

The eleven tracks feature eight Kottke compositions and three covers. The first cover is "Mockingbird Hill," an instrumental version of a 1951 gold record for Patti Page. Next is his third recording of Carla Bley's "Jesus Maria." [Kottke first recorded this for 1990's THAT'S WHAT and then as a part of 1998's guitar album SOUNDS OF WOOD AND STEEL.] The third cover is an old Weavers' song, "The Banks of the Marble," which features Kottke's warm baritone vocal.

While I would have enjoyed a few more vocals, this album has everything I look for in a Kottke album--a master musician playing his guitar with passion, skill and beauty. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Aside from Lou Reed's infamous "Metal Machine Music" I'm not sure what a "contractural obligation" record is, but "Try and Stop Me" is no such a thing. And even if it is, I doubt it affected the music. Here's what I'm hearing:

Kottke's music and playing -- unusually difficult to separate from one another -- have always tended to be remarkably clear, concise and at the same time complex. On this CD I hear many of the same elements, with the new addition of a much higher degree of ABSTRACTION than any of his other work. The harmonic and rhythmic content is being pulled in directions that are frankly atypical of what Kottke is known for, and the resulting music really can't be approached the way a listener might approach other, earlier work. The abstraction is emphasized all the more forcefully by the little snippets of familiar pieces tucked in here and there: those comfortable sets of notes set suddenly in less comfortable surroundings have a profoundly interesting, almost disorienting character, especially on the first few listens.

After so many records over so many years, Kottke still has the important ability to be self-critical about his work and to seek new ways to articulate one of the remarkable talents of our lifetimes. No let down here...

I'm a huge Kottke fan! I enjoy his earlier work the most, but this album is still a great musician at work. From what I've read this is the first time he's gone in the studio and improvised an album. It's quite refreshing to hear what comes out of the instrument - gives you an appreciation of Mr. Kottke's years of experience. I like 'The Bristol Sloth' best thus far...

This is a very distinctive album that either attracts or disappoints. It's certainly not Leo's best work ever. Personally I would reserve that distinction for a record like Guitar Music, Greenhouse, One Guitar No Vocal, or 6 and 12 string guitar. But it's a delight for many of us who prefer his instrumental compositions and loathe the introduction of a drum track to an otherwise captivating foray into guitar virtuosity.
In general, Try and Stop Me is a creative departure from Leo's earlier stuff. But it retains the medium he most excells at: solo acoustic guitar. The tunes are beautifully played and often very well arranged. And to some extent I think it is the abstraction of the music that makes me want to listen to it again and again. Plus it is clear that he is improvising on some of the tracks. While this may lead to songs that are sometimes hard to follow such as Mora Roa, Unbar, or Axolotl, I like hearing what Leo plays like when he is just practicing and experimenting (though I must admit that I sometimes feel that way when I go to a show of his also). And then you get songs like Bristol Sloth, Then, Monopoly, and the peerless Gewerbegebeit. The vocal track The Banks of Marble is even a success. One thing I really like about this album is the movement and flexibility which most of the songs have. In songs such as Mora Roa, Leo first expresses a melody, then slowly elaborates and transforms it into something quite different but still recognizable.
I chalk up the mixed reception of this album to the fact that Leo's music is so eclectic. Different listeners like him for different reasons. I'm shocked that people enjoy That's What, Great Big Boy, Balance, or a lot of the stuff on Ice Water and Time Step, but some people really get off on that stuff. But haven't those folks had their day in the sun for long enough with albums such as Standing in my Shoes (featuring Leo's old material, other people's old material, and miscellaneous soullessly overly studio-ized material)? Personally, I was overjoyed to find that Leo had put out an album which, notwithstanding some familiar licks and riffs, broke such new, creative ground.

While not quite as good as his previous solo album (/One Guitar, No Vocals/), /Try and Stop Me/ isn't going to disappoint Kottke fans.

The bad first, since there's so much *good* about the album. The weakest track on the album is the last (and it shouldn't surprise anyone that it happens to be the only one with a backing band and vocals). I was a bit surprised, since "Banks of Marble" came across quite well when he played it live with Mike Gordon on the tour for /Clone/, but it's hardly a flop of a track -- it just doesn't live up to the remainder. "Mora Roa" has some strummed portions with a monotonous rhythm as well as a repeated pattern that he runs up the neck which both damage an otherwise good tune. "Axolotl" sounds a little like an exercise in making strange chords.

... and other than those minor quibbles, it's great. "Monopoly" ("Death By Reputation" is an AKA for the song, as noted in the liner notes) is pleasant enough, if a bit generic in comparison to what the rest of the album has in store. "Stolen" would have fit in well on /6- and 12-String Guitar/. "Mockingbird Hill" is a slower tune, a bit repetitive at times, but it's a well-played song. "Then" will sound familiar to recent concert-goers -- it's one of the songs he occasionally plays without telling anyone what it is or where it's from. "Mora Roa" and "Axolotl" I mentioned above. "The Bristol Sloth" is a strong track, and one of my favorites from the album, and is follwed by "Unbar", which falls into the same category. "Jesus Maria" is a beautiful slower track. However, "Gewerbegebiet" (misspelled on Amazon) is the jewel of this album. I first heard it in Pittsburgh, and he introduced it as "A Dark Night In The Gewerbegebiet" (which he says means "industrial park" in German -- I checked it out and it seems a more proper translation is "industrial estate", but, hey, whatever) and I'm ecstatic that he finally recorded it. For the first half of the song, it sounds quite a bit like classical guitar played on a twelve-string; at the halfway mark he picks up the pace and delivers what I believe to be one of his best songs.

Buy this album if you like Kottke, if you like solo guitar music, or if you have properly working ears.

... even if you're a big leo kottke fan from 20+ years ago. as a guitarist, I like to listen to guitar music. I really don't like kottke's singer/songwriter material. there's nothing wrong with it, but it's just not my "thing." I've listened to leo kottke albums off and on over the years and this is the first one that I HAD to buy the second after I heard the last note of "the bristol sloth." I see a lot of complaints from other reviewers that kottke keeps "tuning down" his guitar more and more with each successive album. I rather like it. there are VERY few solo guitarists that can keep notes and passages audible and controlled while playing a guitar in the register that much of this material is written and recorded in. it was this that really grabbed my brain as I listened to the album - and I'm a big Michael Hedges fan... hedges used a lot of low register tunings (although admittedly not as low as some on this album) and often there would be so much information being conveyed in his solo pieces that a lot of it would get lost because it tended to run together into one single sound. what's so amazing about "try and stop me" is the clarity with which kottke pounds all these low register notes out of his guitar. (...and could the title also be a message he's conveying to his long term fans who don't want to hear him depart from his 30 year old material...?) The main reason I like this album so much is probably because I'm a relative newcomer to leo kottke in the fact that I'm not already a big fan... and also the fact that his guitar tone is quite comparable to being hit in the face with a prison pillowcase full of unopened soft drink cans.... if you love solo guitar music and can appreciate leo kottke's more experimental side, this is a fantastic album.

Ok where to start...ah I've been a Kottke fan for almost 30 years now and own his entire catalog. Since his creative peak in the 70's he has produced an amazing body of work. I've heard him in concert more than once tell of his record labels wanting to pair him with a "chick singer", which at this point might not be a bad idea. The problem with much of this, is as one reviewer had previously some of the licks you do recognize from other songs. His best works (Great Big Boy, Ice Water, Greenhouse), included both instrumental tracks and vocal tracks. But more importantly they were fun. His previously release "Clone" while it took me awhile to warm up to, I appreciate more and more because it's a departure and fun. Certainly, the die-hard Kottke fan will probably find this more than enough to satisfy them but it just didn't do it for me. The songs just sound like they're going nowhere. I believe Leo has at least one more great release in him, unfortunately this isn't it.

1. I would lie down in front of a train for leo kottke. He saved me from a life of bluegrass in the 70's. So anything I've gotten out of life after that accrues to him. I mean I could be in a jam band now or something.... um... I'm a lawyer...so maybe it didn't work out. Whatever...
2. "That's What" is one of my favorite albums of his. That immediately and in and of itself makes me a suspect reviewer. So please disregard this review if you have strong feelings about Leo's legacy.

3. I do not like this album. I suppose it's fair. In 30+ odd years a genius is bound to produce an egg.
4. There's nothing on this CD. It's like cotton candy at the fair. There's echos of Mona Ray and a whole bunch of other tunes. But it's like they are just there winnowing themselves in the wind- mindless masturbatory ejaculations to himself. I hope this isn't his death knell. This really bothers me to say this. I feel like I'm voting for Bush or something.
5. What do I know. I live in Boise.

I thought this cd would grow on me but there is way too much of the familiar kottke sound on this album. Every song sounds familiar like you know he did this riff somewhere else in another song, in a different key perhaps. There are some shining moments but if there is one thing Kottke cant do, its improvise. I get totally lost while he is getting lost on these tunes and just skip to the next song. Also, why does he need to keep tuning down lower on each successive album? Im hearing too much fret-buzz and dare I say sloppiness? He has that 12 string down 2 whole steps at least, possibly more. I love Kottkes music but cant find much more than a few songs here worth hanging on to.

Despite my fanboy past, I can't really disagree with the other customers when they say this feels like midlife Leo by the numbers. No one has strong, violent thoughts against vanilla ice cream. Yet people don't trample each other to get themselves a cone, neither.

Track one is familiar territory, sounding like so many of Leo other songs. In fact, I believe it's an actual rewrite of an older one. The original source material from the album "Balance" is more interesting.

His treatment of "Mockingbird Hill" reminds me of the way he arranged a handful of popular songs for his "Peculiaroso" album 10 years prior. And I like it, even if it does lack any suprises and is shorter than two minutes.

I really think the second half of the album holds the goods. If the entire album was as interesting as songs like "Mora Roa" or "Gewerbegebiet," (and "Unbar" to a certain extent) you'd probably see more stars from me.

The familiar and predictable songs are not without merit. It's just that their very existance can be a double-edged sword at this point in Kottke's career. For example, I heard his perform the song "Then" a few years prior to this album's release and I remember liking it. Consequently I still like it. But I can just picture someone hearing it, rolling their eyes and saying "here we go again."

So your opinion of this album should boil down to this: would you gladly listen to Leo Kottke play in his comfort zone? If the answer is an undeniable yes, "Try and Stop Me" is worth the money.