Blues, bluegrass and classical

Blues, bluegrass and classical

Peculiaroso

Leo Kottke

BMG Records, Private Music Label

Reviewed by Jill Hickson

Leo Kottke, billed as one of the most innovative steel-string guitarist of all time, has produced an album of beautifully lyrical music. Peculiaroso aptly describes the music, which is an unusual amalgam of blues, bluegrass and classical.

I was reminded by pieces such as "Poor Boy" and "Parade" of sitting in a movie house watching some southern US drama with the familiar twang of the guitar which so typifies the American blues. Other pieces have a hint of the avant-garde, with an innovative style and peculiar blend of sounds, while "Wonderland by Night" is a classical acoustic piece with a beautiful melodic sound reminiscent of lyrical love songs which need no words to convey the feeling.

Leo Kottke has produced 21 other albums and has been playing for 23 years. And if you have been wondering what Rickie Lee Jones has been doing lately, she's still in the music world, putting her talents into producing albums like this one. You could almost feel her presence in the music. This is an album for lovers of good American blues and bluegrass music.

Leo Kottke is currently on tour in Australia: Perth, Friday and Saturday, June 10-11, at the Fly By Night Club; Adelaide, Sunday June 12, at the Norwood Concert Hall; Canberra, Wednesday, June 15, at the Canberra Labor Club.

From GLW issue 146