Search - Leo Kottke :: Try and Stop Me

A strong album by a master.

tetrapyloctomy | -- | 07/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

I loved this album!

Jeffery Harding | 01/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."