Leo Kottke NEWEST!! 2-16-07

[Scottie1152]

@Iamdickee

Of course it's not what Duane wrote, but I'm sure he would have been proud that:

A. Leo has often said it's the best acoustic guitar piece ever written. ( and Leo has set many many world class standards in his own right)

And B. Leo has taken the chance to put his own stamp on it.

Not to mention that though Duane was a very talented guitar player he wasn't even in the same universe as Leo Kottke and I'm sure Duane would be the first to admit it.

[IamDickee]

That is NOT what Duane wrote back in 1971.......

[cocochanelleke]

Out of sync? Looks perfect to me, unless my little old eyes betray me.

Anyway, thanks for posting/sharing!

[1mo4dro]

yea thank you its a D Allman tune ck it out on "eat a peach"

RIP Duane

[cocochanelleke]

The chap is so brilliant.

And his comforting voice helped me get through difficult times 25 odd years ago.

xxx

[fouramhq]

112,000 views!! I cant believe that little video we shot that night with the video function on the digital point and shoot has traveled so far!!

[cocochanelleke]

@fouramhq

Yes it has, and I wish to thank you for it!

Best wishes from the NL :)

[lebarosky]

@fouramhq He does variations on this cut that are original to this cut to the best of my knowledge. Thank you so much for posting. He is one of our musical treasures.

[icantbreffit]

Fremantle, West Australia in the 90's ....beautiful

[guitaraaron72]

Looking forward to seeing Leo live in Albuquerque.

[dannyclayburn]

Holy crap... when~where??? I'm in the 505 too, did I already miss it?

[noblescott]

i pay god money. an art and a craft. mr. kottke.. plaY on

[derekdeprator]

since when has leo kottke ever played standing up? when did THAT start?

[fouramhq]

Leo has played standing up off and on always. Must depend on how he feels that particular night. At this show he was cranked. Had the crowd cracking up!!

[musictranscription]

I'm getting this sheet music

[legacy1957]

Yes Leo is still amonst us...

Thank god for that.

I will never forget, Ashland, Oregon, 1973.

When he reinvented my vision of 12 string guitar.....

And yes, this happenend simultaniously with "Stairway To Heaven"...

I could never ever think about anything other than 12 string guitar.

[computersandrobots]

The Allman Brothers were/are choice. Leo is the man. The melodies written by these musicians are in a league of the own.

[BenEzraSoundProject]

I will never get tired of hearing Leo play. Truly an acoustic guitar legend.

[ilmrynorlion]

It was the Allman Bros (Duane specifically) that did it first.

[NotOrdinaryInGames]

Thanks for uploading this!

[cabngirl]

Wow! Little Martha! chicken {{{skin}}}

thanks for posting this

[thetiler]

Enjoyed !

Thanks for sharing!

[DictionRedaction]

Ohhhhh man, that's too much...I don't think I've ever heard such beautiful finger-picked harmonics EVER.

He also does a fantastic job on Corinna Corinna--heard that in concert and on Prairie Home Companion.

[cocochanelleke]

Brilliant singer, too,

although he wouldn´t have it years ago.

[fouramhq]

Pachelbel's Canon in D has 5 chords. Simple little tune...

[fouramhq]

..maybe 8.

[fouramhq]

...and we all know Tommy.

[Davzanetti]

Its simple music, well played and pleasant enough, but if you like steel-string acoustic and can handle listening to more than three chords in a song, there is no greater exponent than Tommy Emmanuel.

[fouramhq]

Canon in D?

[ehendin]

All props to Tommy, he is of a certain school and a phenomenal player, to me though I will always listen to Kottke first - he has his own voice and use of tunings with creative instrumental pieces is more my thing - though I will say his intro on Somewhere Over the Rainbow was very nice. Kottke's Chewing Pine album is great.. and I haven't heard a player quite like him... maybe technically there are others but Kottke stands on his own to me...

[Draugoth]

Beautiful. Absolutley beautiful.

[manysons]

Wish he spent more time in Ohio.

[nsra1933]

Leo is well, frankly, one of the best ever..

[azharkamal]

what great playing!leo is sooo good.

[lamgut]

Unfortunately, anyone can see that what Leo is playing on the video is not "Little Martha". The neck fingering is not even close to the audio.

[fouramhq]

Excuse me...I shot the video...it's Little Martha. Apparently you arent familiar with the tune...or the instrument. And if you'll look a little closer...and if you'll think a little harder, you'll come to understnad that the video is out of sync...you moron.

[lamgut]

Well, you are obviously a very talented videographer. My complete apologies. No one can argue with such a tactful and friendly individual.

[grahamwjohnson]

Little Martha for sure. Leo just does his own variation of it. And how many songs do you know that are in open D with a capo on second anyway?

[fouramhq]

No one compares.

[dmkramerica]

That's our hometown boy! I've seen him a lot in Georgia. He's fantastic.

[impaledman]

Whoa, leo - I'm speechless. Thanks fouramhq!

[musictheropist]

oh thank you Leo

[emzforever96]

I love his bottleneck-slide-twelve-string­-guitar-ishness...

[aftnoon2]

Greatar than on disk! Beautiful song!

Most amazing to me is the way he plays the right hand. It's always a special rythm, very difficult to play without lots of practise...and warm fingers.

[DancingBullCafe]

Again & Again! Come Play For Me! Love This!

[Z1ld1anDud3]

correct me if im wrong but wasnt the song originally written by greg allman? idk the name of the song but i have it on an allman bros. greatest hits album on my itunes and i dont have the name. what is it?

[lukepham]

Little Martha is the name of the song written by Allman Brothers. Leo Kotke sometimes takes a cover tune and plays it in his own unique style. Most of his songs however are original. He does a few covers and this is one of them.

Forever Fan of Leo

[Z1ld1anDud3]

thanks i have this song named "track 6" for about 3 mths and im glad i can finally name it =]and yes ive noticed that most of leo's songs are his but occasionally ive seen him do covers. thanks again

[fouramhq]

Yup...Greg Allman.

[nsra1933]

nope...Duane Allman

[fouramhq]

You're right. My mistake.

[thegreatbarcia]

Duane Allman wrote it, but on the Eat a Peach album it's actually two dudes playing, Duane and Dickey Betts. 'Magine Duane and Leo playing together... now that woulda been nuts.

[coontardo]

yeah pretty sure its dickie betts, u can also hear a quiet bassline in the background (berry oakley). theres some kind of noise ive noticed that is either heavy breathing or maybe some subtle percussion.

[marlonn31]

I could listen to him all day long :)

Kottke, Keaggy, Hedges... geniuses

[agnesmoorhead]

still genius

[chuckkottke]

Sweet sounding, that's for sure! Ukulele - like sound...

[202boerboel]

Leo brilliant as always. But on 12-string he is truly without peer.

[hiddentalent123]

One of my favorite guitarist.

[karmabirdie]

Truly one of the greatest folk style guitarests ever.

[Jimmyhen92]

I had the privledge to hear Leo at the Ordway in St. Paul. He blew me away and I think he is really funny too. What an entertainer. I play guitar and it would be great to play half as good as Leo someday. I have been playing for 4 years and you can take a listen if you want. "Luke at 318"

[knightmyr]

Hey, if you are still in the twin cities area, he is coming to the State Theatre on Nov....11th I wanna say. Might be wrong.

[FreddyBenelli]

Dude, that harmonics bit is sweet.

[fouramhq]

Apologies for the moronic ad that was placed here. These people should be shot with slow hot fragmenting bullets.

The poster.

[churchboose]

He's got a total "Rico Suave" look going on.

[IBoyGeorge420]

LOL

[ransan6025]

I heard Leo for the first time in the fall of 1973 while I was a freshman in college. A guy had Leo's "Armadillo" album (6 & 12 string guitar). Blew me away and I knew I wanted to do fingerstyle from that point forward. "Best" is a subjective title and really Tommy Emmanual, Leo Kottke, Justin King etc... are all remarkable guitarists. :)

[fouramhq]

I couldn't agree more. I don't like to hear comparisons of musicians. You just can't do it. Too many variables to consider unless someone is completely inept and lucky enough to make to the stage for a while. Saw Tommy Emmanuel last winter in Elizabethtown, Kentucky at TOMMY FEST. Astonishing player.

[202boerboel]

I too do not like comparing artists,but,is there a "better" 12-string player alive?

[methodinsane]

I wouldn't put Justin King in the same context as the other guys. No doubt a talented guitarist but not remotely interesting after you've seen him do his "hooks". Kottke is a great writer.Emmanuel is just downright flawless.Just my opinion of course.

[ransan6025]

Yeah you're probably right re: Justin King I don't know how deep his music goes. Kottke stands as a great and highly innovative composer over a long span of time. That is a remarkable feat and anyone who attempts his tab will find just how complex his fingerstyle arrangements are. I am interest in the Michael Hedges influence on several very talented guitar "tappers" and would say their technique is pretty cool. Kinda of two different worlds, but they both require significant gifting. :)

[methodinsane]

Thoroughly agree. Hedges and Kottke are my favourite guitarists. I like the fact that they're not tied to just instrumentals because I love singing as well and both those guys have/had great songs.

[Jimmyhen92]

I agree on Leo standing the test of time. I actually think his compositions keep becoming more layered and interesting as he has gotten older. He's still on fire. As far as the tapping style goes I happen to love Billy McLaughlin. I'm currently learning his classic Fingerdance. I'm also in awe of Tommy Emmanuel and learning Angelina. All these guitarists have inspired me along with jimi, Stevie Ray, and Eric Clapton...They are all genius!

[Jimmyhen92]

Have you heard of Billy McLaughlin? He has composed some gorgeous stuff. He's had to learn his tapping style compositions left-handed due to focal dystonia. He is making a comeback as a left-handed player soon. I think Leo is genius and Tommy Emmanuel too. WOW to play like any of these guys would be unbelievable.

[ransan6025]

Thanks for the info on Billy McLaughlin. I had not heard of him or focal dystonia. His story is remarkable as I can not imagine trying to relearn any of my stuff left-handed. I believe it would be possible but man very difficult! I like his stuff and will look for more. Thanks again.

[fouramhq]

Anybody knoow to delete these unwanted comments?

[lvbuckeye]

you should have the option if you hosted the vid. either that, or mark it as spam...

on a sidenote WHOOHOO! Nelsonville, Ohio! i always ate the Sonic in Nelsonville!

great tune too, BTW.

[methodinsane]

First and foremost, I love Leos music and prefer to most other guitar composers including Tommy Emmanuel. But Tommy is far superior technically, he can play multiple styles with fingers or pick. Saying that another Ozzy guitarist called Bruce Mathiske is brillaint also and highly entertaining, especially when he plays with his band.

[hogalicious]

This is hardly the best example of Kottke's skills. However, isn't it all just "apples & oranges"? Better, best...who cares. I just watched a video of that Tommy guy, and he's got a ways to go yet...

[morrobayoysterman]

I ran into Leo at the airport in Honolulu awhile back and he was standing in line waiting to pick up his rental car.There he was standing in line behind about 15-20 people with this battered old guitar case and seemingly invisible to "the masses".I thanked him for his constant and endless contribution to music and for coming all the way out here to play for us.He looked at me with a look of disbelief and said"aw,gee whiz Mike,thanks for having me".He is what music can be.

[wilbo26]

Not only has he blown me away live several times, but he's also quite possibly the funniest and best storyteller I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Just amazing.

[idea7man777]

I was lucky to see him do this one live once.

[fouramhq]

For all of you Leo fans....if you havent already, get Leo's Home and Away video. It's on amazon, and I think yo can order it from his website. I've had it for years, and never tire of watching it.

[derekdeprator]

yeah i'm downloading it from somebody on soulseek...i'm pretty sure i'll eventually buy it from him new but...i had taped this from pbs in like 1993 or something and wore the vhs tape the hell out!

[tightstrings9]

I still have goose bumps and tingles up my spine as I type this. What an amazing rendition of a beautiful song.

[cahillgreg]

Great piece; is this off one of his CDs? I am in UK and Leo is unheard of (hard to figure). Has a core cult following but its only specialist sections in London stores where you only ever see his stuff and then only a few. Ebay is our saviour over here.

[hoffman391]

This first appeared on Leo's 1986 album "A Shout Toward Noon".

[19Lotus67]

I knew i recognized the melody... Allman... was thinkin for a sec it was acoustic Page

[Airhawk1]

The harmonics in the middle section are insane!

[odor9]

Fantastic, thanks for the video! Leo rules the guitar!!

[badjazz27]

Leo makes it look easy. I can't imagine how many times he had to play that to get it down perfect. I'm still playing it and don't have it perfect yet. I don't people realize just how good he really he. I've never heard or seen anyone who compares.

[kniffy1one2two3three]

Yeah, he's definitely the best fingerpicker of all time.

[bigdood]

I say this at the risk of being called a heretic or a lunatic on this page full of Leo fans... kniffy1on2... have you ever heard of Tommy Emmanuel? Suggest you listen to several of his songs here on YouTube before you give that best-of title away! :-) Don't get me wrong, Leo's in my top 5, but I think Tommy might be a tad better at this point in his career... GREAT VIDEO of a GUITAR GREAT, tho, thanks for posting it! :-)

[kniffy1one2two3three]

Hmm, I agree, Tommy Emmanuel is amazing. I've listened to his stuff quite a few times, mainly his version of classical gas, and I think that they're about equal in skill. A bit different styles though. This is isn't the best example of Leo Kottke's skill, though...

[3ffigy]

Thanks for the video. Leo is the man.

[fouramhq]

Duane Allman.

[sfox56]

was this written by dickie betts?

[derekdeprator]

it's a duane allman solo piece on an allman bros album

[2ndhandclothing]

it's "little martha"

[fouramhq]

Trying to get the synchronization fixed. A good samaritan in New Zealand offered his expertise. tr