Unofficial Leo Kottke Web Site. Leo on Record: Leo Kottke Live

Live Recordings: Leo Kottke Live (1995)

Track Listing

William Powell (5:32)
The Room At the Top of the Stairs (2:47)
Airproofing (4:50)
Jack Gets Up (4:49)
"Combat" (6:05)
Peg Leg (2:21)
Twilight Time (2:27)
Bean Time (1:40)
"Roy Autry" (6:25)
Parade (4:11)
I Yell At Traffic (5:40)
Flattened Brain (3:45)
Little Martha (2:04)
Oddball (3:18)
Arms of Mary (4:08)

Cover from Leo Kottke Live

All songs written by Leo Kottke, ©Round Wound Sound, Inc, administered by BUG Music (ASCAP), except

"Room At The Top Of The Stairs," written by Randall Hylton, ©Paul Craft Music, Inc. c/o Copyright Management, Inc. (BMI);
"Twilight Time," written by Buck Ram, Morty Nevins and Al Nevins, ©TRO-Devon Music, Inc. (BMI);
"Little Martha," written by Duane Allman, ©Unichappell, Inc. (BMI); and,

"Arms of Mary," written by Ian Sutherland, ©Chrysalis Music (ASCAP).

Liner notes
by Leo Kottke
      We did this with a couple mikes on a very snowed-on Easter in Boulder.  One mike was built in the old East Germany as a copy of the Neumann UM-57, and the other was made in Austria as the AKG C-61.  The AKG was souped up by Tom Matherly and the Microtek-Gefell was "as is."
     The Fox Theater has a high stage, a terrific crew, and -- on the night I recorded there -- one guy in the audience who woo-wooed, whooped and yee-haaed on every ring-out.  In the end, after hearing him a thousand times during the mix, I decided to assign this guy the same role that that woman fulfilled on Bill Evans' Waltz for Debbie...she never shut up...neither does he.  In this case, at least, his interruptions passed for enthusiasm; on Bill's record hers were a Lazlo Toth version of indifference.
      In other words, this guy is part of the record but I won't be taking him on the road.
     This is the first live record for me since a puzzle of a live effort we attempted in Germany more than 15 years ago.  Our tape machine's relays kept going out, to almost no one's knowledge.  After the tour, when we put the tapes up in London, we'd find a decent take and then inevitably hear a few "thunks" -- a screwdriver knocking the relays back in place.  Unusable.  So that record was built solely of stuff that was "thunkless," rather than of stuff anyone might want to hear.
     This time Pual duGré did the engineering.  Screwdrivers were prohibited.  Steve Berlin introduced me to Paul when we recorded Great Big Boy in Paul's old studio...a place that scared some people away, including me at first.  Four blocks from L.A.'s City Hall.  It is still the best sounding room I've heard.  Or was the best..it flooded out and will scare no more.
     So it's snowing...it's Easter...and the Fox is down to black.
     (One more thing:  a month ago I asked my father, since he'd also told me several times that he'd been a captain in the Navy, if he'd really taught hand to hand combat.  He said, "No!," like I was out of my mind.
     "You wanna know what I really taught?"
     "Yes, I do," like he was out of his mind.
     "Relaxation."
     I should've known.)