The duo-with an assist from Fishman on a few songs-released Noon, their third full-length album and first in 15 years, in late August on Megaplum/ATO. Of course, Gordon and Kottke eventually did connect and, for going on 20 years, they have been at the heart of one of the most beloved side-projects in the Phish orbit. After that show-especially after hearing Leo speak between songs-I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe there’s another person on earth that’s got the same sense of humor as Mike.’” It would be so good, it’d be illegal.’ I had the same thought about Mike and Leo. “I remember reading in Miles Davis’ autobiography that he had had an appointment to meet with Jimi Hendrix that never happened and I thought, ‘If they ever met, then that might be the end of the world. “I came away from that concert saying to myself, ‘Man, Mike Gordon and Leo Kottke should never meet-if they ever met, that might be the end of the world,’” Fishman says between cackles a few decades later, checking in from his home in Maine, months into the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The drummer-who had recently co-founded Phish with Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon and Jeff Holdsworth-had been listening to the lauded acoustic guitarist’s music since high school and was particularly mesmerized by his reading of The Byrds’ classic “Eight Miles High.” But the nascent Phish member still left that seminal performance with an unexpected realization. Learn more at Patreon.Sometime in the 1980s, Jon Fishman saw Leo Kottke perform for the first time at the tiny Burlington, Vt., club Hunt’s. There are a bunch of exclusive perks only for patrons: playlists, newsletters, downloads, discussions, polls - hell, tell us what song you would like to hear covered and we will make it happen. Cover Me is now on Patreon! If you love cover songs, we hope you will consider supporting us there with a small monthly subscription. And the playing – well, as the Everlys sing (and Kottke doesn’t), gee whiz.Ĭheck out some more of Leo Kottke’s work on Amazon. The Everly Brothers made a classic out of “All I Have To Do Is Dream” with the close harmonies of their vocals Kottke makes a classic out of it by slowing it down, shortening it, and removing his vocals altogether. Leo Kottke – All I Have To Do Is Dream (The Everly Brothers cover) Kottke’s playing captures the aridity and the longing in the song better than his singing does. By the time Kottke recorded it, on 1978’s Burnt Lips, it had long established itself as one of the greatest C&W songs ever written. Leo Kottke – Cool Water (Sons of the Pioneers cover)īob Dolan of the Sons of the Pioneers wrote “Cool Water” eleven years before Leo Kottke was born.
#Eight miles high leo kottke full#
Leo Kottke – World Turning (Fleetwood Mac cover)ġ997’s Standing in My Shoes saw Kottke standing in the shoes of Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, covering their “World Turning.” Unusually for Kottke, he’s got a full backup band behind him, but they don’t obscure his musicianship here, but amplify it. It also give Kottke the chance to sing in his upper register, making it one of his more expressive vocal performances. Kottke keeps quite close to Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin’ arrangement of “Girl from the North Country,” making it a little faster and perhaps a little more intricate (not to mention changing from to of). Leo Kottke – Girl of the North Country (Bob Dylan cover) Witness “Eight Miles High,” where we’re all familiar with the words, but we’ve never heard someone’s playing take those words to these heights before. Kottke is famous for comparing his voice to the flatulence of waterfowl, but of course his voice is rarely if ever the point of his songs. Leo Kottke – Eight Miles High (The Byrds cover)
In this case, it seems a better birthday present to showcase what he can do. On the other hand, when Kottke covers a song, he never sets out to replicate the original artist, and as a result, his covers all bear the Kottke sound – and, doubtless, the original artists’ stamp of approval.
In Kottke’s case, however, covers of his originals tend to sound like people aiming to sound like Leo Kottke. Normally, we celebrate an artist’s birthday by featuring five covers of their songs. But if we can’t find it in ourselves to wish acoustic virtuoso Leo Kottke a happy 70th birthday, then the terrorists win. Ever since September 11 joined November 22 and December 7 as being among the darkest dates in American history, it’s been difficult to associate anything celebratory with it.
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