Guitar Music

A classic 1981 release, "Guitar Music" is a self-explanatorily-titled instrumental album by one of the most wide-ranging guitarists of his era. Leo Kottke is influenced by a huge variety of musics, as evidenced by the covers of "Tumblin' Tumbleweeds", "All I Have to Do Is Dream" and a glorious country-blues version of Santo and Johnny's classic "Sleepwalk." "Part Two" and "Available Space" are watery, jazz-tinged melodies, but the six-part "Some Birds" suite is one of Kottke's most impressive compositions ever. Varied yet subtly linked, these six pieces are small gems. The new age aspects of Kottke's mid-'80s releases have their roots in this extended work, but there's nothing amorphous or muzak-like about this album.