''That's What'' is an album by the American steel-string

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

artist

Leo Kottke Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an American acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He has overcome a series of personal obstacles, i ...

. It is distinctive in its jazzy nature and "talking" songs ("Buzzby" and "Husbandry"). It reached No. 24 on ''Billboards Top New Age Albums charts, Kottke's highest charting position on ''Billboard''. The song "Little Snoozer" is played on a

Charvel Charvel ( ) is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporat ...

demo model of a

Danelectro Danelectro is a brand of musical instruments and accessories that was founded in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1947. The company is known primarily for its string instruments that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro com ...

6-string bass guitar tuned one octave lower than a standard 6-string guitar. Kottke used trombones on many of the songs. Kottke has re-recorded at least two more versions of "Jesus Maria".

Critical reception

The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' wrote that "Kottke's eccentric poetics and monotone Lou Reed-style of delivery make 'Buzzby' and 'Husbandry' the strangest moments on ''That's What''." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' deemed the album "a rumbling, comic, folksy sound, yet one that remains strangely comfortable and comforting."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated: "Leo Kottke has always been a highly idiosyncratic guitar player whose music is infused with his wry sense of humor. That's What is no exception, with Kottke's guitar work drawing from jazzy, blues and folk sources... Tying it all together is Kottke's fine guitar playing, as nimble and as quirky as ever."

Track listing

All songs by Leo Kottke except as noted. # "Little Snoozer" – 3:53 # "Buzzby" – 3:57 # "What the Arm Said" – 2:54 # "Creature Feature" – 4:14 # "Oddball" – 2:51 # "Czech Bounce" – 3:38 # "Mid-Air" ( Willard O. Peterson) – 3:23 # "The Great One" – 3:22 # "Husbandry" – 4:52 # "Jesus Maria" (

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera ''Escalator ...

) – 4:30

Personnel

*Leo Kottke - guitar *

Billy Peterson Billy Peterson (born as Willard Peterson, in Minnesota) is an American bass player, songwriter, composer, session musician and producer. Growing up in a family of professional musicians, Peterson started with music at a very young age. Billy is t ...

- string bass, 5-string electric bass, drums, piano, synth, Farfisa Professional *Bruce Paulson - tenor & bass trombones *Gordy Knudtson - percussion

Production notes

*Produced by Willard O. Peterson & Leo Kottke *Engineered by Paul Martinson *Assistant engineers: Scott Bartel & Sam Hudson *Mastered by

Doug Sax Doug Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six Pink Floyd's albums, including '' The Wall''; Ray Charles' multiple ...

*Arrangements by Willard O. Peterson except guitar on "Jesus Maria" arranged by

Tim Sparks Tim Sparks (born October 31, 1954) is an American Steel-string guitar, acoustic guitar player, singer, arranger and composer. Life Raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was given his first guitar when a bout of encephalitis kept him out of ...

References

External links

Leo Kottke official site

Unofficial Leo Kottke web site (fan site)
{{Authority control Leo Kottke albums 1990 albums Private Music albums