Try and Stop Me

Try And Stop Me is a 2004 album by guitarist Leo Kottke. It contains some of Kottke's first forays into improvisation. All songs are unaccompanied guitar solos with the exception of "Banks of Marble" in which Kottke is supported by the band Los Lobos. Kottke plays a new arrangement of Carla Bley's "Jesus Maria" here, his third recorded version of the song. Besides the version on That's What, he contributed another recording of the song to a promotional album titled Sounds of Wood and Steel (1997) released by Taylor Guitars and Windham Hill. Reception Writing for Allmusic, music critic Hal Horowitz wrote of the album "... music that falls between folk, world, jazz, gospel, and the dreaded new age that is indelibly tied to Kottke's recognizable percussive style. There are few deviations from his established direction and many of these tracks could have been included on any of his previous two-dozen or so discs. But that doesn't lessen the impact of experiencing one of the most respected and intense acoustic guitarists in the history of the instrument ply his craft... Established fans won't find many revelations here, but they will still relish hearing fresh Kottke music, if only because he's obviously still playing at the top of his game 35 years into his idiosyncratic career." Rolling Stone gave the album 3 of 5 stars.