When Phish bassist Mike Gordon and acoustic guitar aficionado Leo Kottke first collaborated in 2002, it seemed strange, though it turned out rather brilliant.  Mike Gordon is strange, and his quirky musical personality is one of many elements that bring life to their latest duo release, Sixty Six Steps.

Sixty Six Steps breathes life and energy with each successive song.  It is upbeat and universally easy on the ears.  Kottke and Gordon collaborated with percussionist and drummer Neil Symonette, giving the album its rhythmic fullness.  The Kottke-Gordon duo shines as a unique combination of styles, and the range of musical ideas on this album is impressive.  Both musicians have their particular songs, and they compliment each other with idiosyncratic melodies and lyrics.

They even topped off the album with a few covers, including a melodious version of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion,” and Cyril Ferguson’s, “Ya Mar,” a song that Phish often covered.

Kottke’s fingerwork provides an original and consistently interesting instrumental aspect to this album: vibing in the realm of calypso, bouncing with the funk, and drivin' it home with the blues.  Mike Gordon’s singing can be an acquired taste at moments, but the timbre of his voice adds to the color of this album.  Kottke tends to bring a more folk-oriented style, but both Kottke and Gordon know where to find the jam in their mix of songs.  The balance is outstanding.  It’s a mellow album, but it spans the spectrum of eccentric tunes and melodies mixed with catchy, folksy songs.

Two sure favorites are the Kottke instrumental “From Spink to Correctionville” and Gordon’s “The Grid.”  On "Corectionville," Kottke features his well-sculpted fret work, and Gordon shines on "The Grid," singing “All I ever wanted/ Since I was a kid/ Was to run out to the wilderness/ And live off the grid.”  This is a bit of a wilderness album: not “lost in the forest” wilderness… more of a “rolling hills countryside” wilderness, and thoroughly enjoyable.