The Bottom Line
Pros
- "All Star" cast of Classic Rock artists
- Impeccable production
- Interweaving radio show and other historical clips provides creative context
- Two generations of artists influenced by a true pioneer
Cons
- Gotta love Sam Cooke, but how did he rate two tracks?
Description
- FEATURED ARTISTS:
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Edgar Winter, Noah Hunt - Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo
- Sting, Joss Stone - Love Sneakin' Up On You
- Billy Gibbons - Bad Case of Lovin’ You
- Sam Cooke and:
Eric Clapton - Somebody Ease My Troublin' Mind
Jeff Beck - Ain't That Good News - Steve Miller - Fly Like an Eagle
- Peter Frampton - So Into You
- Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Rick Derringer - Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl
- Neal Schon, Beth Hart - I Wanna Know You
- Johnny Rzeznik - All I Want Is You
- Joe Perry, Mick Hucknall, Kenny Olsen - I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know
- Alsou - How High the Moon
- Richie Sambora - Let Me Roll It
- And, of course, Les Paul on all cuts, and one solo - Caravan
Guide Review - Les Paul & Friends
Keith Richards, one of the “friends” on Paul's first new release since 1978, sums it up perfectly. “[W]e must all own up that without Les Paul, generations of flash little punks like us would be in jail or cleaning toilets. This man, by his genius, made the road that we still travel today.”
The album’s significance is as much historical as musical. Think about it. Most of the “flash little punks” on this CD were small children, or unborn, when Les Paul and Mary Ford began recording hits. He invented a sound, a style, and even the very instrument that has defined rock music since the beginning. Hence the moniker, The Father of the Electric Guitar.
One track's intro is a conversation between Paul and a then-five-year-old Steve Miller. Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck work out with Sam Cooke. Rick Derringer and Keith Richards accompany Buddy Guy. Who else but Les Paul could bring together a group of this caliber?
Paul brings out the best in these artists. Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo featuring Edgar Winter, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Noah Hunt, is better than the original. So is Peter Frampton’s treatment of So Into You, and Miller’s Fly Like an Eagle.
Excerpts from Paul’s late-40s radio shows are artfully interwoven, creating yet another link in the chain between these artists and “The Man Who Changed The Music."
