Search - Les Paul :: Complete Decca Trios: Plus

So good, he?s got a guitar named after him!

Steven H. Hulme | Boise, ID USA | 05/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"These 2 discs - 50 tracks, well over 2 hours of music - is the first material recorded by the legendary Les Paul, dating from 1936-47. And for being 50-plus years old, it sounds fresh indeed!Even as a youngster, Les shows amazing versatility, recording solo as "Rhubarb Red" (guitar, vocals, and a harmonica on a bracket), playing jazz standards, "Hawaiian" style, even "cowboy" music. He is joined on most of these tracks by his trio (piano, guitar, bass, later drums), and on many by the most celebrated vocalists of the period - Helen Forest, Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters. His talent and technique never overshadow the music; most of the time he's playing tasty rhythms and nifty chords, but every so often he cuts loose with a flash of dazzling finger work. The cat can play! And this is before he got famous! (Check out the jazz standard "Caravan" on disc 2.)When you consider that all of this material was recorded years before he developed the first Gibson solid-body guitar (1952), Les was way ahead of his time. For the most part, sound quality is excellent, considering the vintage. A craftily-restored historical document, and also a fine music program."