Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute to a Legend

When Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played dropped in 2005, it made history. Produced by Bob Cutarella and Fran Cathcart, it brought Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Sam Cooke, Steve Miller, and many others into the studio to play with guitar pioneer Les Paul. That recording earned two Grammys in 2006.
 
Cutarella and Cathcart's latest collaboration is Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute to a Legend. Building on the previous concept, these producers brought in some of the best players in the industry for a ten song tribute album to Paul but with a twist. This wasn't a tip of the hat to a musical honoree who had passed from these realms. It was a living tribute, an honoring of the man who created the solid state electric guitar who made all of their careers possible. However, to stand up some of the best modern guitar stylists against the chops of Les Paul was daring and brilliant.
 
Les Paul, a tinkerer and inventor, knew early on that an electric guitar had infinite possibilities. Starting out as a country guitarist, Paul created his first solid body electric guitar in 1941 but never realized that it would help shape a new kind of music, called a decade later rockabilly or rock and roll. His signature Gibson Les Paul is every guitarist's wet dream.
 
Paul also developed new recording and engineering techniques that paved the way for modern innovators of electronica and computer based music. He revolutionized recording by developing techniques such as miking instruments individually, echo effects, overdubbing, phasing, and multi-track recording. He even built the first eight-track tape recorder in 1954. Though that is considered a lemon in the recording field, it really was a necessary step that opened technicians to new ways of thinking about recording music. The cassette tape followed and finally passed by the wayside when digital recording and mp3s became the standard.
 
Les Paul, along with his wife Mary Ford, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978, and he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2008, he was honored as the 2008 American Music Master by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Though Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute to a Legend was designed to honor Les Paul, it actually pays tribute to Hiram Bullock, who died before this album was released. Bullock, a much in-demand session player with a broad range (funk, rock, blues, and jazz), sat in with everybody: Billy Joel, James Brown, Paul Simon, Miles Davis, Sting, Chaka Kahn, Pete Townsend, Roberta Flack, Spryo Gyra, Eric Clapton, and many more. Like blues icon Joe Bonamassa, Bullock was a musical child prodigy, studying piano at the age of 6 at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, eventually finding sax, bass, and finally guitar as a teenager. Known as the barefoot guitar player, Bullock was a member of the acclaimed Saturday Night Live band and even wrote songs for the soundtrack of the film, Under Seige. Since 1983, Bullock has been a solo artist, writing his own tunes.
 
Besides guitar work, Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute to a Legend, contains strong vocals by some remarkable singers and players. Joe Bonamassa sets a standard for this album by taking the vocal lead on his “The Good Luck You're Having.” He shares guitar work with Bullock and Les Paul. Bullock's bluesy number, “The Walls Came Tumbling Down,” follows with Bullock's strong blues wail and only Les Paul and his guitars adding to the mix.
 
Bullock and Paul contribute guitar work on Joan Osborne's rendition of “I Don't Want to Be with Nobody But You,” which is an absolute delight. Bullock also adds background vocals with Osbourne, Ken Cummings, Bob Cutarella, and Elaine Caswell.
 
Equally impressive is Goo Goo Doll frontman Johnny Rzeznik's rendering of U2's “All I Want Is You.” His vocals are as sensitive as Bono's work, and the cut is made exceptional by guitar work he shares with Paul and Peter Frampton. Brian Mitchell's piano work is an sweet added touch.
 
Lisa Fischer's funky, reggae-tinged version of “Slippin' into Darkness” is an organ and drum-laden tune underlined by guitar work by Paul, Bullock, and Fran Cathcart. Adding another layer of color is Jon Paris's harmonica and twin saxes, producing a jungle dance beat.
 
Simply Red's frontman Mick Hucknall adds a seductive blues note on “I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know.” Guitar work here is done by Paul, Joe Pery, Kenny Olson, and Bullock. The saxophone and organ touches add an intenseness to the cut.
 
There are three instrumental cuts. A funk/rock instrumental, “69 Freedom Special,” is reprised here, the only duplicate from the Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played album. Bullock and Paul are joined on guitars by Barry Goldstein. Arranged with a strong four-piece horn section by Ken Cummings and Greg Mathieson's organ work, the cut flat out rocks.
 
The other two instrumentals do not feature Les Paul. “Yocalise,” a New Age, Spanish-influenced rendering by Slash, is a simple guitar, bass, drums, and keys number that lets Slash's guitar shine. “How Long” features lead guitar work by Jeff Golub with backup by Bullock. Ken Cummings and Bob Cutarella's backup vocals on this one add a Motown touch.
 
Even the last cut, “Great Hall of Fame,” doesn't have Paul playing on it. It features Richie Sambora, the lead guitarist for Bon Jovi, on vocals and guitar. It's a country/rock anthem with gospel overtones that chronicles the hardships of life on the road and why musicians keep playing.
 
Though seven of the ten cuts have Les Paul playing on them, it seems odd he didn't add his guitar to those other three. Still, Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute to a Legend is full of guitar and vocal gems, making this also a tribute not just to Les Paul but to the modern guitar.



Immortal Souls
Wintereich

Finnish band Immortal Souls has embarked on an ambitious project. Though I am not a hardcore fan, I was impressed with the beauty (yes, you did read that right) of the lyrics and the artwork of Wintereich. This album is Immortal Souls’ third full-length album and its second US release on Facedown Records.

Immortal Souls has taken the winter images for which they are known, and expanded them into a story-based work of five chapters. The album’s accompanying booklet offers stark, snowy images and a complete text of the work, which is written and sung in English. The vocals on the album, however, don’t need translation. Though they are gravelly and accented, they are clearly understood, which I found refreshing for a hardcore work.

Instrumentally, Wintereich is more complex than other hardcore albums I’ve sampled. Esa Sarkioja’s lead guitar work and Pete Loisa’s rhythm guitar offer an interesting interplay, backed by Juha Kronqvist’s consistent drums. Wintereich is often more melodic than driving. Aki Sarkioja’s bass, however, is often masked by the strength of the other instruments, but it is his vocal delivery that takes prominence as it should because it is the lyrics that run this machine. The cuts “Black Water” and “Wintereich” have Aki Sarkioja surprisingly slipping into pure rock vocals that are startling and pure.

The message of this metal lyric fantasy, however, is obscure. I’m not sure whether it’s about doom and death or about choice and redemption. On a Christian hardcore label, I expected something a bit more direct, not an allegory. Still, it is wintermetal opera worthy of a listen. .



Enchanted Ape
Off The Ground

Formed in Wisconsin, three years ago, Enchanted Ape began with the dream of guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Chris O’Brien and three percussionists. They soon attracted a stage full of guest singers and musicians, including harmonica players, saxophonists, organists, and even an electric cello player, that changed at nearly every gig as the band dipped into material that was equally eclectic and varied. Enchanted Ape did reggae, Southern rock, feel-good hippie jam, blues, and even some gypsy jazz—some covers but mostly O’Brien’s original material.
They band released one CD, Three Ring Symphony,  in 2005, and played a variety of clubs and festivals in the upper Midwest, including the 10,000 Lakes Festival in Minnesota and Summerfest in Wisconsin. Enchanted Ape finally gelled into a  five-piece band in 2007 when O’Brien relocated to Minneapolis and Rob Bruce (bass/vocals), Brad Danielson (percussion), Adam Kuchelmeister (drums), and Pat Riddle (electric guitar/vocals) joined the group. This solid configuration recorded Off the Ground last year and released it a few months ago.

Off the Ground is an impressive sophomore album. It is of the quality that many bands only hope to achieve after many years on the road and many other CDs under their belts. Chris O’Brien wrote ten of the twelve songs on this album and collaborated with Pat Riddle on two others. The folky bluesy tune “Heat Waves” bears O’Brien’s lyrics, but the music is a joint venture between him and Pat Riddle.  In contrast, the contemporary jazzy tune “Variable” in mainly a Riddle composition with O’Brien assisting on lyrics. These two songs, especially “Variable,” are a definite departure from O’Brien’s style but does fit well with the album’s concept, which still bears an eclectic feel. O’Brien’s touch is more organic and folk rockish.

One of the highlights of this album is O’Brien’s ballad about a Wisconsin lumberjack caught in a love triangle called “Pine Tar Jack.” There is also a touch of early Grateful Dead in “Whisper,”through its guitar work and vocal harmonies, and “27 Miles” offers a boogie blues. In contrast, songs like “Crawl” and “Leave Here As I Came” are more much than party fare, offering listeners something to chew around about life and the human condition.

This album not only has an accessibility that is present in roots and jam music but has depth of intelligence that is most unusual. If a sophomore album can be this good, how much more does Enchanted Ape have in its primate mind, just waiting to be gifted to waiting fans.