To be honest, it is hard to tell why Richie Sambora (not to pick on him) and Neil Schon are even on this record- they don't sound noticeably Les Paul-influenced, coming instead from the more diffuse tradition that gave us what I dub the Travel Bands (Asia, Boston, Journey, Europe, etc.). On the same note, the blooze-rock tracks that pepper the album's running order are also a bit puzzling, since Les Paul never really did that kind of thing at all; their inclusion seems like a small failure of taste and courage on the part of the producers.
With all the egos bouncing around, sometimes they win the day, such as when Neal Schon wastes a shockingly intense vocal performance by Mary Hart on the blues crawl "I Wanna Know You." Schon squirts deedly blooze lines over, around, and right on top of Hart's deep reading, practically breaking his fingers to upstage her. Frank Zappa once made fun of musicians who made faces while they played what he called the "I'm squirtin' now!" note. Schon achieves the truly Tantric feat of squirtin' all over everything in sight for a full six minutes and 21 seconds.
Luckily, most selections stay closer to the other end of the spectrum, perhaps even too much so. Les Paul is - seriously - the Guitarist's Guitarist, the man who invented the instrument, invented much of its vocabulary, and invented the first electronic effects to go with it, and it seems that his presence reduces even the greatest stars to sidemen. On the blues-rock romp "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," I can't tell Keith Richards apart from Buddy Guy, Les Paul, session man Hiram Bullock, and the criminally underrated Rick Derringer. The track is mixed beautifully; all the parts are separated nicely. And yet, except for the odd moment when Buddy Guy's tone does the Buddy Guy thing, he pretty much sounds the same as the other guys. This is a little disappointing, considering the prospect of hearing Rick Derringer rip it up with Buddy Guy.
But for the most part the album achieves a nice balance between ego and modesty, and is at minimum eminently listenable. Whereas such a logjam of talent could easily devolve into twelve dire tracks of "1000 Guitars Jamming on 'Freebird'," only a few tracks descend to that numbing level of wankery. Most are much more distinctive. This is especially impressive since (of course) all the songs were cobbled together from various takes and contributions made at different times by musicians who never met in the studio.
The difference between what works and not is not always easy to pin down. Why is the version of U2's "All I Want Is You" with Les Paul, The Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Rzeznik and the great Peter Frampton a stronger track than "So Into You" with Frampton and Les Paul alone? Or why does "Bad Case of Lovin' You" with Billy Gibbons work better than the aforementioned "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl?" It all seems to come down to accidental chemistry.
Article comments
1 - godoggo
I read that he's no longer able to play chords because, I think, of arthritis. I suspect this has something to do with the modesty of his presentation.
2 - John Owen
It certainly wouldn't surprise me at all. Still, his single-note work is pretty cool. Slower, but pretty cool.
3 - Maurice
Nice job on the review. I bought the album last night and have been listening to it over and over. The only songs I don't care for are Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo and I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know. RARHC only because it is missing the killer lick that really made that song. You know the one. ILYMTYEK is just too slow.
Caravan is awesome!
4 - BluesBoy
I found it entertaining how you poked fun at "I Wanna Know," one of the few good tracks on the entire album, and Schon's blues playing is superb to say the least. And the artists on the album weren't neccesarily influenced by Les Paul himself, but were big advocates of the Les Paul guitar (Neal Schon, Richie Sambora). And the critique of Schon playing over BETH Heart (Not Mary)..... it's a freakin' record dedicated to Les Paul, the inventor of the GUITAR, hence intense guitar-work on the album. I'd say your review was alright but you seem to have an extra special fondness for my man Les Paul, and just get it out there, he didn't 'invent' the electric guitar, but no doubt helped influence it's use and production. Anyway, my two cents, late.
BB