Album: Les Paul’s New Sound, Vol. 2
Artist: Les Paul & Mary Ford
Year: 1951
Genre: Country
Grade: A
Country in name only, this vastly underrated LP is a sublime combination of rock ‘n’ roll, dream pop and jazzy improvisation. Les Paul’s place in music history hasn’t been forgotten, but his innovative sounds unfortunately have — if more people knew about Les Paul’s New Sound, Vol. 2, it’d be part of the pop music canon.
Paul’s guitar playing is cerebral, but it’s the vocal melodies of spouse Mary Ford that truly make this record timeless. Whether rave-up (“In the Good Old Summer Time”) or slow-moving ballad (“Lonesome Road”), Ford’s voice has a stunning sense of control only equalled by her husband’s pioneering fretwork. Their chemistry is truly perfect.
Les Paul’s New Sound, Vol. 2 could rewrite music history if only it were more widely exposed. So, this is me trying to get the word out: give this great album a listen. Whether you want to call it country, rock, pop or jazz, this 12-track collection is an impressive artistic feat in any genre.
Accolades
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