Les Paul Now!

by Richard S. GinellLes Paul was coaxed briefly out of his musical retirement in 1967 to put together an album for London's audiophile Phase Four label -- and who better than this audio pioneer? But rather than use the opportunity to redefine himself as a progressive force in a different decade, Les meekly responded with a series of remakes of his earlier Capitol hits -- this time without the help of now-ex-wife Mary Ford. The tracks he originally recorded with Mary are rearranged completely for multiple guitars; only the spectacular "Tennessee Waltz" gains in the translation. The solo tracks for Capitol are remade with all kinds of fascinating stereo effects, but, with the exception of "Caravan," otherwise follow the original blueprints with a few embellishing touches. The only two bits of new material are credited to a writer named Manners: "The System," which went nowhere as a single, is a rare example of Les playing rock & roll, and "Los Angeles" is just a rewrite of Les' hit "Meet Mr. Callaghan." While it was nice to find Les back in action at the time, this record sounds like warmed-over goods. This album was re-released under the title Multi-Trackin'.