Chet Atkins and Les Paul
"Chester and Lester"
RCA/Legacy
Originally released in 1976, reissued in 2007
*****
In honor of Les Paul's passing on Aug. 13, I decided to give the only album of his that I own a spin.
Recorded in 1975, "Chester and Lester" is one of the guitar great's last studio albums. Semi-retired after his divorce from Mary Ford in the mid '60s, Paul was coaxed back into the recording studio by fellow guitar legend Chet Atkins for a two-day Nashville session in 1975.
Paul brought the songs, Atkins brought a swinging country backup band and the pair improvise their way through a handful of jazz standards, including "Caravan," "Moonglow" and "Birth of the Blues." Paul's clear, trilling tone contrasts Atkins' twangy fingerpicking, yet the two distinct styles marry perfectly.
The result is a leisurely jam session recorded mostly in single takes (a rarity for Paul, who often layered multiple guitar tracks on his work with Ford). Studio banter is left in, with the two guitar legends joking after takes and even complimenting each other during songs.
The laid-back feel of the record makes the jaw-dropping playing all the more amazing. When the two pickers trade solos in "Lover Come Back to Me" they almost feel out of place - so relaxed is the playing surrounding the soloists.
The album won a Grammy for best country instrumental performance, and so successful was the collaboration that the two returned to the studio the next year for "Guitar Monsters," which would be Paul's final studio album.
Sadly out of print for years, this disc is now available on disc with four additional recordings from those magical two days in 1975.
Buy "Chester and Lester"
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