Search - Les Paul :: The Best of the Capitol Masters: Selections From "The Legend and the Legacy"

A great overview of Les Paul & Mary Ford's hits

Bradley Olson | Bemidji, MN United States | 06/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Released in 1992 as a single disc distillation of the hard to find "The Legend and The Legacy" boxed set, this CD, although it has some instrumental work, it focuses more on his hits with his wife at the time these were recorded, Mary Ford including the huge hits "Mockin' Bird Hill," "Tennessee Waltz," "How High The Moon," "Bye Bye Blues," "In The Good Old Summertime," "Tiger Rag," and, among others, one of my personal favorites, the spiritual "Vaya Con Dios" which is translated to "May God Be With You." Les's production techniques are ever present on this disc, but what makes this disc worthwhile is Les's guitar and Mary's singing with the music being a great mixture of many kinds of music that is hard to describe other than Les Paul music and as another reviewer mentioned, it is very comparable to Chet Atkins, another one of my favorite guitarists. BTW, this disc has been reissued recently with 3 bonus tracks added but as long as this pressing of it is still available, pick it up while you can, as it is cheaper than the new reissue, released to celebrate his 90th birthday. For those who prefer his instrumental work over his duets with Mary Ford, the disc to start with is the ASV Living Era compilation "How High The Moon," but this is still a great companion to the ASV disc. For those who are wanting more and can't find the boxed set, Collectables reissued the original albums in twofers."