• Artist: Les Paul
• Rating:

Review

Les Paul was a guitar innovator before Chet Atkins learned his first three chords, but somehow, he never could match Mr. Guitar's publicity. California Melodies travels back to the mid-'40s when Paul and his trio appeared on a radio program of the same name with Frank DeVol & His Orchestra. The introductions to each song on these radio transcriptions are a bit cheesy ("Maybe swing is a whole lot older than we think it is"), and the orchestra -- when it chimes in -- pretty much turns the quartet's music into easy listening. But when Paul, rhythm guitarist Cal Gooden, bassist Clint Nordquist, and pianist Tommy Todd are left on their own, they do swing. The song selection is smart, including now accepted standards like "All of Me," "Oh, Lady Be Good," and "Ain't Misbehavin'." There are also interesting oddities like Tchaikovsky's "Andante Cantible" and Duke Ellington's "Caravan." Paul's a nifty guitarist who fits comfortably within the electric school of jazz following Charlie Christian's innovations in the late '30s and early '40s. California Melodies also includes four bonus cuts that were taken from various radio shows -- the Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall, the Andy Russell Show -- in 1945. For jazz guitar buffs and anyone addicted to the great standards of '30s and '40s jazz, California Melodies is a fun romp. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Begin the Beguine		Cole Porter	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(3:33)
All of Me	...	Seymour Simons, Gerald Marks	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:33)
Andante Cantible	...	Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(3:48)
Oh, Lady Be Good	...	George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:50)
Brazil	...	Bob Russell, Ary Barroso	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:47)
I Never Knew	...	Thomas Pitts, Roy Marsh, Raymond Egan B.	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:24)
For You	...	Al Dubin, Joe Burke	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:45)
Limehouse Blues	...	Philip Braham, Douglas Furber	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:21)
Song of the Islands	...	Charles King E.	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:24)
Forty Days and Forty Nights	...	Les Paul	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(3:37)
Way Down Yonder in New Orleans	...	Henry Creamer, Turner Layton	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:26)
Out of Nowhere		Johnny Green, Edward Heyman	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:52)
I've Been Working on the Railroad	...	Traditional	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:37)
It Had to Be You	...	Isham Jones, Gus Kahn	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(3:09)
Ain't Misbehavin'	...	Fats Waller, Andy Razaf, Harry Brooks	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:36)
Caravan		Irving Mills, Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(3:10)
Way Down Yonder in New Orleans [*]	...	Henry Creamer, Turner Layton	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(3:07)
Danger, Men at Work [*]	...	Les Paul	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(3:00)
Blue Skies [*]	...	Irving Berlin	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:28)
(Back Home Again In) Indiana [*]	...	Ballard MacDonald, James F. Hanley	Les Paul, Frank DeVol	(2:36)

Credits

Les Paul (Main Performer), Wayne Knight (Liner Notes), Tommy Todd (Group Member), Clinton Nordquist (Group Member), Cal Gooden (Group Member)