Les Paul: Chasing Sound!

When it comes to rock 'n' roll guitars, only the Fender Stratocaster can rival Les Paul's Gibson in terms of distinctive sound and sheer popularity. Yet Paul's six-string namesake (and, by extension, all solid body guitars, as he was the first to construct one) may not even be the man's most significant contribution to music: he also invented multi-tracking and overdubbing, which literally made modern recording possible. John Paulson's entertaining documentary, part of the PBS-aired American Masters series tells the whole story and even features Paul himself, 90 years old at the time (he's 92 now and still going strong). Born in Waukesha, WI, Paul started out playing what he calls "hillbilly music" before graduating to jazz, honing a style that owed plenty to the immortal Django Reinhardt. Moves to Chicago, New York, and L.A. followed, and along the way, Paul built an eight-track recording system, created a delay effect for his guitar, and perfected the technique he called "sound on sound," or overdubbing. Paul also met and married singer Mary Ford, with whom he had a run of major pop hits, the best-known of which is "How High the Moon" (1951), an astonishing record that features no less than 10 guitar and 12 vocal parts. Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, and Richard Carpenter (brother of Karen) are among those who testify to Paul's greatness. But you can hear it for yourself in the DVD extras, which include several lip-synced TV performances with Ford that show off Paul's artistic and technical accomplishments to vivid effect, as well as recent clips of Richards, Merle Haggard, and Chet Atkins sharing the stage with Paul. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Graham)