American Made World Played

1	Introduction Excerpt from the Les Paul Radio Show 0:14
2	Love Sneakin' Up on You / Joss Stone 3:25
3	Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo / Noah Hunt 5:05
4	Somebody Ease My Troublin' Mind / Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert Band 3:32
5	So into You 4:40
6	How High the Moon / Alsou 2:09
7	Bad Case of Lovin' You / Billy Gibbons 3:54
8	I Wanna Know You / Beth Hart 6:21
9	(Ain't That) Good News 4:04
10	Let Me Roll It / Richie Sambora 4:03
11	Caravan 2:08
12	Good Morning Little Schoolgirl / Keith Richards 4:01
13	All I Want Is You / Johnny Rzeznik 4:17
14	69 Freedom Special 5:44
15	Fly Like an Eagle / Steve Miller Band 4:45
16	I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know / Kenny Olsen 6:47

Barnes & Noble

When Les Paul speaks -- or, more accurately, runs his fingers across the strings of the instrument that bears his name -- people listen. That should come as no surprise, since the man all but single-handedly birthed rock 'n' roll when he turned mad scientist and invented the electric guitar, thereby launching the careers of most of the Friends who turned out for this 90th birthday commemoration. While this is Paul's first studio recording in more than a quarter of a century, he's kept his chops up by holding down a weekly gig in New York City for much of that time -- no mean feat for a guy who's a couple decades older than the most grizzled classic rockers who've come to pay their respects on the disc. Paul brings out the best in his acolytes, coaxing ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons into some of his raunchiest playing in years on a version of "Bad Case of Lovin' You" and conducting a sort of gunslinger's ballet among Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, and Rick Derringer on a libidinous "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl." Interestingly, Paul opted not to dig all that deeply into the catalog of songs he popularized as a recording artist, reprising the classic ballad "How High the Moon" with the help of Russian songstress Alsou and working out a tender version of "All I Want Is You" that features Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls on vocals. A few questionable decisions were made in compiling the set -- while culling one vintage Sam Cooke vocal performance for a cut-and-paste "collaboration" would've been sufficient, two is kind of pushing it -- but it is Paul's party, so he's entitled to fill out the dance card any way he sees fit. David Sprague

All Music Guide

At the age of 90, Les Paul issued his first newly recorded album in 27 years (the last one being his collaboration with Chet Atkins, Chester & Lester, in 1978), and it's a classic rock guitar version of the Frank Sinatra Duets projects, which is to say that, on most tracks, Paul is joined by superstar friends, most of them guitarists, who have overdubbed their parts elsewhere. The list of guitarists is truly stupendous -- Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Rick Derringer, Peter Frampton, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Buddy Guy, Steve Miller, Joe Perry, Keith Richards, Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi, Neal Schon, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. As if that weren't enough, the featured vocalists include Mick Hucknall of Simply Red, Johnny Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls, Sting, Joss Stone, and Edgar Winter. And the sidemen are equally stellar (if better known among their peers than to the general public), including guitarist Steve Lukather, bassists Nathan East and Will Lee, and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. So, there is no problem with chops here. If there is a problem, it is with the disembodied nature of the project, which, in one of those misguided and ghoulish record company decisions, even includes two vocals by Sam Cooke, who died in 1964, stripped of their accompanying instrumental tracks, with new ones built up. While the album is a celebration of Paul, and there are some endearing excerpts from the old Les Paul & Mary Ford radio show, as well as a home tape of family friend Steve Miller as a five-year-old, the old master himself only really shines on the numbers lacking the superstars, a strong version of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and "69 Freedom Special." Otherwise, the album is more about what a couple of generations of rock guitarists have done with Paul's signature Gibson guitar model than it is about Paul himself. William Ruhlmann