Lou Pallo & Special Guests - Thank You Les Numbered - Limited

Michael Fremer Rated 9/10 Music, 11/10 Sonics! Numbered, Limited Edition! 180 Gram AAA Vinyl! Highly Recommended by Michael Fremer! Pressed at Pallas! Thank You Les has won an Independent Music Award for Best Tribute Album! This timeless recording is co-produced by Les' long-time sideman, Lou Pallo. After close to 40-years of performing with Les Paul, weekly, Lou Pallo has invited close friends in multiple genres to help him pay homage to their friend and mentor, preserving Les' spirit through a collection of jazz and blues standards adored by Les himself. Lou Pallo became interested in playing guitar as a young boy after listening to his father and uncles make music under the grapevine at Italian family gatherings. He formed a band and at age of 16 began playing weddings, banquets and parties throughout the New York and New Jersey area. He cites Les Paul as his idol and influence. He met Les Paul in 1963. Although Les Paul was newly retired, due in part to painful arthritis and the introduction of Rock & Roll, he and Lou became fast riends and began rehearsing, recording and going to clubs toether to sit with hired acts. Lou was a great fit for the Les Paul sound and gave Les inspiration to continue to play to a liev audience. Les began sitting in at Lou's gigs, regularly. One year, Les sat in on one of Lou's steady gigs a total of 86 times! In 1984, Les and Lou along with bassist Gary Mazzaroppi formed the Les Paul Trio and took their show to NYC, working every Monday night at Fat Tuesdays nite club. Twelve years later, the weekly performances moved to the Iridium Jazz Club. Through the years, teh Trio was also highlighted at notable venues including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the House of Blues. Lou Pallo remained the only constant in Les Paul's Trio up until Les passed away in 2009. During Lou's tenure wtih Les, Trio members have incldued Gary Mazzaroppi, Paul Nowinski and Nicki Parrott on bass (with jay Leonhart as sub), Frank Vignola on guitar and John Colianni on piano. Lou continues to lead Les Paul's Trio at the Iridium in NYC every Monday night. He is joined by Nicki Parrott on bass and John Colianni on piano, in addition to special guests each week. Lou's goal is to keep Les' music and unique style alive as he pays homage to his long-time band mate, friend and music idol. "...an eerily transparent The production was all-analog on vintage tube gear that warmed up the CD reviewed here a few months ago, but on vinyl? OMG! Anyone who thinks CDs are "transparent to the source" will surely change their minds hearing this AA recording in its most pure AAA state (though Slash's and Billy F. Gibbon's parts were recorded elsewhere and probably "phoned in" digitally and added to the final mix) compared to the CD version, though the CD has 21 songs, compared to the LPs 12 (maybe a volume 2 if this sells well enough?). There simply wasn't room for it all. "...There are no lowlights, but one of the highlights is the rich, reverberant recording. You'll sink your ears into it within seconds of the opener 'Avalon' (not the Roxy Music song!) featuring guitarist Frank Vignola. It's almost unfair to single out any one track among the twelve tunes, but for me, Steve Miller's take on "Nature Boy" was particularly elegant. Nothing beats people singing and playing live together minus auto-tune. On the vinyl more so than on the CD, "Vaya Con Dios"—a song long associated with the late Mary Ford— eerily channels Les's former spouse and musical partner, courtesy Arlen Roth and daughter Lexie... "Great performances, particularly out-of-their-comfort-zone ones from rockers, a stellar recording and a warm, warm feeling you'll get every play of this heartfelt tribute album make it so easy to recommend." - Michael Fremer, Analog Planet "This, numbered, limited edition vinyl version, mastered by Alex DeTurk at Masterdisk and pressed at Pallas is highly recommended!" - Michael Fremer, Analog Planet Features: • Numbered, Limited Edition • 180g Vinyl • Mastered by Alex DeTurk at Masterdisk • Recorded and mixed to analog tape/mastered to vinyl from tape • Pressed at Pallas Selections: 1. Avalon - featuring Frank Vignola 2. Mr. Day/Tell Me What's The Reason - featuring Steve Miller 3. Caravan - featuring Nokie Edwards 4. Vaya Con Dios - featuring Lexie and Arlen Roth 5. It's Been A Long Long Time - featuring Keith Richards 6. I'm Confessin' That I love You - featuring Eddie Brigati Jr. and Bucky Pizzarelli 7. Besame Mucho - featuring Jose Feliciano 8. Deep In The Blues - featuring Slash 9. Tennessee Waltz - featuring Nicki Parrott 10. September Song - featuring Billy F. Gibbons 11. Sweet Georgia Brown - featuring Johnny A. 12. Smile - featuring Blondie Chaplin