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Chester And Lester.


Murph

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According to Les from the PBS documentary, it was Chet that brought him out of "retirement" to do this album, and Les hasn't stopped since. I've also heard interviews with both Chet and Les that said what became the album was really only supposed to be the rehearsal. The "real" recording session for the album was scheduled for the next day, but since tape was rolling for the rehearsal, Les decided that was good enough and walked out.

 

I think the looseness and banter of the "rehearsal session" had a lot to do with the popularity of the album, and kind of set the outline for other Chet duet albums to follow. If they had gone back to the studio the next day and "seriously" recorded the same songs, it would have been a completely different album. To me, the fact it sounds like two regular guys sitting around a basement trading licks and songs, and telling stories and jokes, is what makes it so great. It was probably the first time many of us ever heard the "human" side of either of these guys.

 

Oh, and the guitar playing is pretty good too.

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I played a '72 "Recording" Les Paul for 14 years, but it was different than the one Les has on this cd.

 

Not just the Bigsby, mine didn't have the knob up where the pickup switch is on a regular Les Paul. There was nothing there at all. Not even a hole.

 

His is "special" !

 

Murph.

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As far as Les' guitar goes;

 

I haven't seen the CD version, so don't know how much you can gather from that sleeve-art, but just checking the front and rear of the 12" album cover you can spot that LP's LP has :

 

1) A rotary p'up selector knob. I'm fairly certain I read it was a 4 position switch.

2) Single-ring green-key Klusons (in 1976?!).

3) 3 regular, round,knobs and one pointer knob/switch in a row following the lower bottom-bout curve.

4) 4 additional switches/knobs (hard to tell) between the Bigsby tail-plate and the curved row of knobs.

5) A secondary jack output, as found on the LP Recording, on the upper face of the rear bout.

 

The starting point for all this seems to have been somewhere between a regular white LP Custom and a Les Paul Recording; multi-ply bound body, Custom/Recording-style headstock inlay, large(r than production LP Recording) style block markers etc. The headstock, however, doesn't seem to have the full amount of binding for a Custom, nor the style of binding on the regular mahogany LP Rec., (the shot is pretty grainy and it's hard to tell). It is referred to in one Gibson book as being "...his own specially made Les Paul Personal..."

 

I read an interview with the man himself at about the time the album came out (which spurred me into buying the record, incidentally, in early '77) and he explained that the Gibson Co. always made his own guitars to his personal specification and it wasn't a production line instrument. He also stated that he usually "improved" the electronics as time went by to suit his ever-changing requirements!

 

The previously mentioned documentary was screened over here in the UK as recently as two weeks ago and I would love to buy it if it's available as a DVD. Tremendous stuff!

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