Customer Reviews

Very Best Of Les Paul & Mary Ford

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This CD has all of the songs that were my favorites by Les Paul & Mary Ford, especially "How High the Moon". I had the pleasure of seeing them in person at a local music store demonstration for Gibson guitars back in 1959. They asked for requests and I asked for "How High the Moon". Les didn't know if he could remember it all, but he decided to try it anyway, especially since it had less multi-track effects than some of their other tunes. (Of course Mary had some trouble getting her other 5 voices to be heard) It came out really well anyway (as you would expect), and it was a thrill that they played it at my request. I would recommend this CD to any fan of theirs. I don't think you'll find as many of their hits in one place on any other CD. "Tennessee Waltz" is the only one I can think of that isn't in this collection. If you buy this CD, I know you'll enjoy it.

I bought this CD mainly because I have enjoyed the duet's "16 Most Requested Songs (1958-1961)", which is a superb CD. Sadly, this 30 song collection left me rather frustrated. True, there are 30 fantastic tracks on this CD covering the "golden" era of Les Paul and Mary Ford (1949-1955); yet it means the quality of the remastered tracks is unsteady and stylistically the music appeals to jazz listeners, rather than pop. Moreover, I was disappointed also because out of these 30 tracks only 9 contain Mary's vocal. Also the "booklet" doesn't include any information, just a track listing.

If you admire the jazz side of Les Paul, then you would enjoy it very much. But I'm going to look for something more pop-orientated and with more vocal contribution from Mary, maybe more of their Columbia period (1957-1963).

I love Les Paul and Mary Ford. I grew up on their music. In 35 years, I have yet to hear another guitar player so innovative, ground breaking, inspiring and exciting. I don't think there are many voices as rich and velvety as Mary's. This compilation has almost all of their "good stuff". Even today, their tracks sound crisp and fresh and bright. I like to listen to these tunes just to lift my spirits. You just about can't be depressed or low if you listen to songs like "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise". Very highly recommended.

I just received this in the mail; had ordered it
specifically for the tracks "Josephine" and "Little
Rock Getaway" which, among other titles, were in my
late dad's record collection. "Walkin' and Whistlin'
Blues" I had heard on an album about 20 years ago.
Talk about memories.

What's interesting about this collection, as other
reviewers have noted, is that it contains mostly
Les Paul instrumentals--not quite so much Mary Ford
(curiously, "Jealous" has been included, which was
not one of their hits, but was on the flip-side of
one of their better-known tracks--possibly "How High
The Moon", but I'm not sure). For those of you who
want more of Mary's vocals, I recommened that you bypass
this CD and get "The best of the Capitol masters--90th
birthday edition"(I have a previously-releaesd version
of this CD, which only contains the tracks from "Lover"
to "Hummingbird", plus some of the funniest liner notes
from Les himself that I've ever read! I don't know if
the liner notes were retained). I believe another reviewer
wrote about the sound quality. Personally, I believe
"Josephine" sounds EXACTLY as it did on my dad's 45.
Preserving artistic integrity is usually the goal when
reissuing analog-recorded music, and EMI/Capitol has
done a fabulous job here in my opinion. It's also noteworthy
that, with the exception of "The Kangaroo" and "Mandolino",
this CD contains all of Les's HIT instrumentals, plus other
good tunes, like his take on Duke Ellington's "Caravan", an
interesting version of "The Man On The Flying Trapeze", etc.
Many of his instrumentals were on flip-sides of the vocal
records with Mary. And how Les could play that guitar, not
to mention the overdubbing which STILL sounds state-of-the-
art to me! Thank you, Amazon.

P.S.: R.I.P., Les. And thank you for your contributions to recording
and the guitar!

This has to be the worse CD I've ever listened to. What a disgrace to use these very talented people to sell a reproduction of this poor quality by these history making musicians.... Sounds like a little child's toy guitar was use....It's Tinny and the speed is to fast.... Sounds like when you run a 33 1/3 at 45.... A Real Shame... Buy something else... Doesn't even deserve 1 star....

i was so looking forward to this CD as it had many tracks new to me. I was so upset to find it was mostly Les Paul, I wanted to hear Mary Ford sing. The few tracks on which she appeared were short, minimal, and very poor quality. These could not have been the original recordings. Frsnkly I threw it out after the first attempt at listening. CfK 2/25/11

I loved their music as a kid and I still love it. True that a little more singing from Mary would be good, but almost all the best is there now. Considering how many songs they both did, you can't expect to have it all on one CD. And yes, Waiting For The Sunrise and How High The Moon are their 2 all-time greatest and still beautiful to listen to. The jazz guitar is amazing. Les WAS a jazz guitarist, so if you don't like listening to superb guitar work, then I guess you wouldn't like this recording. For those of us who "remember when", it's THEM, and no doubt of it.

Les Paul and Mary Ford represent a high mark in American music. The combination of Les Paul's genius and Mary Ford's pure voice created a series of recordings that deservedly continue to be appreciated and respected today. The selection on "Very Best of Les Paul and Mary Ford" ranges from Les Paul's historic first multi-track recordings "Brazil" and "Lover" through classics such as "Via con Dios", "How High The Moon", "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise", and "Mockingbird Hill", a song that Mary Ford, according to Les Paul, thought was silly and had serious reservations about recording. This collection is an excellent reminder that Les Paul and Mary Ford were American Originals in the world of music.

This came all the way from the US and arrived efficiently and promptly. The CD was exactly as expected

Very Best Of Les Paul & Mary Ford Excellent product slow on del. but Amazon compensated for it thank you very much. this is the peak of excellence les paul is an amazing guitarist and pioneer of the music industry.