Les Paul:Chasing Sound DVD review

Les Paul:Chasing Sound documents the history of the legendary guitar player through his early years in Wisconsin all the way to the big time in Chicago,Los Angeles and New York. The filmmakers spent considerable time interviewing Lester Polfuss (Les Paul's real name) himself on many occasions getting all the facts straight from the source.

The documentary focuses on the man and his music more than the guitar that bears his name. This was very enlightening as most conversations about Les Paul usually revolve around his work on the now famous Gibson solid body. The stories the (at the time) 90 year old tells will grab you and have you painting the picture in your minds eye of the journey from country picker to a pioneer in the guitar and recording industry.

I was surprised to find out that Les Paul and Mary Ford recorded many of their hits for Capitol records not in recording studios but their home, motels, almost anywhere they were. Les kept recording equipment in his trunk and they would set up in the motels on the road. It's amazing to think that not only did he invent multi-track recording but also was way ahead of his time as a home recording artist.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 90 minutes I spent watching the DVD and have even more respect for this legendary performer and inventor.

Official Movie Site