Something of a companion piece to the 2005 Les Paul & Friends album American Made World Played, A Tribute to a Legend again finds contemporary rock musicians playing on tracks that, in most cases, also feature Paul himself.
The guitarist was 93-years-old on the day the album was released, and it isn't clear how much he participated on the seven out of ten tracks on which he is credited.
The term "tribute" does not suggest what the naïve potential consumer might suppose.
As Slash (whose contribution, "Vocalese," does not feature Paul) puts it in his liner notes, "This is a record where instead of playing Les Paul's music & trying to imitate his inimitable style, it is a showcase of guitar players doing their own thing, but in tribute to his influence on our musicianship, techniques & use of effects." So, guitarists including the late Hiram Bullock (for whom these were his last sessions before his death on July 25, 2008), Jeff Golub, Joe Perry, Johnny Rzeznik, and Richie Sambora play, and Rzeznik, Sambora, Lisa Fischer, Mick Hucknall, and Joan Osborne sing a variety of pop/rock, blues, and funk songs, among them selections by U2 ("All I Want Is You") and Ace ("How Long").
It's more a tribute to the Les Paul guitar than to Les Paul the musician, but there is some effective string bending all the same.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Good Luck You're Having | Joe Bonamassa | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 2 | The Walls Came Tumbling DownRobert Cutarella | Hiram Bullock | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | I Don't Want to Be with Nobody But You | Joan Osborne | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | All I Want Is You | Johnny Rzeznik | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 5 | Slippin' into DarknessPapa Dee Allen, Harold Brown, B.B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles Miller, Howard Scott | Lisa Fischer | Play | 07:22 | 16 MB | 52 MB |
| 6 | 69 Freedom Special | Les Paul | Play | 05:47 | 13 MB | 40 MB |
| 7 | VocaliseRobert Cutarella | Slash | Play | 05:00 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know | Mick Hucknall | Play | 06:45 | 15 MB | 37 MB |
| 9 | How LongPaul Carrack | Jeff Golub | Play | 05:43 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 10 | Great Hall of FameRichie Sambora | Richie Sambora | Play | 05:39 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 53 mins | 123 MB | |||||
| 53 mins | 354 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Papa Dee Allen | Composer |
| 2 | Kenny Aronoff | Cymbals, Drums, Main Personnel |
| 3 | Joe Bonamassa | Featured Artist, Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | Harold Brown | Composer |
| 5 | Hiram Bullock | Featured Artist, Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | C,C & C | Featured Artist |
| 7 | Paul Carrack | Composer |
| 8 | Elaine Caswell | Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Fran Cathcart | Audio Production, Guitar, Producer, Programming |
| 10 | Vinnie Colaiuta | Cymbals, Drum, Drums, Main Personnel |
| 11 | Louis Cortelezzi | Saxophone |
| 12 | Kenneth Cummings | Horn Arrangements, Main Personnel, String Arrangements, Vocals (Background) |
| 13 | Bob Cutarella | Audio Production, Cymbals, Percussion, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Robert Cutarella | Composer |
| 15 | B.B. Dickerson | Composer |
| 16 | Lisa Fischer | Featured Artist, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Peter Frampton | Guitar |
| 18 | Barry Goldstein | Arranger, Guitar, Main Personnel, Producer |
| 19 | Jeff Golub | Guitar, Primary Artist |
| 20 | David A. Helfant | A&R, Executive Producer |
| 21 | Wayne Hood | Producer, Programming |
| 22 | Mick Hucknall | Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 23 | Lonnie Jordan | Composer |
| 24 | Dave King | Trombone |
| 25 | Abe Laboriel, Jr. | Drums, Main Personnel |
| 26 | Abraham Laboriel, Sr. | Bass, Bass Instrument, Drums, Main Personnel |
| 27 | Will Lee | Bass, Bass Instrument, Main Personnel |
| 28 | Greg Mathieson | Keyboards, Main Personnel, Organ |
| 29 | Charles Miller | Composer |
| 30 | Brian Mitchell | Keyboards, Main Personnel, Organ |
| 31 | Brian John Mitchell | Keyboards, Organ |
| 32 | Daniel Moreno | Main Personnel, Percussion |
| 33 | Kenny Olsen | Guitar |
| 34 | Joan Osborne | Featured Artist, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 35 | Jon Paris | Harmonica, Main Personnel |
| 36 | Les Paul | Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist |
| 37 | Shawn Pelton | Cymbals, Drum, Drums, Main Personnel |
| 38 | Joe Perry | Featured Artist, Guitar |
| 39 | Johnny Rzeznik | Featured Artist, Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 40 | Richie Sambora | Composer, Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 41 | Howard Scott | Composer |
| 42 | Jim Seeley | Trumpet |
| 43 | Slash | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 44 | Richie Supa | Producer, Programming |
| 45 | David K. Tedds | Project Coordinator |
| 46 | John Trickett | Executive Producer |
| 47 | Marc Urselli | Main Personnel, Piano, Programming |
| 48 | Rock Wilk | Vocal Arrangement |
| 49 | Edgar Winter | Featured Artist, Saxophone, Soloist |
| 50 | Steve Zuckerman | Associate Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |