Leslie West - Leslie West Mountain (Classic Hardrock US 1969)

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Leslie West (born October 22, 1945) is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Frequently classified as the first album by the group Mountain, which was named after it, Leslie West's initial solo album featured bass/keyboard player Felix Pappalardi, who also produced it and co-wrote eight of its 11 songs, and drummer N.D. Smart II. (This trio did, indeed, tour under the name Mountain shortly after the album's release, even performing at Woodstock, though Smart was replaced by Corky Laing and Steve Knight was added as keyboard player for the formal recording debut of the group, Mountain Climbing!, released in February 1970.) 

Pappalardi had been Cream's producer, and that power trio, as well as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, were the models for this rock set, which was dominated by West's throaty roar of a voice and inventive blues-rock guitar playing. Though West had led the Vagrants for years and cut a handful of singles with them, this was his first album release, and it made for an auspicious debut, instantly establishing him as a guitar hero and setting the style of Mountain's subsequent recordings. [Originally released in July 1969 as Windfall 4500.]

West was born Leslie Weinstein in New York City, and grew up across Long Island, in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence.[1] After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West. His musical career began with The Vagrants, an R&B/Blue-eyed soul-rock band influenced by the likes of The Rascals that was one of the few teenage garage rock acts to come out of Manhattan itself (as opposed to the Bohemian Greenwich Village scene of artists, poets and affiliates of the Beat Generation, which produced bands like The Fugs and The Velvet Underground). The Vagrants had two minor hits in the Eastern US: 1966's "I Can't Make a Friend" and a cover of Otis Redding's " Respect" the following year.

Some of the Vagrants' recordings were produced by Felix Pappalardi, who was also working with Cream (he produced the seminal Disraeli Gears). In 1969, West and Pappalardi would form the pioneering hard rock act Mountain, also the title of West's solo debut album. 1969's Mountain did not feature a keyboardist, but one was later added to the band to keep them from seeming like a Cream imitation.

The band's original incarnation saw West and Pappalardi sharing vocal duties and playing guitar and bass, respectively, and Corky Laing on drums with keyboardist Steve Knight. They had success with "Mississippi Queen", which reached #21 on the Billboard charts. It was followed by the Jack Bruce-penned "Theme For an Imaginary Western". Mountain made up one of the bands considered to be a forerunner of and predecessor to heavy metal music.

After the breakup of Mountain, West and Laing would produce two studio albums and a live release with Cream bassist Jack Bruce under the name West, Bruce and Laing. Mountain reformed in 1974 only to break up a few years later, but since 1985 has continued to tour and record.

West also recorded with The Who during the 1971 Who's Next sessions on a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Baby Don't You Do It". Though the track was not originally included on the album, it appeared on the 1995 and 2003 reissues. He also contributes to the demos of what became one of the group's signature songs, "Won't Get Fooled Again" .

West also played guitar for the track "Bo Diddley Jam" on Bo Diddley's 1976 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album.

West contributed the music and co-wrote the lyrics to the song "Immortal" on Clutch's 2001 album Pure Rock Fury, which was a reworked cover of the song "Baby I'm Down" on Leslie West's first album.

In 2005 he contributed to Ozzy Osbourne's Under Cover album, performing guitar on a remake of "Mississippi Queen"

In addition to fronting Mountain, West continues to record and perform on his own. His latest solo album, entitled Blue Me, was released in 2006 on the Blues Bureau International label. In 2007 Mountain released Masters of War on Big Rack Records, an album featuring 12 Bob Dylan covers that sees Ozzy Osbourne providing guest vocals on a rendition of the title track.

West was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15th, 2006.

West is renowned for helping pioneer the Gibson Les Paul Jr. guitar, along with the use of Sunn Amplifiers, to create a tone which became his trademark sound. There were at least two of them in his collection, one "TV Yellow" and the other a sunburst. He used these guitars straight into Sunns from 1969 to 1975. In addition to the two Les Paul Jrs, he used a modified Gibson Flying V (with the neck pickup removed and a P90 fitted at the bridge position) circa 1971-1972, and a clear Dan Armstrong Ampeg lucite for slide guitar. Currently, he favours guitars equipped with dual humbuckers, plugged into Marshall amps. From 1977 to 1982, he used a signature on-board effects MPC model guitar, created by the Japanese company Electra. Another signature guitar model is manufactured by Ed Roman Guitars, entitled the "Leslie West Rocket". He currently also has a signature model from Dean Guitars, a USA Soltero Leslie West Signature fitted with a custom-designed DiMarzio pickup known as the Megadrive. In 2005, West received a sponsorship with Carlsbro amplifiers, and can frequently be seen playing through "Carlsbro 50 Top" valve heads. His studio amplifier is a Marshall JMP. For live performances he utilizes Marshall JCM 900s. He is well-regarded for his use of octaver, chorus and delay effects.

01. Blood of the Sun 2:37
02. Long Red 3:17
03. Better Watch Out 2:50
04. Blind Man Collins, 3:56
05. Baby, I'm Down 4:04
06. Dreams of Milk and Honey 3:35
07. Storyteller Man 3:07
08. This Wheel's on Fire 3:20
09. Look to the Wind 2:45
10. Southbound Train 3:01
11. Because You Are My Friend 3:11 

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