'LEGACY: A TRIBUTE TO LESLIE WEST' Feat. Slash, Zakk Wylde, Dee Snider, Joe Lynn Turner, Charlie Starr, Robby Krieger & More
Legacy: A Tribute To Leslie West
Released: 25th March 2022
Via: Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group
The pre-order is live here: www.smarturl.it/LeslieWestMLG
Dee Snider, Slash, Zakk Wylde, Randy and Tal Bachman, Martin Barre, Joe Lynn Turner, Charlie Starr, Elliot Easton, Robby Krieger, George Lynch, Marty Friedman, Steve Morse, Eddie Ojeda, Marc Labelle, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mike Portnoy, Bobby Rondinelli and Rev Jones Contribute Performances Celebrating Leslie West
Check out âBlood Of The Sunâ Performed By Zakk Wylde
Leslie West passed away on December 23, 2020. Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group has announced the release of LEGACY: A TRIBUTE TO LESLIE WEST on March 25 in celebration of the guitarist.
Friends, and many whom were influenced by the loved West, have contributed to this special release. Amongst those who performed are Dee Snider and Twisted Sister bandmate Eddie Ojeda, Robby Krieger, Slash, Zakk Wilde, Randy and Tal Bachman, Jethro Tullâs Martin Barre, Joe Lynn Turner, Blackberry Smokeâs Charlie Starr, The Carsâ Elliot Easton, George Lynch, Marty Friedman, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Morse, Dirty Honeyâs Mark Labelle, Mike Portnoy, and Westâs band members Bobby Rondinelli and Rev Jones. The release will be available as a limited-edition box set, on LP and CD, digitally, and as a web shop exclusive limited LP variation manufactured with digital.
When Leslie West passed away in December of 2020, he left behind a towering legacy of epic recordings that few rock guitarists can match. But there was more to West than great songs (although, to be sure, he created a ton of them); there was his brilliant, idiosyncratic sound that razed arenas and stadiums across the globe. More than just paralyzing tone, though, he also had a touch nobody could beat.
âThere was nobody on earth quite like Leslie,â says the guitaristâs widow, Jenni West. âThe second you heard him play, you knew it was him. He loved playing the guitar and making music. He lived to make people feel good â it was his passion. He was famous to his fans throughout The World, but he was adored by other musicians. Everybody from country stars, rappers and heavy metal players â they all loved Leslie. He found it surprising, but I think he was also pleased to know how much he inspired other musicians.â
Tracklist
1. Blood of the Sun (feat. Zakk Wylde)
2. Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Marty Friedman)
3. Theme for an Imaginary Western (feat. Dee Snider, Mike Portnoy)
4. For Yasgur's Farm (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Martin Barre)
5. Why Dontcha (feat. Steve Morse, Ronnie Romero)
6. Sittin' On a Rainbow (feat. Elliot Easton, Ronnie Romero)
7. Never in My Life (feat. Dee Snider, George Lynch)
8. The Doctor (feat. Robby Krieger, Ronnie Romero)
9. Silver Paper (feat. Charlie Starr)
10. Money (Whatcha Gonna Do)/By the River - medley (feat. Randy Bachman & Tal Bachman)
11. Long Red (feat. Yngwie Malmsteen & Teddy Rondinelli)
12. Mississippi Queen (feat. Slash, Marc Labelle)
Westâs longtime manager, Bob Ringe, agrees, saying, âIâve worked with some of the greatest guitarists on the planet, and nobody could hold a candle to Leslie. He was so unique and special â his sound, his style, his power and warmth. Any guitarist I talk to has been influenced in some way by him. They broke the mold when they made him, and he took it with him when he passed away. He was a true one of a kind.â
An astonishing array of Westâs admirers â who also happened to be friends and peers â came together to celebrate the trailblazing musician on the aptly titled Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West. Executive produced by Jenni West, Bob Ringe and John Lappen, the album features dizzying, heartfelt performances.
Originally, the album was intended to be a retrospective celebration of Westâs music on which the guitarist himself would perform some of his best-loved cuts with notable guests, along with a collection of new tracks. Two weeks before recording was set to commence, however, the guitarist passed away. Once Jenni West, Ringe and Lappen changed gears and put a tribute album in motion, they discovered that the process was far easier than they could have imagined: âWe really didnât have to reach out to many people,â Jenni says. âThey came to us. Whatâs really amazing is, if Leslie himself had whispered into my ear and told me who he would want on this record, these would be the people he would have requested.â
Credit: Justin Borucki |
Westâs longtime rhythm section of bassist Rev Jones and Bobby Rondinelli laid down brilliant basic tracks for the guest artists to contribute their talents. One of the two exceptions is the dramatic retelling of âTheme for an Imaginary Westernâ (which West recorded with Mountain for the bandâs 1970 debut, Climbing!), which features the walloping drumming of Mike Portnoy and commanding bass work by legendary Quiet Riot / Ozzy Osbourne bassist Rudy Sarzo. Two Twisted Sister alums â singer Dee Snider and guitarist Eddie Ojeda â turn in poignant performances on this grand and sweeping track.
âLeslie was a hero, friend, amazing guy and a guitar god,â says Snider. âI always wanted to sing this song. Itâs my favorite Leslie West guitar solo. It resonates with me and speaks to me on so many levels. Iâm honored to have gotten a chance to do it on this record.â
Unquestionably, Westâs most famous song remains âMississippi Queen,â and who better to tackle such a historic sonic behemoth than Guns Nâ Rosesâ guitar titan Slash? Joining the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer on an absolutely ripping, rifftastic rendition is singer Marc LeBelle, currently riding high as the front man for the band Dirty Honey.
Former Deep Purple and Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner tips his hat not only to West, but also to the late Mountain co-vocalist Felix Pappalardi on not one, but two cuts: On a standout version of âNantucket Sleighride,â the bluesy, prog-flavored title track of Mountainâs second album from 1971, heâs joined by international guitar star Marty Friedman; and a haunting take of the psychedelic rocker âFor Yasgurâs Farmâ (from Climbing!), he teams with guitarist Martin Barre, best known as the longtime lead axeman for Jethro Tull. âIt was an honor to do this tribute to Leslie,â says Turner, âespecially to sing âYasgurâs Farm.â Iâll never forget seeing Mountain at the Fillmore East. Felix had done the verse and when it came to that B section, Leslie was hit with a white spotlight in his buckskin. It still chills me to the bone today.â
In 1969, West had left his band the Vagrants and began what was to be a solo career, but his album Mountain turned out to be the unofficial debut of the power trio of the same name. From that record, Zakk Wylde chose the tour de force stomper âBlood of the Sun.â
In later life, West befriended Charlie Starr, singer and guitarist for the band Blackberry Smoke. Starr was in in awe of West, and he selected the soulful gem âSilver Paperâ (from Climbing!) as his way of remembering his late pal. Responding to the muscular rhythm section of Rev Jones and Bobby Rondinelli, as well as the bravura keyboard playing of Mike DiMeo, Starr laser beams on the songâs joyous spiritual center and doesnât let go. âI love âSilver Paper,â and itâs got one of the coolest guitar licks of all time,â says Starr. âLeslie played exactly what the song needed; his timing was impeccable. He played way back in the pocket, and it was so nasty and so great â the kind of things that you aspire to. Iâm very proud to be part of this project. God bless Leslie West.â
Doors legend Robby Krieger also knew West well â the two had shared numerous concert bills through the decades. âThe coolest thing about Leslie was the way he played blues â it was just very natural,â he says. âHe and Clapton were the best at the time. They just had the feel for the blues. Maybe in their former lifetimes they were blues guys.â Krieger picked a deep cut for his tribute â the ripping barn burner âThe Doctor,â from the 1972 album Why Dontcha by Westâs power trio supergroup West, Bruce and Laing (featuring Creamâs Jack Bruce and Mountainâs Corky Laing) â and he burns spectacularly on the songâs dizzying, slippery lead lines. Rising to the occasion, singer Ronnie Romero, a veteran of bands like Lords of Black, Rainbow and the Michael Schenker Group, howls with grit and grace.
The celebrated father/son duo Bachman and Bachman seamlessly splice two tracks from 1976âs The Leslie West Band â âMoneyâ and âBy the Riverâ â and fold them into one feisty, good-time flame thrower. Carsâ guitar star Elliot Easton is paired with singer Ronnie Romero on a sparky and frisky take on âSittinâ on a Rainbowâ (from Climbing!) â Eastonâs fluid style is a spot-on fit for Westâs country-flavored solo. Climbing! is revisited once more with âNever in My Life,â which features a go-for-the-throat repeat performance by Dee Snider and the paint-peeling guitar work of former Dokken lead picker George Lynch. And Dixie Dregs/Deep Purple guitar god Steve Morse (along with a return trip by Ronnie Romero) heads into the outer limits, firing off leads that are by both spacey and fiery, on the gnashing title cut of Why Dontcha.
âLeslie could take a simple two- and three- note phrase and just sell it with that gritty determination,â says Morse, who shared many a stage with West. âWhat was not to like about him? He knew everything to do. Just the phrasing of the solos and the commitment and the tone â it was really awesome to stand next to him and experience that.â
âLong Redâ is one of the most fascinating songs of Westâs career. Over the years, the psychedelic-funk groover has grown in stature thanks to the mind-boggling number of hip-hop artists â everyone from Kendrick Lamar to Kanye West to Ice-T â who have sampled it on mega-selling hits (even Mariah Carey used it on her 2014 cut âMoneyâ). Here, international guitar icon Yngwie Malmsteen (backed by the ace rhythm section of drummer Bobby Rondinelli and bassist Rev Jones) locks into the bluesier aspects of the song and injects his own inimitable shred madness with singer Teddy Rondinelli flooring it full-throttle, itâs a stone-cold slam dunk. This specific recording will appear as a bonus track only for the Japanese pressing of the release.
Jenni West sums the album up thusly: âNobody in this world has ever made me feel loved as much as Leslie, and I feel so honored and grateful that I could give him this gift.â She laughs. âHe would often say, âIf it doesnât make my balls rumble, itâs not right.â And I think thereâs some balls-rumbling tones on this record! When youâre listening to it, you might even think itâs Leslie playing â and thatâs a good thing. He really believed that adage of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. Even when some of the players do their own twists on the music, theyâre still doing it in a way thatâs authentic and respectful, and Leslie would have appreciated that.â
For further information please contact Dennis Wechgelaar| dennis@mascotlabelgroup.com
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