Leslie West - Still Climbing (2013)

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Leslie West - Still Climbing (2013)

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Legendary hard rock guitarist Leslie West – best known for his work with Mountain and the Vagrants – shows that he's not about to start slowing down despite a career that's spanned six decades with this set of passionate, blues-influenced rock & roll. Still Climbing features West offering up his trademark meaty guitar riffs and gale-force vocals while accompanied by a handful of guest stars, including blues guitar legend Johnny Winter, Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, and modern-day bluesman Jonny Lang. Along with a handful of fresh original songs, Still Climbing also includes new interpretations of "When a Man Loves a Woman," "Over the Rainbow," and "Feeling Good."

~ Mark Deming, All Music

Leslie West's new album "Still Climbing" released 28th October 2013 via Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group. Featuring guest appearances from Johnny Winter, Mark Tremonti (Creed & Alter Bridge), Jonny Lang and Dee Snider (Twisted Sister). Originality, excitement, honesty and survival are all part of what makes a legend, and those qualities ripple through every song on West’s release.

The new album is a testimonial to the strength and durability of West’s artistry. Born October 22, 1945, as he approaches his 68th birthday, West has packed some of the most soulful and searing vocal performances of his half-century career into these 11 tracks. His guitar has never sounded more massive or riff-orientated.

West, who ascended rock’s Mt. Olympus with Mountain in a historic performance at 1969’s Woodstock Festival, accomplished all of that despite a life threatening battle with diabetes that cost him most of his right leg in 2011, just after his previous Mascot Label Group release "Unusual Suspects" was recorded.

"I’m lucky it wasn’t one of my hands or I’d be screwed," says West. "It was a difficult struggle, and after the amputation I didn’t know whether I’d ever want to or be able to perform again. But a month later I played at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp in New York City, and I heard my guitar on stage and that was it. I knew I had to keep going."

Following the success of "Unusual Suspects," West approached the new release with vision of tying the albums together. "The new album is a sequel to Unusual Suspects, where I had friends of mine that include Slash, Zakk Wylde, Steve Lukather, Joe Bonamassa and Billy Gibbons come to the studio and play," West explains.

This time Jonny Lang, Johnny Winter, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and Alter Bridge and Creed’s Mark Tremonti do the honours. "What’s different on "Still Climbing" is that I wanted my guitars to sound as big as I look. So I used four of my Dean Signature model guitars with my Mountain of Tone humbucking pickups. I plugged them into my Blackstar amps - no pedals - and turned them up loud and raw, and what you hear is exactly what I did in the studio. These Blackstar amps deliver everything I need without 'confidence' pedals. I played one of the early tracks we recorded for Slash, and he said, ‘That is as heavy as it gets.’"

"Still Climbing" is co-produced by West and Mike "Metal" Goldberg, who engineered all of the sessions. Songs like "Dyin' Since The Day I Was Born," "Hatfield or McCoy," and "Busted, Disgusted or Dead" establish a new litmus test for "heavy."

The latter features West and Johnny Winter on duelling slide guitars. West also gave up smoking cigarettes and pot after a bout with bladder cancer, so it’s no wonder many of Still Climbing’s numbers explore the theme of survival and, ultimately, triumph. To that end, West avows, "Not only am I lucky to be here, but because I stopped smoking my voice is now stronger than it’s ever been - as strong as my guitar playing."

His inclusion of "Feeling Good," a song by British actor-musician Anthony Newley that was made famous by Steve Winwood’s group Traffic, is a testimonial to all of that. Its lyrics celebrate a "new dawn for me" as West and his long-time buddy Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) trade vocal lines.

West has always been an outstanding vocalist, earning comparisons to soul legends like Otis Redding since his 1969 debut Mountain, which gave his historic band its name. On "Still Climbing" West revisits the catalogue of another classic soul man, Percy Sledge, with the enduring "When a Man Loves a Woman." He’s joined by now 32 year-old soul man Jonny Lang, who he met 15 years ago when Lang was a rising guitar prodigy. West says they cut the tune side-by-side in the studio, their soaring guitars and voices twining to bring fresh blood and a blues-soaked arrangement to the song.

"When a Man Loves a Woman," "Never Let Me Go" and "Fade Into You" explore a romantic theme. In 2009 West married his wife Jenni, who co-wrote many of Still Climbing’s songs with the guitar giant.

They exchanged vows on stage at the Woodstock 40th Anniversary Concert. West credits her with saving his life - first with her love, and then by making the difficult decision to permit his doctors to amputate while he was in a coma.

"Being in Mountain was one of the most satisfying things I have ever done in my professional life," says West. "I became a musician, not just a guitar player."

"Being in Mountain with Felix Pappalardi was an honour. He was so talented as a producer, arranger, bass player, guitar player - all the things I aspired to be. We had some great years together, and some rocky roads. His wife Gail, who by the way shot and killed Felix, could suck the fun out of a clown. It left a terrible taste in my mouth about working with my wife, Jenni. I did not want to risk going down that path where your wife was involved in every aspect of your musical life. Jenni has become so good at expressing thoughts to paper. She has become my primary collaborator on the lyrical side of my new recordings."

West has been performing since 1965, when he fronted the soul-fired Vagrants in his native New York City. Rolling Stone placed him at #66 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists."

His repertoire continues to be relevant with enduring appeal to this day as top selling rap recordings are built around samples from "Long Red," which appeared on the Mountain album. Jay-Z tapped the tune for his 2004 mega-smash "99 Problems." So did Kanye West, for "Barry Bonds" and "The Glory," and Common’s "The People," along with others.

Recently, Lana Del Rey sampled West's voice and features it in the beginning, middle and end of the worldwide smash "Born To Die." For "Still Climbing," West re-recorded "Long Red" with his brother and former Vagrants-mate Larry West on bass. He offers, "It was time for me to let people hear that song the way I do it now. I used a B-3 organ on it again, but this time it has a lot more balls."

Balls, guts, heart - more words that are part of West’s legend and describe the roaring crescendos and deep emotional roots of "Still Climbing" - and West himself. "You know, when it comes to talent, we don’t all move at the same rate of speed," West muses. "Some people start at the top of their game and after 10 or 20 years you wonder what the hell happened to them. I like to joke that the older I get the better I used to be, but after giving up drugs and smoking, my voice can hit notes that I never could reach before. I’m thankful for that."

~ noblepr.co.uk

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Leslie West - Still Climbing (2013)

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Leslie West - Still Climbing (2013)

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