Leslie West
Encyclopedia
Leslie West is an American rock
guitarist
, singer and songwriter
.
, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey
, and in East Meadow
, Forest Hills and Lawrence
. 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 the New York metropolitan area
itself (as opposed to the Bohemian
Greenwich Village
scene of artist
s, poet
s 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
on their album Disraeli Gears
). In 1969, West and Pappalardi would form the pioneering hard rock
act Mountain
, which was also the title of West's debut solo album. The group's name is widely believed to have been inspired by West's then-considerable physical bulk, although he subsequently lost a substantial amount of weight. Initially the group did not feature a keyboardist, but one was later added to the band to keep them from seeming like a Cream
imitation. Rolling Stone identified the band as a 'louder version of Cream'. With Steve Knight
on keyboards and original drummer, N. D. Smart
, the band appeared on the second day of the Woodstock Festival
on Saturday, August 16, 1969 starting an 11-song set at 9PM.
The band's original incarnation saw West and Pappalardi sharing vocal duties and playing guitar and bass, respectively. New drummer Corky Laing
joined the band shortly after Woodstock. They had success with "Mississippi Queen
", which reached #21 on the Billboard charts
and #4 in Canada. It was followed by the Jack Bruce
-penned "Theme For an Imaginary Western". Mountain is one of the bands considered to be forerunners of 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, along with keyboard player Al Kooper
, recorded with The Who
during the March 1971 Who's Next
New York sessions. Tracks included a cover of Marvin Gaye
's "Baby Don't You Do It," and early versions of "Love Ain't For Keepin'" and The Who's signature track "Won't Get Fooled Again
". Though the tracks were not originally included on the album (recording restarted in England a few months later without West or Kooper), they appear as bonus tracks on the 1995 and 2003 reissues of Who's Next and on the 1998 reissue of Odds & Sods.
West also played guitar for the track "Bo Diddley Jam" on Bo Diddley
's 1976 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album.
Leslie West and Joe Bonamassa
recorded Warren Haynes
' "If Heartaches Were Nickels" together. West released it on Guitarded (2005), and Bonamassa on A New Day Yesterday (2000).
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 15, 2006.
West married his fiancée Jenni Maurer on stage after Mountain's performance at the Woodstock 40th anniversary concert in Bethel, New York
. Over 15,000 people were present and the couple walked through a bridge of guitars held by Levon Helm
, Larry Taylor
and Corky Laing
among others. West now lives in New Jersey
.
Johnny Ramone
, a fan of West, has called him, "one of the top five guitar players of his era".
West continues to make occasional appearances on radio, notably on Howard Stern
's radio show.
West was affectionately nicknamed "The King of Tone" by his legions of fans, referring to his influential and world renowned guitar tone. West was also nicknamed "The Fattest Fingers in Rock N' Roll", due to his large build.
On June 20, 2011 West had his lower right leg amputated as a result of complications from diabetes.
, to create a tone which became his trademark sound.
, with the neck pickup removed (he used the hole for an ashtray) and a P90 fitted at the bridge position, West also had a two-pickup Flying V which he used after the ash tray vee broke (the s/n of that flying vee is s/n 906965). West also used a plexiglass Dan Armstrong
for slide guitar
.
From 1977 to 1982, he used a signature on-board effects MPC model guitar, created by the Japanese company Electra
. He currently uses a signature model from Dean Guitars
, the USA Soltero Leslie West Signature model, fitted with a custom-designed Dean pickup called "Mountain of Tone."
West has also long favored "headless" guitars, and can be seen playing them on some of the videos he has appeared in. In an interview segment on "Night Of The Guitars - Live!" West stated that he had narrowed his commonly played instruments down to two: an off-the-shelf Steinberger and an Ed Roman LSR with DiMarzio pickups. So impressed was he with the LSRs that he agreed to serve as spokesperson and defacto salesman, the specific styles with his name on them available only directly from Ed Roman or else from West himself. http://www.edroman.com/guitars/lsr/leslie.htm
amplifiers, and could frequently be seen playing through "Carlsbro 50 Top" valve heads. His studio amplifier is a Marshall JMP. Live, he used Marshall JCM 900s. He started endorsing and using Budda Amplification
in 2008. He was also associated with Sunn amplifiers, and used a Sunn Coliseum PA head, when it was shipped to him by accident. He claims that this is the amp that gave him his signature sound in this Gibson Interview with West.
and delay
effects.
and West, Bruce and Laing
, see their pages.
A compilation of singles recorded in the 1960s by The Vagrants
was released as The Great Lost Album in 1986. Mountain also recorded a live album entitled 'Mountain - Live' (1972 Island Music - ZCI 9199) The B-side features an 18 minute version of "Nantucket Sleighride".
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Biography
Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack is a city in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and the county seat of Bergen County. Although informally called Hackensack, it was officially named New Barbadoes Township until 1921. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 43,010....
, and in East Meadow
East Meadow, New York
East Meadow is a hamlet in Nassau County , New York, United States. East Meadow is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempstead....
, Forest Hills and Lawrence
Lawrence, Nassau County, New York
Lawrence is a village in Nassau County, New York in the USA. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 6,483.The Village of Lawrence is in the southwest corner of the Town of Hempstead, adjoining the border with the New York City borough of Queens to the west and near the...
. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West. His musical career began with The Vagrants
The Vagrants
The Vagrants were a Long Island-based rock and blue-eyed soul group from the 1960s. The group was composed of Peter Sabatino on vocals, harmonica, and tambourine, Leslie West on vocals and guitar, Larry West on vocals and bass guitar, Jerry Storch on organ, and Roger Mansour on drums.- Rise to...
, an R&B/Blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul is a media term that was used to describe rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and...
-rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band influenced by the likes of The Rascals
The Rascals
The Rascals were an American blue-eyed soul group initially active during the years 1965–72. The band released numerous top ten singles in North America during the mid- and late-1960s, including the U.S. #1 hits "Good Lovin'" , "Groovin'" , and "People Got to Be Free"...
that was one of the few teenage garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
acts to come out of the New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
itself (as opposed to the Bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
scene of artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s and affiliates of the Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
, which produced bands like The Fugs
The Fugs
The Fugs are a band formed in New York in late 1964 by poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of the Holy Modal Rounders...
and The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
). The Vagrants had two minor hits in the Eastern US
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...
: 1966's "I Can't Make a Friend" and a cover of Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
's "Respect
Respect (song)
"Respect" is a song written and originally released by Stax recording artist Otis Redding in 1965. "Respect" became a 1967 hit and signature song for R&B singer Aretha Franklin. The music in the two versions is significantly different, and through a few minor changes in the lyrics, the stories told...
" the following year.
Some of the Vagrants' recordings were produced by Felix Pappalardi
Felix Pappalardi
Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass guitarist.- Early life :Pappalardi was born in the Bronx, New York...
, who was also working with Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
on their album Disraeli Gears
Disraeli Gears
Disraeli Gears is the second album by British supergroup Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach #5 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also their American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller there in 1968, reaching #4 on the American charts...
). In 1969, West and Pappalardi would form the pioneering hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
act Mountain
Mountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
, which was also the title of West's debut solo album. The group's name is widely believed to have been inspired by West's then-considerable physical bulk, although he subsequently lost a substantial amount of weight. Initially the group did not feature a keyboardist, but one was later added to the band to keep them from seeming like a Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
imitation. Rolling Stone identified the band as a 'louder version of Cream'. With Steve Knight
Steve Knight (musician)
Steve Knight is an American musician best known as the keyboardist for Mountain, a rock band of the early 1970s.Knight was born in New York to artist parents. From 1938–1950, his family lived in Woodstock, New York. In 1950, his father became a professor at Columbia University and moved the...
on keyboards and original drummer, N. D. Smart
N. D. Smart
Norman D. Smart is an American drummer.He replaced Chip Damiani in The Remains in 1966, shortly before their split.He then joined Mountain in 1969 and played on their first gigs, before being replaced by Corky Laing in 1970....
, the band appeared on the second day of the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
on Saturday, August 16, 1969 starting an 11-song set at 9PM.
The band's original incarnation saw West and Pappalardi sharing vocal duties and playing guitar and bass, respectively. New drummer Corky Laing
Corky Laing
Laurence Gordon "Corky" Laing is a Canadian rock drummer, best known as a longtime member of pioneering American hard rock band Mountain...
joined the band shortly after Woodstock. They had success with "Mississippi Queen
Mississippi Queen
"Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic, it was their most successful single, reaching #21 in the Billboard Hot 100 record chart in 1970...
", which reached #21 on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
and #4 in Canada. It was followed by the Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
-penned "Theme For an Imaginary Western". Mountain is one of the bands considered to be forerunners of heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
.
After the breakup of Mountain, West and Laing would produce two studio albums and a live release with Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
bassist Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
under the name West, Bruce and Laing
West, Bruce and Laing
West, Bruce and Laing were a blues-rock power trio super-group consisting of Leslie West , Jack Bruce and Corky Laing . In 2009 West and Laing teamed up with Jack Bruce's son, Malcolm, and began touring as West, Bruce Jr...
. Mountain reformed in 1974 only to break up a few years later, but since 1985 has continued to tour and record.
West, along with keyboard player Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
, recorded with The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
during the March 1971 Who's Next
Who's Next
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released in August 1971. The album has origins in a rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The ambitious, complex project did not come to fruition at the time and instead, many of the songs written for the project...
New York sessions. Tracks included a cover of Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
's "Baby Don't You Do It," and early versions of "Love Ain't For Keepin'" and The Who's signature track "Won't Get Fooled Again
Won't Get Fooled Again
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the rock band The Who which was written by Pete Townshend The original version of the song appears as the final track on the album Who's Next...
". Though the tracks were not originally included on the album (recording restarted in England a few months later without West or Kooper), they appear as bonus tracks on the 1995 and 2003 reissues of Who's Next and on the 1998 reissue of Odds & Sods.
West also played guitar for the track "Bo Diddley Jam" on Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
's 1976 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album.
Leslie West and Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa is an American blues rock guitarist and singer.-Early life:Bonamassa was born and raised in New Hartford, United States. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician...
recorded Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes is an American rock and blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Haynes is best known for his work as long time guitarist with The Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a guitarist for David Allan Coe and The Dickey...
' "If Heartaches Were Nickels" together. West released it on Guitarded (2005), and Bonamassa on A New Day Yesterday (2000).
West contributed the music and co-wrote the lyrics to the song "Immortal" on Clutch's
Clutch (band)
Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland, formed in 1990. The band's first release was an EP entitled Pitchfork, which debuted in October 1990. Their first studio album, Transnational Speedway League, was released three years later in 1993. To date, Clutch has released nine studio...
2001 album Pure Rock Fury
Pure Rock Fury
- Personnel :* Neil Fallon – Vocals, Guitars on "Brazenhead", Organ on "Careful With That Mic..."* Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums* Dan Maines – Bass* Tim Sult – Guitar-Charting Positions:AlbumsSingles...
, 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
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
'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
Blues Bureau International
Blues Bureau International is a guitar oriented, blues, blues guitar and blues rock record label.Blues Bureau is a member of Mike Varney's Shrapnel Label Group, which also includes Shrapnel Records, another guitar oriented label which features shred guitar, hard rock, metal and progressive metal,...
label. In 2007 Mountain released Masters of War on Big Rack Records, an album featuring 12 Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
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
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization whose office is located in Port Jefferson, New York. It was incorporated in July 2005 under the New York State Board of Regents as a non profit organization and holds a provisional charter to operate as a museum in the state of New York...
on October 15, 2006.
West married his fiancée Jenni Maurer on stage after Mountain's performance at the Woodstock 40th anniversary concert in Bethel, New York
Bethel, New York
Bethel is a town in Sullivan County, New York, USA. The population has been estimated at 4,532 in 2007.The town received worldwide fame after it became the host of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, which was originally planned for Wallkill, New York, but was relocated to Bethel after Wallkill withdrew.-...
. Over 15,000 people were present and the couple walked through a bridge of guitars held by Levon Helm
Levon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
, Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor
Larry Taylor is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis...
and Corky Laing
Corky Laing
Laurence Gordon "Corky" Laing is a Canadian rock drummer, best known as a longtime member of pioneering American hard rock band Mountain...
among others. West now lives in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Johnny Ramone
Johnny Ramone
John William Cummings , better known by his stage name Johnny Ramone, was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being the guitarist for the punk rock band the Ramones. He was a founding member of the band, and remained a member throughout the band's entire career...
, a fan of West, has called him, "one of the top five guitar players of his era".
West continues to make occasional appearances on radio, notably on Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
's radio show.
West was affectionately nicknamed "The King of Tone" by his legions of fans, referring to his influential and world renowned guitar tone. West was also nicknamed "The Fattest Fingers in Rock N' Roll", due to his large build.
On June 20, 2011 West had his lower right leg amputated as a result of complications from diabetes.
Equipment
West is renowned for helping popularize use of the Gibson Les Paul Jr. guitar with P90 pickups, along with the use of Sunn AmplifiersSunn
Sunn Amplifiers, are a brand of musical instrument amplifiers.- History :In early 1963, the Kingsmen, a band based in the U.S. state of Oregon, became known for the song "Louie, Louie". After its hit single, the band soon embarked on a fifty-state national tour...
, to create a tone which became his trademark sound.
Guitars
West frequently used two Les Paul Juniors, one "TV Yellow" and the other a sunburst. West also used a modified Gibson Flying VGibson Flying V
-External links:*, , , , and , from the Gibson website*, a June 2001 article from Guitar Collector magazine*, a tribute site that lists all models and re-issues and most notable players**...
, with the neck pickup removed (he used the hole for an ashtray) and a P90 fitted at the bridge position, West also had a two-pickup Flying V which he used after the ash tray vee broke (the s/n of that flying vee is s/n 906965). West also used a plexiglass Dan Armstrong
Dan Armstrong
Dan Armstrong was a guitarist, luthier, and session musician.-Biography:Dan Kent Armstrong was born on October 7, 1934 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started playing the guitar at age 11, and moved to New York in the early 1960s in order to work as a studio musician and guitar repairman...
for slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
.
From 1977 to 1982, he used a signature on-board effects MPC model guitar, created by the Japanese company Electra
Westone (guitars)
Westone is a brand of guitars and basses started in the late 1970s. Saint Louis Music acquired an interest in the company in 1981 and began importing the brand to the USA as a replacement brandname for the Custom Kraft-brand instruments manufactured by Kay and Valco in the mid-1950s. Electra was...
. He currently uses a signature model from Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars
Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
, the USA Soltero Leslie West Signature model, fitted with a custom-designed Dean pickup called "Mountain of Tone."
West has also long favored "headless" guitars, and can be seen playing them on some of the videos he has appeared in. In an interview segment on "Night Of The Guitars - Live!" West stated that he had narrowed his commonly played instruments down to two: an off-the-shelf Steinberger and an Ed Roman LSR with DiMarzio pickups. So impressed was he with the LSRs that he agreed to serve as spokesperson and defacto salesman, the specific styles with his name on them available only directly from Ed Roman or else from West himself. http://www.edroman.com/guitars/lsr/leslie.htm
Amplifiers
In 2005, West received a sponsorship with CarlsbroCarlsbro
Carlsbro is a UK based supplier of musical instrument amplification and speaker systems, originally founded in Nottingham, England in 1960. Their equipment has been used by artists such as The Beatles, Mick Jagger and Oasis....
amplifiers, and could frequently be seen playing through "Carlsbro 50 Top" valve heads. His studio amplifier is a Marshall JMP. Live, he used Marshall JCM 900s. He started endorsing and using Budda Amplification
Budda Amplification
Budda Amplification is an American company that designs and manufactures electric guitar amplifiers and effects pedals. Founded by chief designer Jeff Bober and Scot Sier in 1995, the company debuted its first amplifier, the 18-watt Class A/B Twinmaster Ten, at the NAMM show the following year,...
in 2008. He was also associated with Sunn amplifiers, and used a Sunn Coliseum PA head, when it was shipped to him by accident. He claims that this is the amp that gave him his signature sound in this Gibson Interview with West.
Effects
West uses octaver, chorusChorus effect
In music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one...
and delay
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
effects.
Discography
For his work with MountainMountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
and West, Bruce and Laing
West, Bruce and Laing
West, Bruce and Laing were a blues-rock power trio super-group consisting of Leslie West , Jack Bruce and Corky Laing . In 2009 West and Laing teamed up with Jack Bruce's son, Malcolm, and began touring as West, Bruce Jr...
, see their pages.
- 1969 MountainMountain albumMountain is the 1969 debut solo album from guitarist Leslie West. It is often cited as a Mountain album, but was actually a solo album which contained some members of Mountain.-Tracklist:# "Blood of the Sun" – 2:35...
- 1975 The Great FatsbyThe Great FatsbyThe Great Fatsby is the second album by American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Leslie West. It was released on Bud Prager's Phantom Records in March 1975 and distributed by RCA Records...
- 1976 The Leslie West BandThe Leslie West BandThe Leslie West Band is the third album released by American rock guitarist Leslie West. The album, recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, was released on Bud Prager's Phantom Records in 1976 and features Mick Jones on guitar.-Track listing:...
- 1988 ThemeTheme (album)-Track listing:# Talk Dirty 3:38# Motherload 3:10# Theme for an Imaginary Western 4:42# I'm Crying 3:27# Red House 4:39# Love Is Forever 3:52# I Ate It 2:49# Spoonful 7:38# Love Me Tender 1:30...
- 1989 AlligatorAlligator (Leslie West album)Alligator is a 1989 album by Leslie West featuring Stanley Clarke on bass. Recorded in 1986 and released in CD format 1989 by Capitol Records .-Track listing:#Sea of Fire — 5:01#Waiting for the F Change — 4:24#Whiskey — 2:17...
- 1989 Night of the Guitar- Live!
- 1993 Live
- 1994 Dodgin' the Dirt
- 1999 As Phat as it Gets
- 2003 Blues to Die For
- 2005 Guitarded
- 2005 Got Blooze
- 2006 Blue Me
- 2011 Unusual Suspects (UK chart peak: #153)
A compilation of singles recorded in the 1960s by The Vagrants
The Vagrants
The Vagrants were a Long Island-based rock and blue-eyed soul group from the 1960s. The group was composed of Peter Sabatino on vocals, harmonica, and tambourine, Leslie West on vocals and guitar, Larry West on vocals and bass guitar, Jerry Storch on organ, and Roger Mansour on drums.- Rise to...
was released as The Great Lost Album in 1986. Mountain also recorded a live album entitled 'Mountain - Live' (1972 Island Music - ZCI 9199) The B-side features an 18 minute version of "Nantucket Sleighride".