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Leslie West on respirator !


tweed

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Heard late last night that Leslie West was on respirator, don't think it's Covid related but did have a heart condition. I remember that smokin' tone he had on Mississippi Queen is what got me into the RnR scene.

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Just spoke with my nephew about this and he tells me that Leslie was also a cancer survivor and some time ago, he also had a portion of his right leg amputated due to diabetic problems. Dag... didn't know about that. 

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That's awful news - hoping for the best!

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1 hour ago, svl said:

It's worse- he's not on a respirator, he's on a ventilator. Heart issues.

Oooh, even worse. You are correct sir !  Should'a checked the facts before I put it out there.😳 

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Dang, that sucks! RIP Leslie West! He wasn't that much of a big man in recent years, but still, what a player, what a sound, and WHAT A VOICE.

I remember watching the Woodstock video, and damn that guitar looked like a TOY on him. He had been in ill health for a while, and I remember when his leg had to be removed. Such a shame.

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A dark day. I never appreciated Leslie until I read a Michael Schenker interview saying he spent a good portion of his teen years woodshedding Mountain songs. On goes the lightbulb! His influence on Michael is paramount. I finally got a grip on the Schenker style by listening to Leslie West. 

2020 can suck donkey dicks in hell. RIP, Leslie.

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My very first concert, he opened for BTO. I didn't know who he was at the time, but to this day the only thing I remember about that show was his rendition of 'The House of the Rising Sun'. Blistering.

RIP, Mr. West.

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1 hour ago, RobB said:

A dark day. I never appreciated Leslie until I read a Michael Schenker interview saying he spent a good portion of his teen years woodshedding Mountain songs. On goes the lightbulb! His influence on Michael is paramount. I finally got a grip on the Schenker style by listening to Leslie West. 

2020 can suck donkey dicks in hell. RIP, Leslie.

West, Schenker, Montrose and Scotty Gotham. Every time I pick up a guitar that’s the tone I seek. 

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In late '68, at least one periodical predicted Canned Heat would fill the void left by Cream's breakup, but that comparison was ludicrous, IMO, then and now. Turned out Mountain was worthy of the comparison because of (1) the bass player having been Cream's producer and (2) the innovative extended jams a la Cream.

But sonically, Mountain was decidedly different from Cream--West's oozing and snarling simple Les Paul Jr. had a darkish tone, and Pappalardi's buzzing bass was distinctive as well.

And for me, hearing West's style and sound was a "you-had-me-at-'hello'" experience. The first song on the 1969 so-called solo album was "Blood of the Sun" and the intro licks were unison riffing by Leslie and Felix, and I can't recall a previous time when I'd heard two instruments playing like that.

And pro players were paying attention as well. When Mott the Hoople began touring in the US, Mick Ralphs took note of West.

“I saw and heard what Leslie was doing, and said ‘That’s it’ as far as tone went,” Ralphs recounted in a '94 interview. “He was getting that sound out of a slab of wood with one pickup and two knobs.”

And who among us had the Flowers of Evil LP with 27 minutes of live material crammed onto one side (there was a notice/advisory in the LP cover that said the volume would need be turned up)?

Another ancillary Cream reference was West, Bruce and Laing, of course.

I vaguely recall a movie in the early '80s---maybe on the original "Night Flight" on USA Network---that showed Mountain jamming at a rock festival while the travails of running the show backstage were the drama; i.e. it was fictional. I'd think the movie was from the '70s, and I seem to recall it might have been titled The Day the Music Died but I've never been able to find anything about it online. Anybody remember it?

Leslie West was one of a kind. R.I.P. Mountain Man.

 

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20 minutes ago, Willie G. Moseley said:

In late '68, at least one periodical predicted Canned Heat would fill the void left by Cream's breakup, but that comparison was ludicrous, IMO, then and now.

So true. Canned Heat: the musical equivalent of a wet fart.

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Jumped in my car to run some errands and heard Leslie on the radio and thought the worst, got to this post and there it is.   R.I.P. Leslie West !    With everything else also goin' on in the world, 2020 has been a very sad year.  

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