There’s a few guitarists whose sound is easily recognizable, and Leslie West is one of those. His fat tone preceded MOUNTAIN and gained additional colors through the years, colors that are in play on the veteran’s new record, “Soundcheck,” to be out on November 20th. Some of the performances on it aren’t new, though, as the finale of “Spoonful” features Leslie’s old sparring partner, the great late Jack Bruce, and the Freddie King-patented “Going Down” – which sees Brian May’s guitar, Bonnie Bramlett’s voice, and Max Middleton and Bobby Whitlock on keyboards – comes from the previous decades. There are more covers, still, among them “You Are My Sunshine” with Peter Frampton sharing six-string duties with West, Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me Just One Reason” and THE BEATLES’ “Eleanor Rigby,” as well as THE IMPRESSIONS’ “People Get Ready” and Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” all given the Fatsby’s familiar twang.
The full song list looks like this – check also the trailer below:
Soundcheck
1. Left By The Roadside To Die
2. Give Me One Reason
3. Here For The Party
4. You Are My Sunshine
5. Empty Promises / Nothin’ Sacred
6. A Stern Warning
7. People Get Ready
8. Going Down
9. Stand By Me
10. Eleanor Rigby
11. Spoonful
