Provogue RecordsMountain singer and guitarist Leslie West will release his sixteenth solo album, Soundcheck, on November 20, and he’s assembled a star-studded cast of contributors.
The record includes appearances by Peter Frampton, Queen‘s Brian May, ex-Jeff Beck keyboardist Max Middleton, vocalist Bonnie Bramlett and the late Cream bassist, Jack Bruce.
Tracks include covers of The Beatles‘ “Eleanor Rigby,” Curtis Mayfield‘s “People Get Ready, Ben E.King‘s “Stand by Me,” Tracy Chapman‘s “Give Me One Reason,” and a live version of Willie Dixon’s, “Spoonful,” which was famously cut by Cream, with Bruce on bass and vocals.
The latter track was cut live during a one-off gig while West was recording his 1988 album Theme with Bruce. “After hearing of Jack’s passing, we edited it down from its original length and decided it would be great to include on the record,” West explains in a statement. “As you can hear, I was trying to reincarnate myself into Eric Clapton! The first time I listened to Jack’s voice and the tone of his bass on the recording, I had tears in my eyes. I loved Jack so much.”
“Going Down” features May, Bramlett and Middleton along with Muscle Shoals alum David Hood on bass and Derek and the Dominos member Bobby Whitlock on organ. West and Frampton team up for a version of “You Are My Sunshine,” in a rendition inspired by a minor-key arrangement West heard while watching the show Sons of Anarchy.
“I’m playing slide while he’s playing conventionally,” West says. “His tone is phenomenal on this, with a warm sound and a really nice vibrato, and he loved the arrangement. To take a song you’ve heard all of your life and change it around like this is very cool.”
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.