LESLIE WEST

TG PAYS TRIBUTE TO THREE GUITARISTS WHO LEFT THEIR MARK ON THE WORLD OF MUSIC

On 21st December 2020, the world lost one of the most iconic guitarists to emerge from the late 60s rock scene: Mountain’s Leslie West.

Propelled to stardom by landmark tracks such as Mississippi Queen and Nantucket Sleighride, West’s sound became synonymous with fat distortion, chunky riffs and sweet, soaring solos. From Eddie Van Halen to Zakk Wylde, later pioneers of rock and metal hailed West’s playing as an integral influence on their own.

Like a lot of blues rock players, West’s improvisational solos were rooted in the pentatonic scales, elevated by the deft mixing of major and minor phrases - a technique inherited from listening to B.B. King, Clapton and Hendrix. Unlike a lot of blues rock players, however, his lead style was characterised not by speed but by melodic phrasing and a vibrato so wide you could drive a bus through it. Early on in his career, West settled on the Gibson Les Paul Junior as his preferred weapon of choice. Deciding that a second pickup would only get in the way of his picking hand, he squeezed mountains of rich tone out of the singular P-90 offered by the “baby brother” of the Les Paul family. He would later collaborate with Dean Guitars on two Lp-esque signature models, which feature DMT ‘Mountain of Tone’ pickups (but just the one per guitar, of course!).

After West succumbed to a cardiac arrest at age 75, tributes flowed from all corners of the guitar world, with heavyweights such as Joe Satriani, Slash and Peter Frampton taking to social media to pay their respects.

And it’s a heartfelt tweet from Joe Bonamassa that perhaps sums-up the guitar legend’s legacy best: “Leslie West was a Rock ’n’ Roll Hall Of Fame member that didn’t need a statue nor ceremony to prove it. He just was and will always be...”