Hendrix is an other catergory, people. He was much more than a total original guitarist,songwriter and performer. He changed music just as much the Beatles did. Hendrix still is the standard !
So to me, and many rock fans, there IS no "better". That's not how you judge music. One thing is certain, without Jimi & Leslie, we'd have a far different definition of the term "Rock n Roll".
I think every rock guitarist would tell you the best electric rock guitarist was Jimi Hendrix. However, Jimi died in 1970. Although Jimi was and still is a bright influential star, Its 41 years after Hendrix, and Leslie West is STILL WITH US, creating and performing. Leslie is every bit as much the King of the Les Paul Jr., as Hendrix was the King of the Fender. Leslie had a far better tone and vibrato then Hendrix, Hendrix had much faster dexterity. They both wrote GREAT songs.
As I said before, even though I'm a major Jimi fan, the SOUND of Leslie's guitar gave me goosebumps.
Some of the guitar playing/sound on Nantucket Sleighride, Mountain Live, hurts my head.
I spent years trying to find Woodstock 2 so I could hear Mountain's Blood Of The Sun, just to hear Leslie hitting one note, before launching into a sublime piece of guitar - you'll know which part I mean I hope :)
Anyone calling Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner cacophonous is incorrigibly clueless. Beauty lies in the purposeful cacophony of his version. It was Hendrix channeling the cubist painter Pablo Picasso. The guitar became his paintbrush.
“In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context”.
Hendrix was definitely a BRILLIANT guitarist. But, he had his bad moments, too. That Star Spangled Banner thing he played at Woodstock was cacophonous to be honest. But he wrote and played those unsurpassable riffs such as Castles Made Of Sand (easily one of the BEST tunes of all time, regardless of genre), Little Wing, Voodoo Chile, Wait Until Tomorrow... man, the list can go on to infinity!
@freegie27 I know that he tried to emulate napalm bombing and war sounds, I wasn't born yesterday! I've been studying Hendrix's style for years and he's been a great inspiration for my playing. I just can't understand why EVERYTHING that he played HAS TO be considered great. He had his flaws, you know, and that's not necessarily bad. I believe that regarding someone as flawless is a sign of weakness. Hendrix was absolutely great but not everything he played is necessarily the best.
I just love watching Leslie give interviews. He always says something funny and he has GREAT rock and roll stories to tell. We need a live show that features guitar players and Les can be the host and interview the musicians. It would give me a reason to watch television again!
Leslie West was very good. Hendrix is off the scale great. Jimi wasn't just a guitarist he was a composer and a poet. He was also one of the coolest dressed musicians ever. Check out his outfit that he wore at Woodstock.
I love Mountain and Leslie West. West is one of a small handful of guitarists who have their own signature sound. The club of siggy sounders include Hendrix, SRV, Santana, West and Clapton in the Cream days (after that Clapton became more like a studio guy or a sessions man.) There are some others but I can't think of them now. No one sings and plays like West and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves. Anytime I hear Mountain, I get revved up.
Jimi was the greatest all around guitarist of all time, however, Leslie West was the most melodic guitarist of all time. No-one, even Hendrix, could beat Leslie West's tone, vibrato and pure melodic sense.
Jimi Hendrix is often considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music by other musicians and commentators in the industry and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a range of genres“.
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jeff beck is the best...he takes Jimi's riffs and spits them back out better than Jimi. I saw Hendrix twice and he was so messed up that after the intro you couldn't tell what song he was playing...OVERATED! especially toward the end...Jeff has never done drugs...and keeps getting better! AND is still alive at 63 or 64..
@jeffthelyon I heard Hendrix in Sacramento California in 1970. He pulled the crowd to it's feet with the first note and blew every ones mind for about two hours. He was funny and irreverent and his playing was perfect. He is, was and will always be, the best electric guitar player. A true genius. If you ask Jeff Beck he will tell you the same thing. Jeff is great and original but not in the same league.
@kimmedavid why would you doubt that? I met him at Dodd Music Ctr. in Cov. Ky. and he was fine....they loaned him a Fender Jazzmaster or Jaguar for the concert that night at Xavier Univ. where he was messed up. The 2nd time he was at Cincinnati Gardens and he was awful there too. I'm not saying he wasn't good...I love the live at BBC tapes i have. Favorite guitarists are subjective...learn that!
@jeffthelyon no one can play like hendrix no one! you apparently dont know his best live stuff... red house live @ the royal albert hall 69 for example... somepeople can copy jeff beck or buckethead or van halen but no one can create the same sounds as mister hendrix when he did red house live or machine gun @filmore east... dont forgett its over 40years ago he was WAY ahead of his time !
@kimmedavid Dude, you're right! No one can play like Hendrix...he's dead! I've heard or had every album he made. Some are fantastic...first 2...after that he went downhill...Band of Gypsies on....as I said, you have the right to your opinion, but so do I....and I been listening to Jeff for 44 years and he keeps getting better. Where would Jimi be if alive?
@jeffthelyon good question , with all that new guitars and amps he would be more untouchable then he was for over 40years ;) i just can say listen to all his red house versions live no can lay down a blues like the man
@jeffthelyon Absolutely mind-boggling that someone could characterize 'Electric Ladyland' as going "downhill". I mean, if you're a fan of his, you don't really believe that, do you?
@jeffthelyon Well, actually you said "some are fantastic...fist 2...after that he went downhill." Electric Ladyland was his third; I understand, now, what you meant to say. As re: J. Beck ... extraordinarily gifted and I've always dug him, from Y.Birds to present.
Hey Leslie I saw you a ton of times, but you played in Ridgewood high school in new Jersey , you had a wall of Marshall and when you played Mississipi Queen .
Man, people don't have any idea what a power house you were, Back then you had real guitarists you were measured by and bro you were in a leauge of your own.
Corky lange set the drums on fire and Felix Papalardi just stood there cool as hell.
@Dirtbiker56 - - Cant even count the times Ive seen Mountain and Leslie at the Capital in Passaic-- Man ,they were a band the rocked that place - and loved to play there.- -As did a lot of Musicans -great venue, Garcia loved playing the capital too- but the Dead became too big- & he would play thier with his Band- -Man those were the days ** * Leslie used to stop in a pizza place on Monroe St-1 nite he came out on stage with sauce on his shirt -haha
Yeah! I mentioned Blood Of The Sun in an earlier post.
I bought Woodstock 2 - (years ago on vinyl before the cd era - cost me a fortune) just to get Mountain's performance, and particularly Blood Of The Sun.
Leslie's guitar bends on that are gut-wrenchingly awesome.
some time back Leslie west got on the 'slow gear ' and became like twig. That aint no way to lose weight or advance your career. He looks healthier now.
jimi really was the greatest... no single person has matched the perfect sound he could get out of a guitar. i respect many guitarists but jimi reigns supreme... for me anyways.
@MrTeddy236 You know your right, he played things no one else could back in the 60's and early 70's and the very best guitarists are still trying to play his stuff and can not. I saw him at Woodstock, he was the best performance period!
You know what ? I'm really wondering why Leslie is almost never mentioned when it comes to lists or discussions about the greatest and most influental guitarists. I mean, the good stuff is fleeding out of him, he's stunning !
Compare him to Tony Iommi. And don't get me wrong, I ADORE Tony Iommi for what he has done, but have u ever listened to his lesson video on soloing ? Damn folks, you don't believe your ears, it was just plain horrible. Leslie clearly outclasses Tony in soloing.
@HispanicImpression Leslie was and is a bad mother...... One of the baddest of the baddest. His name may not appear very often on certain websites however, all the top guitarist' respect the crap out of him. When they appear on stage with him, they know not to test his jaw, because it is understood that he'll wipe the floor with the poor fool. He's always a gentleman though. If he'd have looked like the typical rock star, his name and face would've been all over the place.
This is a problem that none of us will ever be able to resolve. I never understood it, but for some reason, people just love to compare guitarist (or any kind of musicians..), even though it doesn't make any sense at all. There is no basis nor need, for comparing an EVH with Jimi, Jimi with Leslie or God knows what. The whole thing always climaxes in stupidity when we get presented with "TOP 100 Guitarists of all times" polls, doesn't it? Just enjoy the music, it's not a race or contest!
I think Stratdem equates who he likes with who he feels is better/best. That is typical of a teenager, although I realized my hero at that time, Angus Young, wasn't the most accomplished player around. I had the sense to appreciate all kinds. If EVH himself read this assclown's statements he'd be embarrassed. Jimi was the ultimate innovator. West THE tonemonster of his day.
and i'll tell you somthing else thats FACT!EDWARD VANHALEN WOULD BURY HENDRIX AND WEST UNDER THE STAGE AND I DO MEAN WAY UNDER THE STAGE. THATS A FACT!
hey shit for brains thats why at 47 i dont have to work anymore guitar playing was and still is douchebag very good to me. edward van halen would and could SHIT ALL OVER WEST AND HENDRIX now go fuck youself i dont have time for idiots like you. learn how to play guitar asswipe befor you open your cock sucker
You don't work because you can't get a job. Your spelling and grammar is indicative of this. I play guitar and I know what I hear. Now go suck Eddie's dick. I hear he is lonesome without Valerie. LOL. Like you made money off of your playing.
How does one open his cock sucker ? Are you that fucking stupid ? What kind of 47 year old argues about who is better anyhow ? Go back to the schoolyard, argue about whose father is the biggest and learn to form a sentence.
Like West said, Jimi played with a very basic guitar and got all those sounds from it. I would go on to say how pathetic your life is and how unintelligent and uneducated you are, but by you arguing on Youtube, well you've done my job for me. Thanks son.
EVH is not only best friends with Leslie West, but has said on multiple occasions that Leslie was a major influence on him.
The one recording of Leslie and EVH on youtube shows a pumped up Leslie And THRILLED EVH playing Mississippi Queen. Leslie in NO WAY got owned, actually its EVH that looked like he was playing downwind.
Either way, West and EVH Rocked SO WELL that night.
Bottom line is none of us care who you like or what your opinon is about West , EVH or Jimi. You are the same kid who argued about whose father was biggest and you haven't matured beyond that. You molest children in the washroom at Chuck E Cheese.
Eat shit faggot. Why would Leslie want to play like Eddie ? Eddie already does that well enough. and thousands of imitators have looked stupid copying EVH. West is a heavy blues guy, EVH doesn't play the blues. David Gilmour plays David Gilmour, EVH plays EVH, West plays West. EVH digs West too. Someone asked Eddie once how it was being the best guitar player alive and he said " I wouldn't know - ask Bruce Cockburn ."
No shit asshole. I've got an interview from 1986 with Leslie in GuitarWorld where he said he loved Eddie's playing. Eddie was my first hero.What is your fucking point anyhow ? That Eddie is the greatest ? LOL. Eddie would never say that and never has. Go argue with some 15 year old about who the best is you fucking prick. There is no BEST.
Leslie's big contribution to how we play rock guitar was TONE. He popularized, more than anyone else, the fat, dense, sustained thick & creamy overdriven tone that has come to define heavy rock guitar sound. . . . soap bar pick-ups mounted on a solid slab of mahagony . . . Paul Red Smith was certainly paying attention to Mr. West. . . sustain & tone to spare. And yes, his virbrato is excellent, musical and among the best & most natural sounding.
Leslie in his youth was focussed on being original ... he worked hard to develop his own style and succeeded ... that earned him the respect of those other greats of that era.
If you have any doubts about West's virtuosity look up his live performance of Theme From an Imaginary Western on the Night Of the Guitar tour.
. . . so I guess nobody has anything to say about Leslie West here? Jeez.
Leslie's style is very innovative. He didn't follow what everybody else did. He is an influence on me to this day and I think on a lot of other musicians. And I think his opinion of Jimi is pretty evident here.
Foolish argument all. Jimi Hendrix considered Leslie one of the all time greats. Jack Bruce, Claptons bass player, said Leslie had the greatest vibrato and tone of them all.
Jimi, Clapton, and Leslie are 3 pioneers. They are "Rock Gods"
Clapton was in Cream with Jack Bruce but I would hardly call him Clapton's Bass player. Jack was the primary voice & songwriter in Cream. His virtusoty on the bass & a dozen other instruments hardly makes him Clapton's anything. I'd say Clapton was Jack's guitarist.
Jack was a monster talent, and Clapton just never allowed him to truly go all out onstage. Fast forward to West, Bruce & Laing. Leslie & Jack got along great because they both LOVED to jam and work OFF of EACH OTHER. I thought W,B,& L was much heavier then Cream, and was much more entertaining to listen too.
Wow ,. leslie looks good,. I thought he was dead,. He lost alot of weight,..even his hair looks good,.. I saw him when I was 17 at the brooklyn zoo and he never left the stool he was so heavy,..and that was like,..um,...1980?
BUT - Pre - Delany & Bonnie Clapton is sublime and inimitable.
The change was unbelievable - signature phrasing, melodic sense, solo construction...everything changed. He even lost his bend vibrato. Very sad indeed, and such a second rate solo act. One breakthrough hit and suddenly all the deadheads could 'get' Clapton. Vile.
Clapton is good, but you have to admit he doesn't let go. He too tight and restricted. Hendrix is much more interesting and diversified. Clapton is a Chicago Blues stylist, while Hendrix does it all. Get over it Hendrix revolutionized how rock music is played. He's not overrated he's underrated. Hendrix is the God of Rock n Roll!!!
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
First of all everybody knows Clapton is God, and Clapton plays any style of music, hendrix didn't. Clapton's playing is more architectural, hendrix was just to sloppy!!! He had already peaked at least a year before he died, watch isle of wight. pretty sad for a supposed god!!!!
Les is cool as can be! And how awesome is it that Jimi was humble enough to play bass when they jammed? Great stuff, wish I could hear the jam. Long live Jimi!
I am leslies brother larry and I was there the night when les and jimi played at Unganos, they jammed and les broke someones guitar in pieces who happened to be in the audience. What was funnier was the look on the guys face.
les is definitely in a class by himself. he need not worry about his legacy because even jimi hendrix was more amazed at him than he was at eric clapton. just as jimi, no one will ever be able to emulate him. there are people that can play eric note for note but, this cannot be done with leslie west.
Hendrix is an other catergory, people. He was much more than a total original guitarist,songwriter and performer. He changed music just as much the Beatles did. Hendrix still is the standard !
Staziish 2 months ago
This is great...just some fantastic stuff to hear. Thanks for posting it, bro'.
Kedbuka 3 months ago in playlist Leslie West
where is the picture he's talking about?
Savage3390 4 months ago
Hendrix was out of this world man. BUT man Mountian had some good shit man.
vonkiser 5 months ago 2
I love you, Leslie West.
Yellow shoes.
Yellow shoes.
parafleet 7 months ago
So to me, and many rock fans, there IS no "better". That's not how you judge music. One thing is certain, without Jimi & Leslie, we'd have a far different definition of the term "Rock n Roll".
depper 8 months ago
I think every rock guitarist would tell you the best electric rock guitarist was Jimi Hendrix. However, Jimi died in 1970. Although Jimi was and still is a bright influential star, Its 41 years after Hendrix, and Leslie West is STILL WITH US, creating and performing. Leslie is every bit as much the King of the Les Paul Jr., as Hendrix was the King of the Fender. Leslie had a far better tone and vibrato then Hendrix, Hendrix had much faster dexterity. They both wrote GREAT songs.
depper 8 months ago
@depper
Amen.
As I said before, even though I'm a major Jimi fan, the SOUND of Leslie's guitar gave me goosebumps.
Some of the guitar playing/sound on Nantucket Sleighride, Mountain Live, hurts my head.
I spent years trying to find Woodstock 2 so I could hear Mountain's Blood Of The Sun, just to hear Leslie hitting one note, before launching into a sublime piece of guitar - you'll know which part I mean I hope :)
JMH #1.......Stay well Leslie
freegie27 1 month ago
Anyone calling Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner cacophonous is incorrigibly clueless. Beauty lies in the purposeful cacophony of his version. It was Hendrix channeling the cubist painter Pablo Picasso. The guitar became his paintbrush.
“In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context”.
DONDIVA1969 8 months ago
Good stuff! Get well Leslie.
electrickithara 8 months ago
Hendrix was definitely a BRILLIANT guitarist. But, he had his bad moments, too. That Star Spangled Banner thing he played at Woodstock was cacophonous to be honest. But he wrote and played those unsurpassable riffs such as Castles Made Of Sand (easily one of the BEST tunes of all time, regardless of genre), Little Wing, Voodoo Chile, Wait Until Tomorrow... man, the list can go on to infinity!
Capillus 8 months ago
@Capillus
BAD moments?!
SSB @ Woodstock? Are you having a laugh?
You've missed the point with Jimi's 'cacophonous' rendition of the SSB.
It was about bombs, napalm, and war and discordant sound. (Watch Machine Gun..Band Of Gypsys also)
He's one of the few musicians who've been able to play the Star Spangled Banner in an unorthodox manner, and been praised for it.
Iconic moment in Rock Music history.
Anyway, it's Leslie's site. Rock On Leslie.
JMH #1
freegie27 8 months ago 5
@freegie27 I know that he tried to emulate napalm bombing and war sounds, I wasn't born yesterday! I've been studying Hendrix's style for years and he's been a great inspiration for my playing. I just can't understand why EVERYTHING that he played HAS TO be considered great. He had his flaws, you know, and that's not necessarily bad. I believe that regarding someone as flawless is a sign of weakness. Hendrix was absolutely great but not everything he played is necessarily the best.
Capillus 8 months ago
Fantastic quality , better than my TV !
hoghash78 11 months ago
Hendrix was only 27 when he died, to the older crowd he was just a baby and had a VERY short life.
Life is short but almost all of us, apart from a few do as much with less than Hendrix did.
3 years people...first album to death....3 years.
Harrysound 1 year ago
I just love watching Leslie give interviews. He always says something funny and he has GREAT rock and roll stories to tell. We need a live show that features guitar players and Les can be the host and interview the musicians. It would give me a reason to watch television again!
uidkathleen 1 year ago
Leslie West was very good. Hendrix is off the scale great. Jimi wasn't just a guitarist he was a composer and a poet. He was also one of the coolest dressed musicians ever. Check out his outfit that he wore at Woodstock.
farseas 1 year ago
I love Mountain and Leslie West. West is one of a small handful of guitarists who have their own signature sound. The club of siggy sounders include Hendrix, SRV, Santana, West and Clapton in the Cream days (after that Clapton became more like a studio guy or a sessions man.) There are some others but I can't think of them now. No one sings and plays like West and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves. Anytime I hear Mountain, I get revved up.
Brembelia 1 year ago 3
"that's a good riff, man."
fevershorty 1 year ago
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sounds Like BS to me
uname1950 1 year ago
Jimi was the greatest all around guitarist of all time, however, Leslie West was the most melodic guitarist of all time. No-one, even Hendrix, could beat Leslie West's tone, vibrato and pure melodic sense.
depper 1 year ago
Jimi Hendrix is often considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music by other musicians and commentators in the industry and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a range of genres“.
19CACTUS51 1 year ago
Hendrix was pretty much just a blues guy that made a lot of noise!
unclelight13 1 year ago
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jeff beck is the best...he takes Jimi's riffs and spits them back out better than Jimi. I saw Hendrix twice and he was so messed up that after the intro you couldn't tell what song he was playing...OVERATED! especially toward the end...Jeff has never done drugs...and keeps getting better! AND is still alive at 63 or 64..
jeffthelyon 1 year ago
@jeffthelyon I heard Hendrix in Sacramento California in 1970. He pulled the crowd to it's feet with the first note and blew every ones mind for about two hours. He was funny and irreverent and his playing was perfect. He is, was and will always be, the best electric guitar player. A true genius. If you ask Jeff Beck he will tell you the same thing. Jeff is great and original but not in the same league.
johnnylance 1 year ago
@jeffthelyon you have no clue at all.. towards the end hendrix made his best live songs and studio records ... i doubt highly you saw him twice live
kimmedavid 1 year ago
@kimmedavid doubt all you want, I did. I 've seen Jeff Beck 10 times and am seeing him in Birm and London UK too in Oct. Doubt that too?
jeffthelyon 1 year ago
@jeffthelyon i dont doubt that you saw jeff beck i doubt you saw hendrix live ;) hendrix is uniqe and untouchable! hendrix is not overrated
kimmedavid 1 year ago
@kimmedavid why would you doubt that? I met him at Dodd Music Ctr. in Cov. Ky. and he was fine....they loaned him a Fender Jazzmaster or Jaguar for the concert that night at Xavier Univ. where he was messed up. The 2nd time he was at Cincinnati Gardens and he was awful there too. I'm not saying he wasn't good...I love the live at BBC tapes i have. Favorite guitarists are subjective...learn that!
jeffthelyon 1 year ago
@jeffthelyon no one can play like hendrix no one! you apparently dont know his best live stuff... red house live @ the royal albert hall 69 for example... somepeople can copy jeff beck or buckethead or van halen but no one can create the same sounds as mister hendrix when he did red house live or machine gun @filmore east... dont forgett its over 40years ago he was WAY ahead of his time !
kimmedavid 1 year ago
@kimmedavid Dude, you're right! No one can play like Hendrix...he's dead! I've heard or had every album he made. Some are fantastic...first 2...after that he went downhill...Band of Gypsies on....as I said, you have the right to your opinion, but so do I....and I been listening to Jeff for 44 years and he keeps getting better. Where would Jimi be if alive?
jeffthelyon 1 year ago
@jeffthelyon good question , with all that new guitars and amps he would be more untouchable then he was for over 40years ;) i just can say listen to all his red house versions live no can lay down a blues like the man
kimmedavid 1 year ago
@jeffthelyon Absolutely mind-boggling that someone could characterize 'Electric Ladyland' as going "downhill". I mean, if you're a fan of his, you don't really believe that, do you?
vampyros1 1 year ago 3
@vampyros1 I said Band of gypsies on not Electric Ladyland ...Give a listen to Sharon Coor & Jeff Beck mna na heireann
jeffthelyon 1 year ago
@jeffthelyon Well, actually you said "some are fantastic...fist 2...after that he went downhill." Electric Ladyland was his third; I understand, now, what you meant to say. As re: J. Beck ... extraordinarily gifted and I've always dug him, from Y.Birds to present.
vampyros1 1 year ago
Hendrix: The coolest cat in the modern world!
djangolad 1 year ago 5
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luigi34343 1 year ago
Cool story.Hendrix was incredibly generous as a player.He also jammed with the Soft White Underbelly(Blue Oyster Cult) and played bass with them too.
beefoneeto 1 year ago
Fanstatic story and memory he has of meeting Jimi.
capetown99 1 year ago
Leslie West is such cool guy, so glad that hes still around..Great guitarist and singer.
wisesatyr72 1 year ago
Hey Leslie I saw you a ton of times, but you played in Ridgewood high school in new Jersey , you had a wall of Marshall and when you played Mississipi Queen .
Man, people don't have any idea what a power house you were, Back then you had real guitarists you were measured by and bro you were in a leauge of your own.
Corky lange set the drums on fire and Felix Papalardi just stood there cool as hell.
Dirtbiker56 1 year ago
@Dirtbiker56 - - Cant even count the times Ive seen Mountain and Leslie at the Capital in Passaic-- Man ,they were a band the rocked that place - and loved to play there.- -As did a lot of Musicans -great venue, Garcia loved playing the capital too- but the Dead became too big- & he would play thier with his Band- -Man those were the days ** * Leslie used to stop in a pizza place on Monroe St-1 nite he came out on stage with sauce on his shirt -haha
-the best-
terripin99 1 year ago
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1967 "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" UK Singles Chart 18
1968 "All Along the Watchtower" Billboard Hot 100 20
1968 "All Along the Watchtower" UK Singles Chart 5
1969 "Crosstown Traffic" UK Singles Chart 37
1970 "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" UK Singles Chart 1
1971 "Gypsy Eyes/Remember" UK Singles Chart 35
1990 "All Along the Watchtower EP (with "Hey Joe" & "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)") UK Singles Chart 52
1990 "Crosstown Traffic" UK Singles Chart 61
genxxxersize 1 year ago
Look, man, if Hendrix tells you "great riff" there's no need to get all apologetic about an ego boost! : )
EvelTwinOfSlogmaster 1 year ago 2
see mountain at woodstock , the video clip,it is mind bogglingly awesome. Leslie west is a great guitarist!
taariqtaariq 1 year ago
@taariqtaariq
Yeah! I mentioned Blood Of The Sun in an earlier post.
I bought Woodstock 2 - (years ago on vinyl before the cd era - cost me a fortune) just to get Mountain's performance, and particularly Blood Of The Sun.
Leslie's guitar bends on that are gut-wrenchingly awesome.
freegie27 1 year ago 4
1:57
DoubleDutchBust 1 year ago
Leslie & Felix blew my nut with the live 'Nantucket Sleighride' all those years ago..and Mississipi Queen etc. [Mountain live].
Noel played with Leslie a few years later.
Jimi's my number one but Lesle's guitar tone is exquisite.,
Sleighride, Blood of the Sun....Beautiful guitar player.
JMH #1...... Total respect to Leslie
freegie27 1 year ago 22
lesie slimmed down alot
harley1450000 1 year ago
Git it on!
Chazrobodean1 2 years ago
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nice turkey neck
jloch85 2 years ago
He lost a bunch of weight though.
bleeshpo 2 years ago 2
@bleeshpo
some time back Leslie west got on the 'slow gear ' and became like twig. That aint no way to lose weight or advance your career. He looks healthier now.
taariqtaariq 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
hendrix was definitely not the greatest of all time, but he was one of the few real innovators for an instrument with such a huge history.
hendrix band of gypsies era was unbelievably good.
danogzilla 2 years ago
jimi really was the greatest... no single person has matched the perfect sound he could get out of a guitar. i respect many guitarists but jimi reigns supreme... for me anyways.
phillyeagles01 2 years ago 4
@danogzilla You are so full of shit, utube will invent sniff you for free.
witchman1 2 years ago
@witchman1 i have no idea what that means.
danogzilla 2 years ago
mullygraves, your an idiot, he was the greatest
restinpeacejimi 2 years ago
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eddie van halen>>>>>>> hendrix
davidallenroth 2 years ago
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too bad hendrix sucked
mulleygraves 2 years ago
@mulleygraves screw u man hendrix was the greatest guitarist of all time easily, only idiots like u cant accept that
MrTeddy236 2 years ago 47
why
mulleygraves 2 years ago
@MrTeddy236 You know your right, he played things no one else could back in the 60's and early 70's and the very best guitarists are still trying to play his stuff and can not. I saw him at Woodstock, he was the best performance period!
keysB3P 1 year ago
you failed at comedy
impala666 2 years ago
Randy Rhoads' favorite guitarist was Leslie West. That alone tells you something.
IvanMtl 2 years ago
yup. And Jack Bruce said Leslie had the BEST vibrato he's ever heard. And this was AFTER Bruce playing with Clapton.
THAT is one hell of a compliment from maybe the greatest bassist in rock history.
depper 2 years ago 3
Leslie has one of the fattest, sweetest guitar sounds, with the best intonation I've ever heard. A great, great player.
Unclemoparman 2 years ago 4
Michael Schenker modeled his vibrato after Leslie West and Michael has one of the best vibratos.
GuitarVato96 2 years ago
what? butler didn't write the songs, they all did. they all worked together as one. but butler is a fuckin great bass player, especially at his time.
internash 2 years ago
You know what ? I'm really wondering why Leslie is almost never mentioned when it comes to lists or discussions about the greatest and most influental guitarists. I mean, the good stuff is fleeding out of him, he's stunning !
Compare him to Tony Iommi. And don't get me wrong, I ADORE Tony Iommi for what he has done, but have u ever listened to his lesson video on soloing ? Damn folks, you don't believe your ears, it was just plain horrible. Leslie clearly outclasses Tony in soloing.
HispanicImpression 2 years ago 5
@HispanicImpression Leslie was and is a bad mother...... One of the baddest of the baddest. His name may not appear very often on certain websites however, all the top guitarist' respect the crap out of him. When they appear on stage with him, they know not to test his jaw, because it is understood that he'll wipe the floor with the poor fool. He's always a gentleman though. If he'd have looked like the typical rock star, his name and face would've been all over the place.
msaintpc 2 years ago 4
great interview, jimi hendrix is my idol, almost everything i play on guitar i was inspired by him.
britton95 2 years ago 3
gr8 interview...never knew Leslie knew Jimi...two legends of Rock
MikeJohnstonguitar 2 years ago 3
love you Leslie-always will
doeadearafemaledear 2 years ago 2
Great interview...thanks for posting.
eihwazone 2 years ago
cool check my riffs donottawaguitar
donottawaguitar 2 years ago
Well put. It won't change the mind of a retard who is still stuck in grade 6 though.
AngusShanks 2 years ago
This is a problem that none of us will ever be able to resolve. I never understood it, but for some reason, people just love to compare guitarist (or any kind of musicians..), even though it doesn't make any sense at all. There is no basis nor need, for comparing an EVH with Jimi, Jimi with Leslie or God knows what. The whole thing always climaxes in stupidity when we get presented with "TOP 100 Guitarists of all times" polls, doesn't it? Just enjoy the music, it's not a race or contest!
planetcaravan72 2 years ago
How true.
paulgrim96 2 years ago
I think Stratdem equates who he likes with who he feels is better/best. That is typical of a teenager, although I realized my hero at that time, Angus Young, wasn't the most accomplished player around. I had the sense to appreciate all kinds. If EVH himself read this assclown's statements he'd be embarrassed. Jimi was the ultimate innovator. West THE tonemonster of his day.
AngusShanks 2 years ago
and i'll tell you somthing else thats FACT!EDWARD VANHALEN WOULD BURY HENDRIX AND WEST UNDER THE STAGE AND I DO MEAN WAY UNDER THE STAGE. THATS A FACT!
stratdem 2 years ago
Comment removed
AngusShanks 2 years ago
hey shit for brains thats why at 47 i dont have to work anymore guitar playing was and still is douchebag very good to me. edward van halen would and could SHIT ALL OVER WEST AND HENDRIX now go fuck youself i dont have time for idiots like you. learn how to play guitar asswipe befor you open your cock sucker
stratdem 2 years ago
You don't work because you can't get a job. Your spelling and grammar is indicative of this. I play guitar and I know what I hear. Now go suck Eddie's dick. I hear he is lonesome without Valerie. LOL. Like you made money off of your playing.
AngusShanks 2 years ago
How does one open his cock sucker ? Are you that fucking stupid ? What kind of 47 year old argues about who is better anyhow ? Go back to the schoolyard, argue about whose father is the biggest and learn to form a sentence.
AngusShanks 2 years ago
Like West said, Jimi played with a very basic guitar and got all those sounds from it. I would go on to say how pathetic your life is and how unintelligent and uneducated you are, but by you arguing on Youtube, well you've done my job for me. Thanks son.
PilotDoofy 2 years ago
that is one brilliantly stupid dude....lol...
mcul2112 2 years ago
stratdem, relax dude!
logicalbass 2 years ago
HAHA you stupid uneducated ASSCLOWN!
EVH is not only best friends with Leslie West, but has said on multiple occasions that Leslie was a major influence on him.
The one recording of Leslie and EVH on youtube shows a pumped up Leslie And THRILLED EVH playing Mississippi Queen. Leslie in NO WAY got owned, actually its EVH that looked like he was playing downwind.
Either way, West and EVH Rocked SO WELL that night.
depper 2 years ago
ur a fucking idiot stratdem, Hendrix broke onto the scene in 68, Van Halen wasnt famous till 10 years later...
Hendrix set precedent for many artists today and Leslie West is just a sick guitar player i saw him with Satriani last year.
tassidar86 2 years ago
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bottom line edward van halen would and could SHIT ALL OVER HENDRIX AND WEST COMBINED.
stratdem 2 years ago
Bottom line is none of us care who you like or what your opinon is about West , EVH or Jimi. You are the same kid who argued about whose father was biggest and you haven't matured beyond that. You molest children in the washroom at Chuck E Cheese.
AngusShanks 2 years ago
lol you got owned check the comment above you. Also learn your history.
tassidar86 2 years ago
Hendrix was rarely in tune....But Who Cares !
Buckhead1959 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
your great leslie but when you can play like edward van halen then you can talk shit!
stratdem 2 years ago
Eat shit faggot. Why would Leslie want to play like Eddie ? Eddie already does that well enough. and thousands of imitators have looked stupid copying EVH. West is a heavy blues guy, EVH doesn't play the blues. David Gilmour plays David Gilmour, EVH plays EVH, West plays West. EVH digs West too. Someone asked Eddie once how it was being the best guitar player alive and he said " I wouldn't know - ask Bruce Cockburn ."
AngusShanks 2 years ago
hey douche lesie is very good friends with the KING thats right FUCK FACE the KING edward van halen. edwadrd van halen = greatest of alltime!!!!
stratdem 2 years ago
No shit asshole. I've got an interview from 1986 with Leslie in GuitarWorld where he said he loved Eddie's playing. Eddie was my first hero.What is your fucking point anyhow ? That Eddie is the greatest ? LOL. Eddie would never say that and never has. Go argue with some 15 year old about who the best is you fucking prick. There is no BEST.
AngusShanks 2 years ago
Hey, Leslie, got any more Hendrix pictures you wanna give away? Got the perfect spot for it. P.M. me.
DONDIVA1969 2 years ago
Leslie West ROCKS!!!
guitarlessontv 2 years ago
Leslie is a great guitarist... perhaps one of the most under-rated greatest guitarists of all time... He is pure genuis on the guitar...
till next time we meet
be well, happy, and peaceful.
belaraymusic 2 years ago
Saw them in 1974 at Miami Jai-Alai.
My 1st rock concert!
I was 13 & could barely breath from the "smoke" inside. Now I 'm used to it. lol It was HEAVY, man!
guitormentor 2 years ago
Leslie's big contribution to how we play rock guitar was TONE. He popularized, more than anyone else, the fat, dense, sustained thick & creamy overdriven tone that has come to define heavy rock guitar sound. . . . soap bar pick-ups mounted on a solid slab of mahagony . . . Paul Red Smith was certainly paying attention to Mr. West. . . sustain & tone to spare. And yes, his virbrato is excellent, musical and among the best & most natural sounding.
daveschachne 2 years ago 3
mountain was one of the best with Felix Pappalardi and Leslie West
ravisun09 2 years ago
I've never even heard of Leslie West, but I'm becoming very interested in him.
HCVS13 2 years ago
How old are you dude? Leslie was or is one of the best guitarrist of his era period to me he made that guitar sing man what a sound.
please read more about him research he is one of the greatest.
hudent 2 years ago
Leslie in his youth was focussed on being original ... he worked hard to develop his own style and succeeded ... that earned him the respect of those other greats of that era.
If you have any doubts about West's virtuosity look up his live performance of Theme From an Imaginary Western on the Night Of the Guitar tour.
Pure straight from the soul emotion.
OMMAG001 2 years ago
. . . so I guess nobody has anything to say about Leslie West here? Jeez.
Leslie's style is very innovative. He didn't follow what everybody else did. He is an influence on me to this day and I think on a lot of other musicians. And I think his opinion of Jimi is pretty evident here.
sepulchre10 2 years ago
Foolish argument all. Jimi Hendrix considered Leslie one of the all time greats. Jack Bruce, Claptons bass player, said Leslie had the greatest vibrato and tone of them all.
Jimi, Clapton, and Leslie are 3 pioneers. They are "Rock Gods"
Done, and done.
depper 2 years ago
Clapton was in Cream with Jack Bruce but I would hardly call him Clapton's Bass player. Jack was the primary voice & songwriter in Cream. His virtusoty on the bass & a dozen other instruments hardly makes him Clapton's anything. I'd say Clapton was Jack's guitarist.
retrogradevids1 2 years ago 4
Jack was a monster talent, and Clapton just never allowed him to truly go all out onstage. Fast forward to West, Bruce & Laing. Leslie & Jack got along great because they both LOVED to jam and work OFF of EACH OTHER. I thought W,B,& L was much heavier then Cream, and was much more entertaining to listen too.
depper 2 years ago
just face it, he did drugs... nothing to get all pissy over
Pmichteinz 2 years ago
Good comment.
kingkull0423 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Clapton "has better tone"? Haha Clapton has GREAT tone. NOBODY had or has better tone then Leslie West.
three time inductee into R&R Hall of Fame?
Who GIVES AN ASS ABOUT THE R&R HALL OF FAME? R&R Hall of Fame is a joke. Want proof?
Madonna got "inducted".
depper 2 years ago
In his very last interview,with Keith Altham,a few days before his death,Jimi Hendrix talks about MOUNTAIN (and CACTUS).
And by the way,congratulations mister West,cause you proved to the world with CLIMBING and NANTUCKET SLEIGHRIDE that you are a great guitar-heroe.
INDIVIDUALHOUSE 2 years ago
Wow ,. leslie looks good,. I thought he was dead,. He lost alot of weight,..even his hair looks good,.. I saw him when I was 17 at the brooklyn zoo and he never left the stool he was so heavy,..and that was like,..um,...1980?
TheLivingDeadOne 2 years ago
Nobody can play like clapton. Nobody!
Dankofan2008 2 years ago
Yea ok, Ive heard MANY bar bands play Clapton note for note.
But Ive NEVER heard anyone copy Leslie West. Its simply impossible to duplicate that tone.
depper 2 years ago
Clapton is SOOO overrated and he knows that too.
Tone, yeah, but what kind of musical catalogue does Clapton have? Enough for a mini-CD, that's all.
He doesn't have the creativity of Beck, Hendrix or Page.
zosoiv71 2 years ago 2
Beyond 'overrated'. Horrible and embarrasing.
BUT - Pre - Delany & Bonnie Clapton is sublime and inimitable.
The change was unbelievable - signature phrasing, melodic sense, solo construction...everything changed. He even lost his bend vibrato. Very sad indeed, and such a second rate solo act. One breakthrough hit and suddenly all the deadheads could 'get' Clapton. Vile.
All that remains is the floating vibrato.
IMnotsohumbleO. LOL.
bobgure 2 years ago 2
Hendrix is better sorry pal.
kingkull0423 2 years ago
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Hendrix is so overrated!! To Sloppy!! Great ideas for playing, but a one trick pony!!!! Clapton is the total package!!!
Dankofan2008 2 years ago
A one trick pony?...You been smoking way too many drugs Dankofan2008!
kingkull0423 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
your probably one of those sheeple that think kurt cobain was a great guitar player too. hendrix is overrated, deal with it!!! Clapton is the BEST!!!
Dankofan2008 2 years ago
Clapton is good, but you have to admit he doesn't let go. He too tight and restricted. Hendrix is much more interesting and diversified. Clapton is a Chicago Blues stylist, while Hendrix does it all. Get over it Hendrix revolutionized how rock music is played. He's not overrated he's underrated. Hendrix is the God of Rock n Roll!!!
Havew a nice day Dankofan2008....
kingkull0423 2 years ago 30
This comment has received too many negative votes show
First of all everybody knows Clapton is God, and Clapton plays any style of music, hendrix didn't. Clapton's playing is more architectural, hendrix was just to sloppy!!! He had already peaked at least a year before he died, watch isle of wight. pretty sad for a supposed god!!!!
Dankofan2008 2 years ago
you're so wrong, it's pathetic.
hesmon 2 years ago
Man, this is great work!!
benadmin 2 years ago
Met Leslie in NY bout a year ago @ an electronics store. Real down to earth. He hangs w the Winters
SteveSparx 3 years ago
Thank you,great stuff! Saw Leslie in my hometown ( far f U.S.A.) couple years ago,woz great!
PiePaivi 3 years ago
Les is cool as can be! And how awesome is it that Jimi was humble enough to play bass when they jammed? Great stuff, wish I could hear the jam. Long live Jimi!
VoodooChildsReturn 3 years ago 6
Voodoo, there is not a Mountain fan ALIVE that doesnt want to hear the West/Hendrix jam! Sadly, they never recorded it.
Funny, the West/Hendrix and the Presley/Beatles jams, the 2 most popularly known private jams in rock history, were never recorded.
depper 3 years ago
I wish he would have told more about his years with Jack bruce. Now that was a great combination.
joebrassmonkey 3 years ago
I am leslies brother larry and I was there the night when les and jimi played at Unganos, they jammed and les broke someones guitar in pieces who happened to be in the audience. What was funnier was the look on the guys face.
maxico90 3 years ago
He whom thinks as best , Is not best at. Les West was, is not nor shall be..Jimi's nemesis.
pngaia 3 years ago 2
nemesis? They were FRIENDS. And they both were the best at what they did. Nobody, including Jimi, could touch Leslie's tone and vibrato signatures.
Jimi's esoteric distorted playing... untouchable.
Remember though, it was Leslie West that lived through it all.
depper 3 years ago
les is definitely in a class by himself. he need not worry about his legacy because even jimi hendrix was more amazed at him than he was at eric clapton. just as jimi, no one will ever be able to emulate him. there are people that can play eric note for note but, this cannot be done with leslie west.
m. st dehaven
msaintpc 3 years ago
lol@ 1:30 "Wanna jam, man?"
cydonianman 3 years ago
Man, what a great story for posterity, "knock knock, this is my friend Jimi..."
H3rman123 3 years ago
WOW! Leslie realy got old.
HendrixUntilDeath 3 years ago
This one must be listened to be all Mountain fans. This is REAL good stuff.
depper 3 years ago