Leslie West Still Climbing

The first part of a track-by-track breakdown of "Still Climbing", the new studio album from Leslie West, the legendary guitarist, vocalist and original founding member of MOUNTAIN, can be seen below. The CD will be released on October 28 via Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group.

The CD is a testimonial to the strength and durability of West's artistry. Born October 22, 1945, as he approaches his 68th birthday, West has packed some of the most soulful and searing vocal performances of his half-century career into these 11 tracks. His guitar has never sounded more massive or riff-orientated.

Following the success of "Unusual Suspects", West approached the new release with vision of tying the albums together. "The new album is a sequel to 'Unusual Suspects', where I had friends of mine that include Slash, Zakk Wylde, Steve Lukather, Joe Bonamassa and Billy Gibbons come to the studio and play," West explains.

This time Jonny Lang, Johnny Winter, TWISTED SISTER's Dee Snider and Mark Tremonti do the honors. "What's different on 'Still Climbing' is that I wanted my guitars to sound as big as I look," Leslie says. "So I used four of my Dean Signature model guitars with my Mountain of Tone humbucking pickups. I plugged them into my Blackstar amps — no pedals — and turned them up loud and raw, and what you hear is exactly what I did in the studio. These Blackstar amps deliver everything I need without 'confidence' pedals. I played one of the early tracks we recorded for Slash, and he said, 'That is as heavy as it gets.'"

01. Dyin' Since The Day I Was Born (feat. Mark Tremonti)
02. Busted, Disgusted or Dead (feat. Johnny Winter)
03. Fade Into You
04. Not Over You At All
05. Tales Of Woe
06. Feeling Good (feat. Dee Snider)
07. Hatfield or McCoy
08. When A Man Loves A Woman (feat. Jonny Lang)
09. Long Red
10. Don't Ever Let Me Go (feat. Dylan Rose)
11. Rev Jones Time (Somewhere Over The Rainbow)