![]() ![]() The solo work here can only be described as sublime and Leslie imbues his fret work with an indelible sense of passion that transmits itself clearly to the listener. Things take an acoustic turn as we move into ‘a stern warning’, an instrumental work-out that demonstrates Leslie’s enduring ability on the guitar before a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s soul classic ‘people get ready’ sees Leslie let rip with that wonderful vibrato once more. Whatever the influence, it’s the sort of awesome hard rock track that makes you want to bounce around the room like an idiot, and it’s hard to get your head around the fact that this is Leslie’s sixteenth album and not his first, such are the energy levels. With a staccato riff and some blistering solo work, ‘empty promises / nothing’ sacred’ is an album highlight and it is, apparently, Leslie’s tribute to the mighty AC/DC. The rock is back with the massive ‘empty promises / nothin’ sacred’ which recalls Danny Bryant’s similarly electric ‘take me higher’ (from ‘temperature rising’). Reminiscent in tone of Johnny Cash’s masterful reading of ‘hurt’, Leslie makes the well-worn track entirely his own with a performance that drips with emotion whilst the guitar solo simply aches with unresolved passion. Slowing the pace is a beautiful rendition of ‘you are my sunshine’ (featuring Peter Frampton) which exposes the very human heart at the centre of this rock ‘n’ roll whirlwind. This is good time rock ‘n’ roll in excelsis – “ I’ve been waiting all week just to have a good time” moans Leslie over a riff that threatens to leave a trail of discarded, semi-clad groupies in its wake. Better still is the gritty hard rock of ‘give me one reason’ which has all the hunger of a band just stepping out on the road for the first time. ‘Give me one reason’ (originally a Tracy Chapman hit) opens with the warm tones of a grand piano and some emotive lead before devolving into a late-night blues track that draws comparisons with the stunning Wilko Johnson / Roger Daltry album ‘Going back home’. It’s a hell of an opening track and, as the cover implies, Leslie’s only just getting started. ![]() This is blues, but with a nitro-glycerine charge at its heart and as Leslie’s gritty slide slithers across the mix you’d have to be dead not to sit up and take note. Putting his best foot forward, Leslie West opens with the gnarled blues of ‘left by the roadside to die’, a blistering workout that sees acoustic guitar and a throbbing synth line give way to some heavy-ass blues that blaze with a power that recalls Led Zeppelin in their pomp. ![]() Teamed up with Peter Frampton, Brian May, Max Middleton (ex-Jeff Beck), Bonnie Bramlett and the late, great Jack Bruce (Cream), this is a meeting of some of rock’s greatest talents and the result is an album of tracks that spark with livid rock ‘n’ roll fury. A VU meter pegged in the red, well, so what? Surely the Velvet Underground have already done that? Yet what initially seems uninspired is, in fact, prophetic, because red is exactly where the needle stays on this unexpectedly rambunctious outing from the legendary guitarist. The picture on the cover of Leslie West’s ‘soundcheck’ initially seems somewhat uninspired. ![]()
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