West, Bruce

Bruce Springsteen's make-or-break third album represented a sonic leap from his first two, which had been made for modest sums at a suburban studio; Born to Run was cut on a superstar budget, mostly at the Record Plant in New York. Springsteen's backup band had changed, with his two virtuoso players, keyboardist David Sancious and drummer Vini Lopez, replaced by the professional but less flashy Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg. The result was a full, highly produced sound that contained elements of Phil Spector's melodramatic work of the 1960s. Layers of guitar, layers of echo on the vocals, lots of keyboards, thunderous drums – Born to Run had a big sound, and Springsteen wrote big songs to match it.

Leslie West has gained fame the world over during his 30-plus year career as one of the most innovative and influential musicians in the history of rock music. He is most noted for his role as leader of the explosive hard rock trio, Mountain, which was named by VH-1 as one of the Top 100 Hard Rock Groups of all time.

All-star tribute albums are popping up as frequently as gourmet coffee houses, saluting the music of such artists as Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix to KISS and the Carpenters. But “The Songs of ‘West Side Story’ ” is different. Instead of paying homage to a performer, the album honors one of the most successful musicals in Broadway and film history. “The Songs of ‘West Side Story,’ ” due Jan. 30 on RCA Victor Records, brings together more than two dozen pop stars from rock, country, R&B; and jazz to offer their versions of the celebrated works by composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.

A new “Songs Under Cover” playlist he just released as part of his Live Series collects 15 soundboard covers spanning several decades and genres of music.

Rich West - Heavenly Breakfast (2006) {pfMentum}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 444 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 173 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb
© 2006 pfMentum | CD035
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz

For Heavenly Breakfast, drummer Rich West decided to work again with a quintet, but retained only the services of trumpeter Bruce Friedman from the group that appeared on Bedouin Hornbook. Ex-Motor Totemist Guild Lynn Johnston (sax and clarinets) completes the small yet agile horn section; electric bassist Dan Krimm replaces Scot Ray and his tuba; finally, the electric guitar is out and the electric piano in, here performed by Emily Beezhold. Although the group on Bedouin Hornbook did a fine job at going through West's whimsical charts, this lineup is much better at filling them in and twisting them slightly out of shape.

We would like to pay homage to one of the greatest and most infamous guitarists Bruce Langhorne. His music has influenced and touched a lot of lives over the years, either through his soundtrack work with Peter Fonda or his studio work in the 1960’s as the go to hired hand for musicians such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Odetta… and many others. If his name is new to you I suggest browsing his wikipedia page to acquaint yourself with the volume of work he accomplished throughout the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Scissor Tail Editions was lucky enough to release Bruce’s score to Peter Fonda’s 1971 anti-western “The Hired Hand”on vinyl in 2012.