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The Latest Breaking News from Leslie West

“He was able to make each note sound so big. When I formed my first trio the first place my mind would go was the sound of Leslie West’s guitar”: Jared James Nichols explains why Mountain man Leslie West was the “king of heavy”

In this video lesson, Nichols unpacks some of West's signature techniques and demonstrates how you, too, can scale the summit of tone and feel...

Guitar World

“I used an SG Junior and it would never stay in tune. Felix had this old beat-up Junior and said, ‘Try this thing,’ and I never gave it back’”: Leslie West on giving his Gibson Les Paul Junior to Pete Townshend after tracking three songs with The Who

West met Townshend when The Who recruited him to play lead guitar on several tracks for their 1971 album Who’s Next

Guitar World

"Leslie West's sparky and inventive improvisations mesh neatly with Corky Laing’s instinct for power and groove": Mountain's noughties' incarnation celebrated across six live discs of varying quality

Six Mountain live sets – get ready to climb!

Louder

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

A beginner's guide to Jack Bruce in 10 classic tracks

A short tribute to one of rock's all-time great bassists, Cream legend Jack Bruce

Louder

"Not even Zeppelin or the Stones had ever done what we did": How Mick Jones invented Foreigner and paved the way for the multi-million-selling albums that dominated the next decade

Against all expectations, Foreigner's debut album sold millions. This is the real story behind one of the biggest debut albums ever

Louder

“I see people my own age in the audience, and their minds are blown. I’m making this stuff sound new to them”: Grace Bowers on her dizzying rise as the world’s next guitar hero, breaking the law to hone her chops, and why she’s “not a natural”

The 18-year-old might be the greatest thing to come out of Nashville since Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint but she's keeping her feet on the ground, hands on her SG, as everyone else stands in awe of her prodigious talent

Guitar World

“The most well-known user of this instrument was universally beloved for having one of the heaviest guitar tones of all time”: Joe Bonamassa explains why you can rule the world with one pickup

In this video lesson inspired by Leslie West, Joe Bonamassa puts the single-pickup rock 'n' roll machine through its paces with some riffs and licks that make good use of open strings

Guitar World

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“Mick Ronson was the guitarist prior to me. He was one of my heroes, so when I joined that band I had some pretty big shoes to fill”: The Fixx’s Jamie West-Oram on his journey from distorted rocker to new wave guitar hero – and why he's big on Suhr

West-Oram's guitar tone is reference for a whole generation. Here we discusses its evolution from mono to stereo, and the songwriting approach behind his new solo album, Skeleton Key

Guitar World

"You can sing it, you can hum it – you can play it": Jared James Nichols teaches you Mississippi Queen by Mountain

Fire up the P-90

MusicRadar

“I said, ‘The winner is…’ and pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket – and said, ‘Edward… uh… Van Halen!’” Unseen footage of Eddie Van Halen and Leslie West's onstage jams and backstage hangs has been unearthed

In 2002, Eddie Van Halen joined Mountain on and offstage – and cameras were there to capture the moment

Guitar World

"I started laughing, because he is the best": Watch unseen footage of late guitar icons Eddie Van Halen and Leslie West backstage and jamming

The extraordinary footage comes from a Los Angeles club show in 2002

Louder

"A lot of people don't like Ritchie Blackmore. But he feels he has nothing to say apart from what he says with his guitar": the mutual respect between Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore and Mountain's Leslie West was sweet and pure

Hearing Mountain for the first time in 1970 rendered Ritchie Blackmore speechless, and Leslie West was equally impressed by Deep Purple's guitar hero

Louder

10 Best Guitarists Of All Time: The Legends Across Generations

Here are some of the best guitarists that have left an indelible mark on music history with their passion for the instrument.

International Business Times

“I’ve been playing for seven years but I only learned the pentatonic scale three years ago!”: She’s only just started exploring music theory, but that hasn’t stopped 17-year-old Grace Bowers from grabbing her blues heroes’ attention

Though she already has a Gibson endorsement, an impressive social media presence and a favorite guitar and effects setup, the Hodge Podge leader is practicing harder than ever

Guitar World

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Louder

"In screaming so loudly for so long I gave myself chronic laryngitis and screwed up my voice forever": Mountain man Corky Laing reveals how a seductive dancer inspired a hard rock classic

Mississippi Queen gave Mountain their signature song, rock'n'roll its second most famous cowbell, and Corky Laing headaches over the songwriting credits

Guitar World

“Leslie West said: ‘I prefer your licks, Pete. Eric seems to be playing things he’s learned, that he’s picked up from other blues players’”: Pete Townshend says the Mountain legend favored his expansive rock licks over Eric Clapton’s blues vocabulary

“I think that is a fair comparison, although I have seen Eric play live, where he really goes sky high,” the Who hero added

MusicRadar

Pete Townshend talks Clapton and more: "I remember Leslie West saying to me, ‘I prefer your licks to Eric’s. He seems to be playing things that he’s learned, that he’s picked up from other blues players’"

Who legend goes on record in extensive magazine interview

Guitar World

“When Van Halen’s first record came out, I was so proud of them – it was awesome. But did Eddie Van Halen affect my playing style? No”: Dave Meniketti on turning down Frampton, and how Y&T might’ve been bigger if they’d opened for themselves

Everyone who opened for Y&T made it big. Y&T sort of did too, but if superstardom eluded Meniketti, he's totally cool with that. Here, he talks about the evolution of the band and getting his dues as a guitarist

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Guitar World

“My friend came to my taco stand, telling me Leslie West wanted to jam. I was like, ‘What kind of drugs are you on? I’ve never even played a club before’”: At 17, Peter Baron went from street food vendor to playing with a rock guitar icon overnight

Peter Baron spent decades touring with Leslie West. He reveals what the Mountain guitar legend taught him (and vice-versa), and the one-of-a-kind guitar quirk West got from watching Porky Pig…

Guitar World

Vito Bratta recorded White Lion’s All You Need is Rock 'n' Roll with Jimi Hendrix’s black Stratocaster – and Leslie West’s Marshall amp

West's 100-watt Mountain Marshall is still owned by Bratta, who got his hands on the fabled Strat through Al Kooper – who was gifted the guitar by Hendrix himself

Guitar World

Vito Bratta names 11 guitarists who shaped his sound

The virtuoso behind White Lion’s platinum rock sound pays dues to the players who showed him what to do on guitar (and what not to do), and recalls an emotional encounter with Eddie Van Halen

Guitar World

How Kareem 'Big K.O.' Denis and Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels are bringing hard rock guitar back to hip-hop

The Firebird-loving guitarist/producer and Run-DMC legend on their mission to prove hip-hop can be just as heavy as metal, getting gear tips from Billy Gibbons, and why Gibson humbuckers are the foundation of funk and soul guitar

Louder

We once asked Leslie West who his favourite guitarist was: his answer was not what we expected

Mountain's Leslie West on the guitarist who sounded like a "45-year-old blues guy when he was barely in his twenties"

Guitar World

Watch Mountain’s Felix Papplardi and Leslie West tear Pennsylvania a new one on Mississippi Queen as they redefine ‘heavy’ for the 70s

“All stoner and doom bands are foam in the wake of Mountain!” An unmissable performance that generated some amazing YouTube comments

Guitar World

Bruce Kulick names 10 guitarists who shaped his sound

The hard-rock guitar slinger names the unlikely influences behind a number of his best-known Kiss riffs, and the player he likens to "a race car champion with the soul of a great blues musician"

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