The blues has informed
Leslie West's work since the earliest days of
Mountain, but
Collection, which cherry-picks from his output for the Blues Bureau label (1993-2006), is the most concentrated assemblage yet of the guitarist's covers within the blues idiom. It's easy to imagine
West putting plenty of muscle into classics like
John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom,"
Robert Johnson's "Crossroads," and
Muddy Waters' "Baby Please Don't Go," and he does. The latter especially burns, with
West unreeling a screaming solo and strangled vocals, ably abetted by drummer
Aynsley Dunbar, bassist
Tim Bogert, and rhythm guitarist
Kevin Curry. But some of the most surprising moments occur where you'd least expect them. The album ends with two songs that couldn't be more opposite in tempo: a rowdy take on
Procol Harum's "Whisky Train" and a "Summertime" that puts more soul into the
George and
Ira Gershwin standard than anyone has since
Janis Joplin. And
Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack," stripped down to a core of
West's guitar and
Brian Mitchell's piano, and devoid of its familiar jumping rhythm, recasts the song in a mournful mode befitting of its finality.