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Leon Russell - The Ultimate Session Man


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Artist Biography: Leon Russell

By Jason Ankeny

The ultimate rock & roll session man, Leon Russell's long and storied career includes collaborations with a virtual who's who of music icons spanning fromJerry Lee Lewis to Phil Spector to the Rolling Stones. A similar eclecticism and scope also surfaced in his solo work, which couched his charmingly gravelly voice in a rustic yet rich swamp pop fusion of country, blues and gospel.

ttp://star103fm.com/p/music/biography.cgi?artist_id=5327

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not one of my favs although he certainly is a good session musician and plays a great piano..i sort of went off him after i saw the mad dogs and englishmen tour in the early `70`s with joe cocker and ol` leon...joe cocker was great (even though he was out of his gourd most of the time) leon russell was ?????..it`s hard to say what he was....he seemed bland.....though he is credited with writing one of cockers biggest hits " delta lady " and others..i could just never get into him......

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Edited by kiwibank
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I remember liking the album below.  Didnt he play with Delaney & Bonnie and Friends?  Dave Mason?

yep..i saw them years ago when they came to new zealand...too laid back for me in those days dude......

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Edited by kiwibank
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On the other hand, concerning Leon Russell being bland, anybody recall the Concert for Bangladesh movie? Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and other high-octane stars performed....but Leon Russell clearly stole the show with his performance of the song, Youngblood.

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On the other hand, concerning Leon Russell being bland, anybody recall the Concert for Bangladesh movie? Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and other high-octane stars performed....but Leon Russell clearly stole the show with his performance of the song, Youngblood.

i watched that movie again recently and i`m inclined to agree that his (leon russells) performance of " youngblood " was above average.........though i must say that most of the performances of all the other artists that you mention in that movie do seem average to me.....this, in my mind begs the question about the quality of live concerts, and the ability of major/mainstream musicians/bands to carry a live performance (are you listening ashlee simpson and dick clark?)...... and the expectations of fans who have finally heard their favourite band/artist perform out of the studio and found them to be very disappointing..this has happened to me quite a few times (and i have seen many live concerts)..i guess that`s what happened with the mad dogs and englishmen tour..in the flesh, leon russell just didn`t sound as good as he does on the concert for bangladesh movie....

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kiwi, you raise a very valid point about live performances. The majority of the concerts I've seen were either acoustically poor or just didn't sound anywhere near as good as recorded versions of the same songs. I'd have to say the most notable exceptions to that assessment were Santana, doing mainly songs from their new album at the time, Caravanserai, and also Jethro Tull in the early 70's.

Now that concert prices are so high, I'd definitely rather buy the CD's by the act instead of seeing them live.

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The majority of the concerts I've seen were either acoustically poor or just didn't sound anywhere near as good as recorded versions of the same songs.

True - thats why psychedelics were de rigeur at such affairs :lol: Then, of course, it didnt matter as the sound was mind-expanding... :blink:

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True - thats why psychedelics were de rigeur at such affairs :lol:

they're not anymore? who knew? :lol: ;)

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