| Alligator | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock | |||
| Length | 29:52 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. | |||
| Producer | Leslie West, Paul Orofino | |||
| Leslie West chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alligator is an album by the American musician Leslie West, released in 1989 on I.R.S. Records. [1] [2] West supported the album by participating in the Guitar Speak and Night of the Guitars tours. [3] [4]
I.R.S. allowed West the freedom to make the album he wanted. [5] Stanley Clarke played bass on "Whiskey" and "All of Me". [6] Johnette Napolitano sang on the cover of Free's "The Stealer". [6] "I Put a Spell on You" is a cover of the Screamin' Jay Hawkins song. [7] The liner notes contain a recipe for alligator chili. [8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [9] |
The Province deemed the album "as patchy as any of his solo LPs but it highlights his recent work with a Casio guitar synthesizer and his fluid, crying style—a style still rooted in rock and blues that is different from voguish speed merchants." [10] The Chicago Sun-Times called it "an eclectic collection of songs that highlights West's deft electric guitar-playing skills and passion for unusual material." [11]
The Daily Breeze opined that the "'Hall of the Mountain King/Theme from Exodus' medley, one of the album's most painful episodes, sounds like it was accidentally recorded during a rehearsal." [12] The San Diego Union-Tribune noted that "instrumentals 'Waiting for the F Change', 'Whiskey', 'All of Me' and 'Alligator' promise much, but West seems to lose concentration, grow bored or something." [13]
AllMusic wrote that West "plays some hot guitar here, of course, but then not as much as one might like, and he sings a lot here, too, perhaps more than one might like." [9]