Album Notes

Unfinished Business represents a thirty-year "break in the action" from when I appeared as a bass player and singer with a wonderful vocal group, The Dick Lane Quartet. Over a 5-year period, we recorded and toured the hot venues of Vegas and Tahoe as a respected lounge act, playing alongside many of the great names of the day-Nat Cole, Sammy Davis, Ella, Sarah, Pearl Bailey, the Mills Brothers and, of course, the incomparable Sinatra. The inspiration of these giants of the genre inspired West and stoked his ambitions to record his own versions of the standards he loved and sang every night.

My personal dream was always my own solo album. In 1960, I was picking the songs when marriage, children and rock and roll put the album on hold. The years flew by with all the wonders of family and friends, and exciting work in producing jingles, media production and voice-over work. But I never forgot my dreams of a solo album. It wasn't until 1990, after a fruitful career in the radio and recording field, I was able to resurrect my dream and at last record a new album of my beloved "standards." Co-produced with my son-in-law, bassist Bob Parr, who also shared composing and arranging duties with David Zoller, we cut tracks at Pacifique Studios in LA and Goodnight Studios in Dallas with an electrifying and dedicated slate of talented musicians.

It truly became a family affair with my daughter, Claire, lending her skills at mixing and my son, Steve, contributing his percussion talents. And, as always, my wonderful wife Liz provided all the support and encouragement a man could ever want.

So after three decades, with the unflagging support of family and friends-I was finally able to make my dream album of favorite classic love songs, some which I had once sang nightly, some I just always wanted to sing. (Hence the title, "Unfinished Business.")

Please share them with me.