Mountain

Mountain - The Best Of Mountain - 1973 - Columbia

This album was recorded in 1973, a year after Mountain had disbanded.. Mountain had a three year lifespan, and a sparse recording output, releasing only four studio albums. Yet, several of their songs are regarded as hard rock classics,including "Mississippi Queen," "Nantucket Sleighride," "Never in My Life," and the Jack Bruce penned "Theme for an Imaginary Western." Even today, these tracks receive plenty of airplay. The talented keyboard player, Steve Knight, and the incomparable rhythm section of Felix Pappalardi, (arguably an underrated vocalist), on bass and Corky Laing on drums produced some of the best blues-based hard rock music of the seventies. This is a great compilation album, including four bonus tracks, from the short lived Mountain. Buy their classic 1971 album " Nantucket Sleighride," and hear Mountain at their best.

TRACKS

1.Never in My Life - Collins, Laing, Pappalardi, West
2.Taunta (Sammy's Tune) - Pappalardi
3.Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) - Collins, Pappalardi
4.Roll Over Beethoven - Berry
5.For Yasgur's Farm - Collins, Gardos, Laing, Pappalardi, Rea, Ship
6.The Animal Trainer and the Toad - Palmer, West
7.Mississippi Queen - Laing, Pappalardi, Rea, West
8.King's Chorale - Pappalardi
9.Boys in the Band - Collins, Pappalardi
10.Don't Look Around - Collins, Palmer, Papalardi, West
11.Theme for an Imaginary Western - Brown, Bruce
12.Crossroader - Collins, Pappalardi
13.Long Red - Landsberg, Pappalardi, Ventura, West [Bonus Track on 1990 Columbia CD Re - Issue]
14.Dreams of Milk & Honey - Landsberg, Pappalardi, Ventura, West [Bonus Track on1990 Columbia CD Re - Issue]
15.Silver Paper - Collins, Gardos, Knight, Laing, Pappalardi, West[Bonus Track on1990 Columbia CD Re - Issue]
16.Travelin' in the Dark (To E.M.P.) - Collins, Pappalardi [Bonus Track on1990 Columbia CD Re - Issue]

Recorded between 1969 & 1971.

CREDITS (1973 12 track LP)

Corky Laing - Drums
Steve Knight - Percussion, Keyboards
Felix Pappalardi - Bass, Vocals, Producer
Leslie West - Guitar, Vocals
Bob D'Orleans - Engineer

REVIEWS

Mountain's meteoric ride through the early '70s was as memorable as it was brief — so much so that this excellent greatest-hits set was released less than four years after the band had inaugurated their career at Woodstock. In retrospect, its easy to understand why the strange chemistry (pun intended) struck between boogie-loving, Clapton-worshiping guitar hero Leslie West and eclectic bassist and Cream producer Felix Pappalardi was fated to be a short one. But during their brief run, Mountain's adventurous proto-metal did indeed resemble a somewhat twisted but effective American version of the legendary power trio that inspired them. Of course, Mountain would continue to re-form off and on over the years, but seeing as most of their later efforts were disappointingly under par, this set covers all the stuff you'll need — most essentially, Homer Simpson's favorite song, the immortal "Mississippi Queen." © Ed Rivadavia, http://wc07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gxfyxqr5ldhe
While West, Bruce and Laing travel around the nation belching "Why Dontcha's" at enthusiastic audiences, it is only fair that we pay our last respects to the group that started it all for Leslie... Mountain. No matter how simple or crude the music appeared to be, Mountain made it all come alive with raw energy and fierce power. With willowy Felix Pappalardi laying the bass foundation and drummer Corky Laing and non-existent organist Steve Knight adding additional coverage, Mountain spotlighted the rugged, distorted guitar licks of massive Leslie West. Included on The Best are tunes done by Mountain at the beginning and end of their career. From the hot 'n nasty "Mississippi Queen" to the hotter 'n nastier "Roll Over Beethoven," Best of Mountain proves to be a musical avalanche of power rock. © Ed Naha, Circus, 3/73, © Rockforever.com LLC and the Voices of Classc Rock - All rights reserved
Whenever I listen to Mountain it always surprises me how heavy the band is. I mean, yeah, this was back in the early days of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, but Mountain has a heavy sound all their own - what Sabbath probably would have sounded like if they'd been from the South instead of Britain. This collection, first released on LP back in 1973, contains twelve of the band's best known tracks, including well-known Mountain hits like "Mississippi Queen," "Nantucket Sleighride" and "Theme From an Imaginary Western" and lesser-known tracks like "The Animal Trainer and the Toad" and "Don't Look Around." Also featured is a raging cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven." As with all Mountain CDs, the real stars are the guitars of Leslie West. West knew when to crunch and when to rip into a lead - and knew whether or not that lead should be a bluesy laid-back one or a blisteringly fast one. This 2003 re-release also contains four bonus tracks: 1969's "Long Red" and "Dreams of Milk & Honey," 1970's "Silver Paper" and 1971's "Travelin' in the Dark." The remastering sounds great - this CD sounds much better than the original vinyl. "The Best of Mountain" is a great place to start for those unfamiliar with the band but who are fans of early Sabbath, Deep Purple and Creedence Clearwater Revival. © R. Scott Bolton, www.roughedge.com/cdreviews/m/mountain.htm
Biggest hits from this now defunct group, highlighted by Leslie West's fine guitar playing, excellent bass work from Felix Pappalardi and top vocals from each. Pappalardi, also responsible for producing Cream, handled the same job expertly on this set. Good collection for fans who want the group's top efforts on one set and those who are just now being introduced to the sound through West, Bruce & Laing, the band that grew out of this one. Best Cuts: "Nantucket Sleigh ride," "Mississippi Queen" (their biggest commercial success) and "Tickets For An Imaginary Western." © Billboard, 1973.

BIO (Wikipedia)

Mountain is an American rock band, popular in the early 1970s. The band broke up in 1972, reformed shortly thereafter, broke up soon after that, and now has begun touring again in recent years. Mountain remains popular in some circles despite having fallen out of the mainstream during the seventies. Mountain was influential during the development of hard rock, and their hit song "Mississippi Queen" became a radio hit and a hard rock classic. VH1 ranked Mountain as number 98 on its 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band formed when guitarist Leslie West, having left the Long Island R&B band the Vagrants, recorded a solo album called Mountain with bassist and former Cream producer Felix Pappalardi producing. The album, Mountain, also featured former Remains drummer N.D. Smart and keyboard player Steve Knight. West's raw vocals and melodic, bluesy guitar style, and Pappalardi's heavy and elegant bass lines were the elements of Mountain's distinctive sound. The band was inspired by the power trio Cream, of which Pappalardi was an "unofficial" member: he featured heavily on Cream's third album, Wheels of Fire, contributing organ, viola, trumpet and handbells as well as producing. Mountain played their fourth live gig at the Woodstock Festival, but the band did not appear in the film of the event nor was it included on the first album. Soon after, Smart was replaced by Laurence "Corky" Laing. The group's first album, Climbing!, was released in 1970 and featured the band's best-known song, "Mississippi Queen"; the song reached the middle of the top 40 charts and the album reached the top 20 on the US album charts. The follow-up album Nantucket Sleighride (1971) also reached the top 20 on the US albums chart but failed to yield a hit single. After these early releases the band continued to receive a certain measure of critical acclaim but never achieved great commercial success. After Nantucket Sleighride, the band faced creative difficulties and failed to progress on their next album. The band broke up in 1972. West and Laing later formed West, Bruce and Laing with Cream bassist Jack Bruce. They released three albums (two studio and one live). In 1974 West and Pappalardi reformed Mountain with Allan Schwartzberg on drums and Bob Mann (of Dreams) on keyboards and guitar - a tour yielded the live double album Twin Peaks. The studio work Avalanche, with Laing on drums and rhythm guitarist David Perry, who as an African American was also credited for "added color". It was the last heard from Mountain until the mid 1980s since which West, sometimes with and sometimes without Laing, has worked under the name Mountain, New Mountain or the Leslie West Band. On April 17, 1983, Gail Collins Pappalardi, Felix's wife and songwriting partner who had designed many of the band's album covers, shot Pappalardi in the neck in their fifth-floor East Side Manhattan apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene and Collins was charged with second-degree murder. She was cleared of that charge but convicted of the lesser criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to 16 months to four years in jail. After her release from jail, she vanished into private life. The band has reformed, and Richie Scarlet has taken over as bass player on the band's recent tours. Scarlet is also known for his work with Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach and for his multuiple solo records. In 2003 West and Laing produced a book of recollections called "Nantucket Sleighride" detailing their time with the band at its peak and their subsequent careers. Published by S.A.F. Publishing ISBN 0 946719 62 4