Hard rock band Mountain was formed in 1969 by guitarist Leslie West and bassist and former Cream producer Felix Pappalardi. The two met while West was a member of Long Island R&B band the Vagrants, local heroes who never broke nationally; when West left to record the solo album Mountain, Pappalardi produced for him. The results were satisfying enough for the two to form a partnership, and Mountain's first lineup included drummer N.D. Smart and keyboardist Steve Knight. The group played its fourth live performance ever at Woodstock, after which Smart was replaced by Corky Laing. Their debut album, 1970's Mountain Climbing, went gold, thanks in part to the hard rock classic "Mississippi Queen." Nantucket Sleighride was equally successful, but the group failed to progress with its next album, and after Mountain Live in 1972, the group broke up. Pappalardi, whose hearing had been damaged by Mountain's excessive in-concert volume, returned to production, while West and Laing teamed up with ex-Cream bassist Jack Bruce under the name West, Bruce & Laing. A brief reunion featuring West and Pappalardi from the group's original lineup took place in 1974. In subsequent years, West and Laing revived the group for live shows, sometimes joined by Pappalardi; West also performed with his own Leslie West Band. Pappalardi was shot and killed by his wife in 1983. Two years later, West and Laing regrouped with Mark Clarke on bass and recorded an album before once again calling it quits. Laing served as PolyGram's A&R vice president in Canada between 1989and 1995. In 1996, he reunited with West and Clarke for a new Mountain album, Man's World. West and Laing teamed up again in 2002 for another album as Mountain, Mystic Fire.

Climbing! - 1970

Mountain was the combined forces of Leslie West, a gigantic guitarist/vocalist who had played with New York garage-psych rockers The Vagrants, and Felix Pappalardi. Pappalardi had a slightly more impressive track record, coming from the modern East Coast folk-rock movement (The Youngbloods), before he applied his production skills to Cream. Through this, Felix never really stopped playing, and eventually formed Mountain. Often billed as a junior league version of Cream, this, Mountain's debut, had a lot of things going for it as well. Indeed, West was a changed man from the moment he saw Clapton play, and Pappalardi was able to help him achieve the exact same tone Clapton employed on Disraili Gears. The hit off this album, "Mississippi Queen" is a boogie classic, and it paved the way for countless imitators such as J. Giles Band, Foghat and others. There are a lot of other great tracks here, such as "Never In My Life" which was an F.M. radio staple at the time. - Matthew Greenwald

1 - (2:34) Mississippi Queen
2 - (5:14) Theme For An Imaginary Western
3 - (3:57) Never In My Life
4 - (3:23) Silver Paper
5 - (3:29) For Yasgur's Farm
6 - (3:44) To My Friend
7 - (4:40) Laird
8 - (2:28) Sittin' On A Rainbow
9 - (3:41) Boys In The Band

Nantucket Sleighride - 1971

Following the success of Climbing and appearances at Woodstock and other outdoor festivals of the day, Mountain recorded more of the same for Nantucket Sleighride. The title track is a nice mixture of classical leaning intertwined with moderate rock; both "Don't Look Away" and "The Animal Trainer & the Toad" continue on the hard rock path so well worn by this band. Not groundbreaking, but it is well worth listening to. - James Chrispell

1 - (3:49) Don't Look Around
2 - (1:03) Taunta (Sammy's Tune)
3 - (5:58) Nantucket Sleighride
4 - (3:31) You Can't Get Away!
5 - (4:44) Tired Angels
6 - (3:32) The Animal Trainer And The Toad
7 - (4:38) My Lady
8 - (4:29) Travelin' In The Dark (To E.M.P.)
9 - (5:46) The Great Train Robbery

Flowers Of Evil - 1971

Counting Leslie West's July 1969 solo album, Flowers of Evil was the fourth album in 28 months for West and Felix Pappalardi's Mountain, and the pace was catching up with them: Flowers of Evil was only half of a studio album, four new songs, its second side filled up with a live 25-minute rock & roll medley and encore of Mountain's sole Top 40 hit, "Mississippi Queen." This was unmistakable evidence that Mountain had run its course. There would be live albums, compilations, and reunions over the succeeding years, but Flowers of Evil marked the creative end of a surprisingly short-lived enterprise. (Originally released in November 1971 as Windfall 5501, Flowers of Evil was reissued on April 16, 1996, as Columbia/Legacy 52749.) - William Ruhlmann

1 - (4:56) Flowers Of Evil
2 - (1:06) King's Chorale
3 - (3:54) One Last Cold Kiss
4 - (4:52) Crossroader
5 - (7:13) Pride And Passion
6 - (25:15) Dream Sequence
7 - (3:51) Mississippi Queen

Best Of Mountain - 1973

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

01 - (3:54) Never In My Life
02 - (1:01) Taunta (Sammy's Tune)
03 - (5:54) Nantucket Sleighride
04 - (3:00) Roll Over Beethoven
05 - (3:25) For Yasgur's Farm
06 - (3:30) The Animal Trainer And The Toad
07 - (2:33) Mississippi Queen
08 - (1:05) King's Chorale
09 - (3:40) Boys In The Band
10 - (3:47) Don't Look Around
11 - (5:11) Theme For An Imaginary Western
12 - (4:54) Crossroader

Avalanche - 1974

Coming on the heels of their live Twin Peaks, this release features more of a guitar-oriented sound than previous efforts. Highlights include their cover of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "You Better Believe It," the latter sounding like a return to the Climbing days. The rest, however, sounds like it could have been left buried under the Avalanche. Everything was downhill after this. - James Chrispell

01 - (5:07) Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
02 - (4:02) Sister Justice
03 - (4:45) Alisan
04 - (2:57) Swamp Boy
05 - (5:19) Satisfaction
06 - (3:22) Thumbsucker
07 - (5:48) You Better Believe It
08 - (3:48) I Love To See You Fly
09 - (3:03) Back Where I Belong
10 - (3:51) Last Of The Sunshine Days

Over The Top - 1995

Over the Top is right. Two discs of Mountain, complete with all the AOR hits, unreleased tracks, two newly recorded songs, a nearly six-minute guitar solo, and a 20-minute jam is a bit much for anyone but the most devoted Leslie West fans, yet the number of rarities and classy packaging make the set a necessary item for the dedicated. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Disc 1

01 - (2:39) Blood Of The Sun
02 - (3:20) Long Red
03 - (3:58) Blind Man
04 - (3:38) Dreams Of Milk And Honey
05 - (3:03) Southbound Train
06 - (3:16) Because You Are My Friend
07 - (2:35) Mississippi Queen
08 - (5:09) Theme From An Imaginary Western
09 - (3:55) Never In My Life
10 - (3:21) Silver Paper
11 - (3:27) For Yasgur's Farm
12 - (3:42) To My Friend
13 - (2:26) Sittin' On A Rainbow
14 - (19:38) Stormy Monday [Live]
15 - (3:42) Waiting To Take You Away [Live]
16 - (5:51) Guitar Solo [Live]

Disc 2

01 - (3:48) Don't Look Around
02 - (1:02) Taunta (Sammy's Tune)
03 - (5:55) Nantucket Sleighride
04 - (3:29) You Can't Get Away!
05 - (3:31) The Animal Trainer And The Toad
06 - (4:37) My Lady
07 - (4:28) Travellin' In The Dark (To E.M.P.)
08 - (5:48) The Great Train Robbery
09 - (4:57) Flowers Of Evil
10 - (3:55) One Last Cold Kiss
11 - (4:53) Crossroader
12 - (4:12) Roll Over Beethoven [Live]
13 - (5:53) You Better Believe It
14 - (3:01) Back Where I Belong
15 - (4:09) Bardot Damage
16 - (4:27) Shimmy On The Footlights
17 - (3:47) Talking To The Angels
18 - (4:16) Solution