''Mystic Fire'' is the seventh studio album by American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

, released in 2002. It is their final album of original material, as their following album, ''

Masters of War "Masters of War" is a song by Bob Dylan, written over the winter of 1962–63 and released on the album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in the spring of 1963. The song's melody was adapted from the traditional songs, traditional "Nottamun Town." ...

'', would consist solely of covers. The album includes the song "Immortal", which was co-written with and originally performed by

Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

. "Immortal" was originally released with different lyrics, and a different arrangement, as the song "Baby I'm Down" on ''

'' (1969),

Leslie West Leslie West (born Leslie Abel Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. Life and career Early years: 1 ...

's first solo album. Clutch covered the song on their 2001 album ''

Pure Rock Fury ''Pure Rock Fury'' is the fifth full-length album by American rock band Clutch, released on March 13, 2001, and is the only album release with Atlantic Records. The album liner notes state that it is dedicated to Ronnie True. Album information ...

'', rearranging it and changing the lyrics; their version has a guitar solo by Leslie West. Mountain then covered that version of the song on this album.

Reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'' questioned the legitimacy of crediting the album to Mountain, arguing that ever since the death of

Felix Pappalardi Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at ...

, compounded by the absence of Steve Knight, Mountain had been no more than a Leslie West solo project under a more marketable name, albeit with significant contributions from Corky Laing. They further criticized that "The songs are often rudimentary compositions that serve as excuses for the guitar excursions; they lack the poetic lyrics formerly contributed by

ail Ail or AIL may refer to: * Illness, a state of poor health * Ail (''Sailor Moon''), a character in the ''Sailor Moon'' anime series * Acceptance in lieu, an arrangement in the UK for accepting works of art etc. in lieu of tax * Agilus, a Frankis ...

Collins and

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (born 25 December 1940) is an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p. 80 Bro ...

Track listing

# "Immortal" (Leslie West,

Neil Fallon Neil Fallon (born October 25, 1971) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the rock band Clutch. He is also the lead singer for The Company Band and Dunsmuir, and joined The Bak ...

) - 3:59 # "Mystic Fire" (Corky Laing, Leslie West) - 4:44 # "

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

" (

Eddie Cooley Edward James Cooley (April 15, 1933 – April 15, 2020) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, who co-wrote the much-recorded song "Fever." He also had a US pop hit in 1956 with "Priscilla," credited to Eddie Cooley and the Dimples. ...

, John Davenport) - 3:22 # "The Sea" (George Citron, Leslie West) - 5:19 # "Mutant X" (Corky Laing, Leslie West) - 5:17 # "Better Off with the Blues" (

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...

, Gary Nicholson) - 4:15 # "Mountain Express (Oh Boy)" (Leslie West) - 2:56 # "Marble Peach / Rotten Peach" (Corky Laing, Leslie West) - 5:01 # "Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Traditional) - 2:50 # "Nantucket Sleighride (Redux)" (

Gail Collins Gail Collins (born November 25, 1945) is an American journalist, op-ed columnist and author, most recognized for her work with ''The New York Times''.

) - 7:29

Personnel

– guitar, vocals, arranger, producer *

Corky Laing Laurence Gordon "Corky" Laing (born January 26, 1948) is a Canadian rock drummer, best known as a longtime member of pioneering American hard rock band Mountain. 20th century A native of Montreal, Quebec, Laing was the youngest in a family of fi ...

– drums, vocals, string arrangements & conductor with: * Chuck Hearne – bass * Ritchie Scarlett - bass on "Nantucket Sleighride (Redux)" *

Todd Wolfe Todd Stewart Wolfe (born January 22, 1957 in Queens, New York, United States) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His professional career spanned for a period of three decades and had released numerous albums with his ...

– slide guitar on "Fever" ;Additional personnel * Arnie Holland – executive producer * Lisa Walker – art direction

References

External links

Mountain - ''Mystic Fire'' (2002) album review by William Ruhlmann, credits & releases
at

AllMusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Mountain - ''Mystic Fire'' (2002) album releases & credits
at

Discogs.com Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the l ...

Mountain - ''Mystic Fire'' (2002) album to be listened
as stream at Play.Spotify.com {{Authority control 2002 albums Mountain (band) albums