''Nantucket Sleighride'' is the second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by American hard rock 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 area, and is usually highe ...

, released in January 1971 by

Windfall Records Windfall Records was a record label founded in 1969 by Bud Prager and Felix Pappalardi to distribute records of acts they managed and/or produced. Singer-guitarist Leslie West recorded for Windfall throughout the label's existence, initially as a ...

in the US and by

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the UK.

Songs

The song and album title is a reference to the experience of being towed along in a boat by a harpooned whale (see

Nantucket sleighride A Nantucket sleighride is the dragging of a whaleboat by a harpooned whale while whaling. It is an archaic term from the early days of open-boat whaling, when the animals were harpooned from small open boats. Once harpooned, the whale, in pain ...

Owen Coffin Owen Coffin (August 24, 1802 – February 2, 1821) was a sailor aboard the Nantucket whaler ''Essex'' when it set sail for the Pacific Ocean on a sperm whale-hunting expedition in August 1819, under the command of his cousin, George Pollard, Jr. ...

, to whom the song is dedicated, was a young seaman on the Nantucket

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

'', which was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. In the aftermath of the wreck, Coffin was shot and eaten by his shipmates. The story of the ''Essex'' was recorded by its First Mate

Owen Chase Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

, one of eight survivors, in his 1821 ''Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex''. The instrumental break in the second half of the track uses the melody of the traditional Scottish song "

The Parting Glass "The Parting Glass" is a Scottish traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It has also long been sung in Ireland, enjoying considerable popularity to this day and strongly influencing the style in which it is often ...

". The closing section of "Nantucket Sleighride" was used as the theme to the long-running British political television show ''

Weekend World ''Weekend World'' is a British television political series, made by London Weekend Television (LWT) and broadcast from 1972 to 1988. Created by John Birt, not long after he had joined LWT, the series was broadcast on the ITV network at midday ...

'' (1972-1988). A cover version was recorded by British heavy metal band

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

in 1980. The song "Tired Angels" was dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, and "Travellin' In The Dark" was for Pappalardi's mother, Elia. "Taunta (Sammy's Tune)" was named after Pappalardi's pet poodle. "Don't Look Around" was featured on the soundtrack of Pineapple Express (2008). The album itself reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart in 1971.

Bonus tracks

The bonus tracks on the 2004 edition include the

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

cover "

Roll Over Beethoven "Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records single, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classi ...

" and the original song "Crossroader", which were released as the A- and B-sides of a promotional single in 1971. The latter was later released on '' Flowers of Evil'' (1971). Live versions of both tracks appeared on subsequent live releases, such as '' Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On'' (1972) and ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...

'' (1974).

Track listing

Personnel

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 ...

– guitar, vocals *

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 ...

– bass, vocals, production * Steve Knight – keyboards *

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 f ...

– drums, percussion ;Additional personnel * Bud Prager – executive producer * Bob d'Orleans – recording engineer * Tom Cachetta – assistant engineer * Dave Ragno – assistant engineer * Beverly Weinstein – art direction *

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''.

– cover design, painting, photography, visual director, calligraphy * Mick Brigden – calligraphy

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Mountain - ''Nantucket Sleighride'' (1971) album review by James Chrispell, 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 - ''Nantucket Sleighride'' (1971) 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 - ''Nantucket Sleighride'' (1971) album to be listened
as stream at Play.Spotify.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nantucket Sleighride 1971 albums Mountain (band) albums Island Records albums Windfall Records albums Albums produced by Felix Pappalardi