''Mountain'' is the debut album by American
rock guitarist and vocalist
Leslie West, released in July 1969 by
Windfall Records.
Background
''Mountain'' is West's first solo album after several years spent as a member of
the Vagrants. The album was recorded with bassist and producer
Felix Pappalardi, who shortly after formed the 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 higher ...
(named after the album) with West. As at least 5 of the tracks were subsequently played live by Mountain, this has mistakenly given it the reputation of being the band's first album.
Release and reception
The album was released on
LP in July 1969 by
Windfall Records and in the UK on
Bell Records
Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...
.
Reviewing for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' in September of that year,
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
wrote: "With Felix Pappalardi singing and playing bass regularly this could be New York's third supergroup. (
The Rascals and
the Spoonful got there first.) The visual possibilities alone—with West, the enormous ex-
Vagrant guitarist, set against the hyperactive Pappalardi, are fantastic. West plays good guitar and is a good roarer, and Pappalardi is not only first-rate on several instruments but has a wonderful singing voice, sweet and mellow. Unfortunately, he hadn't decided to join the group when this was recorded, and so participates only as bassist and producer. West alone can't quite carry it. More like early
Cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
than
Blind Faith."
On April 16, 1996,
Columbia/Legacy reissued ''Mountain'' on
CD. In a retrospective review,
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
's William Ruhlmann regarded it as a
rock album "dominated by West's throaty roar of a voice and inventive
blues-rock guitar playing", as well as "an auspicious debut, instantly establishing him as a guitar hero and setting the style of Mountain's subsequent recordings."
Track listing
# "Blood of the Sun" (Leslie West,
Felix Pappalardi,
Gail Collins) – 2:35
# "
Long Red" (West, Pappalardi, John Ventura, Norman Landsberg) – 3:14
# "Better Watch Out" (Pappalardi, Collins) – 2:47
# "Blind Man" (Collins, Pappalardi, West, Ventura) – 3:50
# "Baby, I'm Down" (Pappalardi, Collins) – 3:58
# "Dreams of Milk and Honey" (West, Pappalardi, Ventura, Landsberg) – 3:22
# "Storyteller Man" (West, Pappalardi, Ventura, Landsberg) – 3:04
# "
This Wheel's on Fire
"This Wheel's on Fire" is a song written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko. It was originally recorded by Dylan and the Band during their 1967 sessions, portions of which (including this song) comprised the 1975 album, ''The Basement Tapes''. The B ...
" (
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Rick Danko
Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
During ...
) – 3:18
# "Look to the Wind" (West, Pappalardi, Ventura) – 2:43
# "Southbound Train" (West, Ventura, Landsberg) – 2:57
# "Because You Are My Friend" (West) – 3:10
Personnel
*Leslie West – guitars, vocals
*
Felix Pappalardi – bass, keyboards, production
*
N.D. Smart – drums
with:
*Norman Landsberg – Hammond organ on "Long Red", "Storyteller Man" and "Southbound Train"
;Additional personnel
* Bob D'Orleans – recording engineer
* Beverly Weinstein – art direction
* The Graffiteria/David Krieger – design
*
Joel Brodsky – photography
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1969 debut albums
Leslie West albums
Windfall Records albums