''Climbing!'' (also known as ''Mountain Climbing!'') is the debut studio album by American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

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 t ...

. The album was released on March 7, 1970, by Windfall Records. It peaked at No. 17 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and spent 39 weeks on the chart. The album included the group's best-known song, " Mississippi Queen", which became a hit, and "Never in My Life", which was regularly aired on contemporary FM radio. Both were sung by West, while Pappalardi supplied the vocal on another radio favorite, " Theme for an Imaginary Western". The album was recorded at the Record Plant in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Felix Pappalardi produced the album, while Bob d'Orleans engineered it.

Background and release

In 1969, Leslie West recorded his debut solo album, titled ''

'', with Felix Pappalardi on bass and drummer Norman Smart. Smart was replaced by Corky Laing on drums and percussion, and keyboardist Steve Knight was added to form the classic Mountain lineup, with Pappalardi as producer. Windfall Records released ''Climbing!'' on March 7, 1970. The album debuted at No. 186, and peaked at No. 17 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) on August 28, 1970. " Mississippi Queen" was the band's debut single, released in February 1970. The single peaked at No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. " For Yasgur's Farm" was released as a single in August 1970. It peaked at No. 107 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

Music

'' Classic Rock Magazine'' said: "Its organic, hard-driving

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

owed a significant debt to

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 proces ...

, who were produced by Mountain bassist/vocalist Felix Pappalardi."

Artwork

The album artwork was painted by Gail Collins.

Critical reception and legacy

Matthew Greenwald, in a review for

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 Mus ...

, gave the album four and a half out of five stars. In '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

wrote: The album's opening track, " Mississippi Queen," has been covered by artists such as

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

, Bachman-Turner Overdrive,

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

Track listing

On the 2003 Legacy Recordings CD, a live version of "For Yasgur's Farm" was added as a bonus track.

Personnel

Band * Leslie West – guitars on all tracks, vocals * Felix Pappalardi – bass guitar on all tracks except 6 and 7; piano on tracks 1, 2 and 9; rhythm guitar on track 7, vocals; production * Steve Knight – organ on tracks 2, 3, 4 and 5;

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

on tracks 2 and 9; handbells on track 4 * Corky Laing – drums on all tracks except 6 and 7;

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

on tracks 7 and 9 Additional personnel * Bud Prager – executive production * Bob d'Orleans –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Lillian Douma – engineering assistance * Beverly Weinstein – art direction * Gail Collins – cover artwork, photography

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1970 debut albums Mountain (band) albums Windfall Records albums Albums produced by Felix Pappalardi Albums recorded at Record Plant (New York City)