Album review: MOUNTAIN – Live In The 70s

Voiceprint [Release date 12.11.21]

Fronted by guitarist and vocalist Leslie West, Mountain formed in New York in 1969, taking their name from the former Vagrants West’s first solo album, and their classic line-up saw West joined by bassist Felix Pappalardi, drummer Corky Laing and keyboard player Steve Knight. Mixing hard rock and blues rock, Mountain have often been considered influential on the heavy metal scene, and are best known for tracks like Mississippi Queen and Nantucket Sleighride.

This triple disc gives us two concerts from the 1970s and show just how heavy, solid and entertaining the band were on stage.

The first show, recorded in 1971, kicks off with Never In My Life and is well recorded. Sometimes the bass is riff heavy, there’s guitar solos, and sometimes some intricate moments. Mississippi Queen is as memorable as ever, and Silver Paper (running to nearly 10 minutes) mixes heavy and gentle moments. There’s some jamming too, with an extended guitar solo that shows just how good West was.

More classic live Mountain in disc 2, and Nantucket Sleighride has such a memorable guitar line. It is such a fantastic song, and although it starts gently when the main riff comes in everything is turned up to 11. Any live set featuring this track is worth the money for that alone. And for those who like a longer song, Dreams Of Milk And Honey runs to 23 minutes. There’s everything in this song. And with it being New Year’s, the show closes with Auld Lang Syne.

Jump forward to 1974 and another fine show, if slightly muddy/muddled in recording, there’s still some fantastic hard rock music, with opener Never In My Life featuring a clear top guitar line and some solid riffs too. The lead guitar stands out too (with the cowbell) on Mississippi Queen, and although the vocals are slightly lost, it remains a stand out track. A better and cleaner sound is heard on the extended Nantucket Sleighride, which remains a favourite.

No song is ever played the same twice, so there’s always room for another Mountain live performance, and when songs get extended/jammed, it’s hard rock heaven.

Unusually presented in a CD fatbox, there’s a nice booklet, and 3 CDs of wonderful (if occasionally questionable live mix) blues rock music. Well worth checking out. Mountain get overlooked all too often. ****

Review by Joe Geesin

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)