Climbing

Mountain | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 28, 1992)
• Original Release Date: 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027K7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #317,089 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Limited edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Album!, July 24, 2001

By 

"thmprkcommando" (Interlochen, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Climbing (Audio CD)

OK, I haven't yet heard the CD version of this album. However, I bought the LP when it came out in 1970 and I have played it to death over the years. It is a great, great album which is in my all time top ten. The contrast between the rough & powerful voice of Leslie West and the smooth vocals of his counterpart, Felix Papallardi (producer of Cream's "Disraeli Gears"), helps to provide a lot of variety, texture, and balance. Then, of course, you get West's awesome guitar work on milestones like "Theme For An Imaginary Western" (written by Jack Bruce), "Never In My Life", and the rock super classic "Mississippi Queen". There is not a bad cut on the album. If you want to hear what heavy rock sounded like before it was reduced to distorted noise, this album is a very good choice.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For three potential purchasers, December 1, 2000

By 

S M - See all my reviews

This review is from: Climbing (Audio CD)

For the person who has the lp version of this recording and is considering purchasing the cd version.

The cd is not poorly remastered. The sound is as good as the lp (without the pops and clicks).

For the person who has a Mountain greatest hits recording and is considering purchasing individual Mountain cds, like this one.

You get quality but not quantity.

That is, the cd is only 32.34 minutes long (the same as the lp).

However all the songs are top rate. It is 3/4 very heavy blues rock songs with 1/4 sweet acoustic folkish blues

For a person new to Mountain and inquiring about their sound.

What caused me to become a Mountain fan was guitarist Leslie West's tone at that time (its changed since)

West was in the same league with B. B. King, Paul Kossoff, Elmore James etc.

That is while never technically brilliant and never dexterily smooth ala Eric Clapton; the tones coming out of these player's hands from basically one to three notes could impart more quality (tone) than a million notes by other players.

To sum up, if you are willing to put up with the lack of playing time, it would be a good cd to purchase because of the quality in it.

Because of the lack of playing time it only gets an 8/10.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic among classics!, January 8, 2003

By 

Lee Syrjanen (New Castle, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Climbing (Audio CD)

Some consider Led Zeppelin IV, Black Sabbath's Paranoid and Deep Purple's Machine Head as hard rock's holy trinity, but I think "Mountain Climbing" belongs right there with them. Leslie West's fat guitar and powerful vocals along with Corky Lang's pounding drums and Felix Pappalardi's smooth voice, heavy bass and production skills makes this album a primer in what hard rock should be. The songwriting and performances are exuisite throughout. There is not a dead spot on this album. Felix Pappalardi's production, which helped make Cream's albums so great, is carried on in Mountain. Besides the cowbell laden hit "Mississippi Queen," this album also has the grinding "Never In My Life" and the beautiful "Theme From An Imaginary Western." In contrast, Leslie West has the solo acoustic song "To My Friend" and Pappalardi the soft trance like "The Laird" to add different dynamics to the album, and both succeed. The Cream-like "Boys In The Band" rounds out the album with glorious "woman tone" ala Disreali Gears, from West's guitar. "Climbing" is one of hard rock's finest moments.