Climbing [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Mountain | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00008QSAA
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,580 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This 1970 release 'climbed' to #17 with the classics 'Mississippi Queen' and 'Theme from an Imaginary Western'. Also includes an unreleased live version of the Woodstock ode For 'Yasgur's Farm'! Digitally Remastered. Sony. 2003.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mountain's Debut Is Still Considered Their Best!, April 8, 2003

By 

highway_star (Hallandale, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Climbing (Audio CD)

Released in 1969, Mountain's debut album "Mountain Climbing!" is considered by many to be their finest piece of work. The album immediately produced a mega hit with "Mississippi Queen". Mountain, fronted by guitarist/vocalist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi, drummer Corky Laing and organist Steve Knight, had a sound not unlike Britain's ever so popular group Cream. Interestingly, bassist Felix Pappalardi produced Cream's albums "Disraeli Gears","Wheels Of Fire" and "Goodbye", so obviously his influence is evident in Mountain's sound. West's guitar licks do have a similarity to Cream's guitarist, Eric Clapton except that Clapton's playing was more extreme than West's. Mountain's songs ranged from power chord rocker's such as the above mentioned "Mississippi Queen", "Never In My Life", and "Boys In The Band" to beautiful slower melodic songs such as "Theme From An Imaginary Western", "For Yasguer's Farm", to acoustic based tunes like "To My Friend" and "The Laird". This newly remastered version of "Mountain Climbing!" sounds better than the older version mainly because there seems to be more bottom end and mid-range added that the other lacked. There's also a bonus track "Live" version of "Yasgur's Farm" which is a nice addition as well as an eleven page booklet that includes comments by Leslie West and Corky Laing on the making of "Mountain Climbing!" as well as the info. about the group as a whole. If you like listening to 60's or 70's groups/artists such as Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, The Who or Led Zeppelin then you'll love this excellent rock cd. Highly Recommended!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mountain...yeah, that just about describes this., January 23, 2006

By 

Snorts - See all my reviews

This review is from: Climbing (Audio CD)

"Mountain". Big. High. Lofty. Rugged. Beautiful.

All those things describe this band, and I'm not just talking about the 400 pound singer-guitarist Leslie West. This band sounded big, sounded tough, and sounded thick. Leslie West had a massive guitar tone and voice, Felix Pappalardi's bass was fat and up-front, and Corky Laing attacked the drums as a powerhouse, not as a finesse drummer. Throw in Steve Knight on keyboards and you had a prototypical hard rock band from the late 60's/early 70's.

This band offered more, however. Beyond the huge, rough voice and thunderous guitar of West, Felix Pappalardi added his own mark on this band. His songs are much more thoughtful and lilting, with his higher voice setting a calmer, more emotional tone to his selections.

So, we are left with an album that starts with the pulverizing "Mississippi Queen" leading it off, power chords on top of the Felix/Corky rhythm section bludgeon. A song for the ages, it just blows you away with its intensity and ferocity. An FM staple, your kids will know the words to it when they get older, and will instantly know its coming when they hear Corky's cowbell intro. Who doesn't recognize this classic?

But, the next song is a much more introspective piece. Jack Bruce's "Theme From an Imaginary Western" features Knight's keyboards over Felix' vocals. A song about wagon trains! Rather than beat you over the head with crushing guitar heroics, it moves you along with the melody and thick production. A true, emotional classic as well.

The album continues like this. A West workout followed by a Pappalardi piece. And it works. Bi-polar power I called it in another review.

This is a GREAT album by a band almost forgotten today, except for "Mississippi Queen". There is not a bad song on it. This band was good in the studio, great in concert, and this, their first album, is their studio masterpiece. Not quite as polished as their later albums, this one just comes at you, raw and rough and bigger than life.

47 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Remastered? Hard To Believe, April 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Climbing (Audio CD)

How thrilled I was to get Mountain's two classic albums -- Climbing and Nantucket Sleighride -- in what I assumed would be beautifully remastered editions! How disappointed I was to discover that these cd's sound no different now than they did when they were originally issued eleven years ago! And that sonic experience can be summed up in two words: TAPE HISS. So much tape hiss that it's almost unbelievable. They may have repackaged these cd reissues, but it certainly does not sound as though they bothered to remaster them. And that's too bad; these Mountain masterpieces desperately needed to be properly restored/remastered. Shame on Sony! This amounts to thievery.