Customer Reviews

Nantucket Sleighride

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you need three Mountain CDs to purchase I would get this CD first, then Climbing! and then the two disc Fillmore East Concert from their bootleg series (followed by "Live - The Road Goes Ever On" and "Flowers of Evil").

I bought this LP when it was released in 1971 and to this day it is one of a few dozen LPs from that era that still gets consistent play 35 years later. The songwriting is excellent, the playing as well and the album sounds good.

It's a great classic rock album.

Leslie West is at the height of his powers in terms of playing and songwriting, Felix Pappalardi's songs are (as mentioned previously) truly wonderful as well. If someone loves 70s rock and they've never heard this album (and in particular Nantucket Sleighride, Travellin In The Dark, Don't Look Around, The Great Train Robbery etc.) you should consider purchasing this. Nantucket Sleighride alone is worth the price (and the live version is truly stunning) alone and it really is one of the great pieces of writing from that era.

"Climbing" made the band stars; this one saw and raised it ten. This is hands down the best album of Mountain's career, with everything falling properly into place and not a note or chorus wasted. The songwriting is at its brightest peak, particularly the striking title track, the lovely "My Lady," and the bristling "Travellin' In The Dark" - even if you can only take so much of usual lyricist Gail Collins's rather obstreperous poetic pretensions. Leslie West justifies himself as a guitarist once and for all - he was never the shredder but he influenced more than his share of forthcoming heavy metal players with his chunky chords and his spare, lyrical solos. (His solo on "Travellin' In The Dark" damn near beats his masterly turn on the earlier "Theme For An Imaginary Western.") Felix Pappalardi's bass playing remains sensitive and harmonically sure; drummer Corky Laing is even more of a sonic adventurer with a will than before; and keyboardsman Steve Knight finally lightens up his hands and lets his organ flow, rather than howl. They'd previously been just heavy; with this album, Mountain gave what would soon enough become heavy metal a rare lyricism and, dare one say, soulfulness.

Life isn't fair.Cream got all the attention because of their supergroup status.Mountain were formed as a side project by Cream's producer Felix Pappalardi and were always treated like Cream's inferior cousin but I have to say that they were a better band in my opinion.
While Cream got bogged down in boring blues stuff, Mountain were more into proggy stuff mixed with hard rock.
The songwriting team of Pappalardi and Gail Collins (his wife and lyricist ) were at their brilliant best on this album.
The title song 'Nantucket Sleighride' is a prog rock masterpiece.The guitar keyboard and vocals combine wonderfully.
I love Mountain because a lot of their songs consist of different individual parts like all decent prog rock does.
'My Lady' and 'Tired Angels' are very similar songs but are both excellent at the same time.Again I think the keyboard in the songs really makes a huge difference.That's what sets them above Cream - Cream were more content to be a three piece with no embellishments.They wouldn't have had the balls to try and do stuff this experimental.

The only time I feel that this album suffers is on the songs composed by Leslie West.He was an inferior songwriter to the team of Pappalardi and Collins.But the Pappalardi/Collins good stuff really dominates this album and makes it an outstanding piece of work.

I also love the artwork on this album.It's worth buying the vinyl version if you can get your hands on it for Gail Collins' magnificent psychedelic sketchings on the cover and also the pencil drawing of the giant whale on the inner gatefold sleeve.

This album really belongs to a forgotten age when music was much more exciting and there was a hands on approach to the graphic design.They don't make them like this any more and it's a pity.

Alas , Mountain are always going to be haunted by their tragic end.Gail Collins shot Felix Pappalardi dead in 1982 after a row so unfortunately , that's the end of the genius.He will be sadly missed.I'm sure he would have produced some more amazing work had he lived.

...It's hard work to combine artistic rock with heavy, evil guitar riffs and deep, bluesy vocals. I don't know if you would classify heavy metal as only songs with demonic lyrics and loud monotonous riffs, and I don't know what the accepted starting point of the heavy metal genre is. But if this is heavy metal, it's the best and most eclectic example of it I've ever heard. I would classify this record as a combination of early '70s progressive rock, Who-like rock which is part psychedelic and part bluesy played loud and grinding. I might be wrong, I'm not a real music historian. Having heard 'Nantucket Sleighride' on vinyl, I was amazed at the lurid, echoey sound of the whole piece and the dreamy keyboard accompaniment by Pappalardi on what I think are the best tracks. The title track, 'My Lady' and 'Tired Angels' remind me of 'Wreck of The Hesperes' by Procol Harum on 'A Salty Dog.' I really thought this would have come from the '80s or maybe one of those neo-prog rock bands of the '90s that no one talks about. That's how sophisticated the production stands up to me. I wasn't as impressed by the white blues numbers 'The Animal Trainer And The Toad' and 'The Great Train Robbery,' but they hold up as enjoyable anyway. Eveything else is classic to me. Now that I think about it, there is a major Procol Harum influence apparent on this disc, except a bit harder-edged and maybe not as British-sounding. Procol Harum's another band that doesn't usually make it to the radio nowadays but nonetheless have something really terrific to offer. I can't believe 'Nantucket Sleighride' isn't more popular and the only song by Mountain I've ever heard on the radio is 'Mississippi Queen.'

This is it. The only Mountain album you ever need to own if you only want one. Forget about the over played "Mississippi Queen". Take a ride on the Sleigh and you'll never want to get off. Felix who helped produce Cream, here with master guitarist Leslie West are at their best. It's a shame Felix was killed by his wife they may have had another masterpiece in there somewhere. Buy it........

I trashed the sound quality of the new reissue of Mountain's "Climbing" and improperly lumped "Nantucket Sleighride" in with it. But there really isn't much tape hiss on this one, and the sound quality is MUCH improved over the original issue. Needless to say, this is a classic album, and well worth getting for its enhanced sound. But hang to your old "Climbing" cd -- the new one isn't any better. I guess I should assume that the original master of "Climbing" is basically unsalvageable and give the Sony folks a break on that one. Maybe.

NANTUCKET SLEIGHRIDE is a great follow-up to CLIMBING!, with all of the same elements present. The band would have some great songs after this album, but never another consistent album. However, these two albums and BEST OF would go on to influence numerous metal and hard rock bands for years to come.

Of all the stuff I've bought in the last 35 years by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Procol Harum, Ten Years After, Black Sabbath, The Who, Jethro Tull, Traffic, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Yes, King Crimson, Van Halen, Simple Minds, U2, The Call, Nirvana, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, Fear Factory, Def Tones, Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, System Of a Down etc etc etc (I've got some 1200 vinyl & 800 CDs). This album ranks with ANY artist I've mentioned!
Out of my 10 desert island disks? This is definitely one of them!
It's hard and it's heavy and when called for there's melody, harmony and intelligent arrangement to soothe and intrigue. It's hardly surprising! The main songwriter Felix Pappalardi (RIP) was also the producer of many Cream albums. It may have been released way back in 1970, but it still lives on!!!BUY IT!!!

I remember listening one evening at home, way back in '71, to 'Sounds Of The 70's'on Radio 1, when it was either John Peel or Noel Edmunds (during his 'real' days) who played 'Don't Look Around'. Immediately I phoned BBC, asked who the band was who had played that song, then went in to Glasgow and bought 'Nantucket Sleighride'the following morning. Two days later I'd also added 'Mountain'and 'Climing'to my collection. If 'Don't Look Around'blew my brains out at the time, the rest of the album's tracks,(with the exception, I must admit, of 'The Great Train Robbery')took turns to do the same. At the start of 1972 it was my pleasure and priviledge to see the band live in Edinburgh's Empire Theatre. By that time I'd bought 'Flowers Of Evil'which was a big disappointment. I'd recommend any rock music lover who is thinking on taking a gamble with buying Mountain material to definitely buy 'Nantucket Sleighride'or 'Over The Top'. It's a decision you'll never regret!

One of my favourites by Mountain or any other band, the guitar riffs and distortion are some of best that ever hit vinyl or CD. Play this loud and it will repay you like no other hard/heavy/progressive band has or will!