Twin Peaks [Live]

Mountain | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000252J
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,431 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Oceans of Mountain fans discovered them by witnessing one of their roaring rock shows, and this one's a doozy, captured in Osaka in '73. Pappalardi/West/Mann/Schwartzberg set fire to staples like Mississsippi Queen; Theme from an Imaginary Western , and Never in My Life plus an epic (nearly 32-minute) Nantucket Sleighride . Raging guitar solos all around! --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not polished, and better for it, July 18, 2005

By 

Nathan Zastrow "hegulator" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twin Peaks (Audio CD)

This is a tough album to review, because it depends what you're looking for when you buy it. If you're looking for a polished, studio-esque perfect live performance, this sure ain't it. But if you're looking for the epitome of 70's rock, in its most pure and raw form, this is it. This is the only Mountain CD I listen to, because it makes me feel like I was there, at the concert. This is what 70's rock was about... not about hitting every note exactly, but about the energy and what the music conveys to you.

The climax of this album is the half hour long version of sleigh ride. While many complain it is too long and in poor taste, that's what the heart of 70's rock is. Playing what you feel. And Leslie West felt like playing for that long. The crowd is loving it, and so am I every time I listen to it.

While this CD is certainly not for everybody, if you love mountain, and love the 70's rock style, this is for you. If you're looking for the most polished and produced Mointain CD, this is definitally not it. But it's perfect at what it is, a live snapshot of 70's rock at its finest.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heavy music pioneers rock Osaka '73! Go Leslie!, August 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Twin Peaks (Audio CD)

I've seen Leslie West at guitar shows around Westchester before. He's in great shape now, and seems not to be bitter, but I'd understand if he were. Mountain were one of the galvanizing forces of hard rock, overdriven jamming white boy blues, and even early metal, yet most people know none of their music or "Missippi Queen" at best. Leslie was fat then, but he could still CRANK on a Gibson at saturation point; Felix Pappalardi was one of the great rock bassists who did more than play the root note, and here Bob Mann (guitar/keys) and Alan Schwartzberg (drums) round out the band. Recorded on a hot summer night in August 1973 in Osaka, Twin Peaks is live rock and roll at its best -- sloppy, loud, joyous, a magnificent noise. You either like live albums or you don't. I love 'em, when they're really live. They're a different and often more honest take on music you already know. All of Mountain's major hits are here (Never In My Life, Theme for an Imaginary Western, Nantucket Sleighride and of course Mississippi Queen). You can feel the sweat dripping off Leslie as he diddles into pentatonic heaven. The vocals are middling to bad, the fuzz boxes are on high, a little country pickin' slips into those monster solos...but oh is that guitar a glorious noise. Fans of Townshend, Clapton, Blackmore, Frank Marino, Pat Travers, need to check this out. The Black Crowes got half their musical ideas from these guys. Sidebar, this album gets "best unintended Syd Barrett impression" for most of Silver Paper.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mountain were giants, February 18, 2007

By 

J. Talsma (Amsterdam, Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twin Peaks (Audio CD)

One of my alltime favorite (live)albums, Mountain was always more a live-act. In their relative short career they only brought out a handfull of studiowork, to begin with the Leslie West solo-album "Mountain" after which the then born band was named (and of which "Blood of the Sun" is presented in this package). Having released a handfull of albums a third part of it contained already livematerial, i.e. "Live/The Road Goes Ever On" and the second side of "Flowers of Evil". Mountain almost always consisted of West on vocals and leadguitar, Felix Pappalardi on bass, Corky Laing drums and Steve Knight keyboards, the band had disengrated all too soon after releasing the epic "Nantucket Sleighride" album in 1971. Centred around the nucleus of West/Pappalirdi, who are pictured in the innersleeve only, with the addition of Bob Mann on guitar and keyboards and drummer Alan Schwartzberg they did a fine job playing a few shows in Japan. This album (originally four sides vinyl now on a sole CD, far better because the lengthy N.T. can be played without changing LP's) is recorded in Osaka on 30 Augustus 1973. The sound is crystalclear, so I won't know if the newer 2006 release can overdo that and without extra tracks I am not gonna buy it. Anyway nowaydays plenty of liverecordings see the daylight, some of them incorrectly named after the venue they might have played but certainly not on that specific album, so beware. Stick to your guns and go for the originals. This album has it all. Great songs, good playing, it is a real band, not juist two guys with sidemen. A handfull of the hits are present, i.e. a rousing "Never in My Life", the Jack Bruce written "Theme for an Imaginary Western" with West on top vocals, a track simply called "Guitar Solo" but it is far more than that, West playes the electric guitar like a one-man-orchestra, using the volumeknob as a device to create violinlike sounds and adding sustain. The end is a nod to Christmas with a flawless "Jingle Bells" tune. The icing on the cake is of course the half an hour plus rendition of "Nantucket Sleighride" which give the musicians free reign to improvise but the playing together is stunning. The set closes with some heavyrock songs: "Crossroader" (like N.T. also on "Live"), "Mississippi Queen" (with a snippet of the Johhny Kid's "Shaking All Over" in the intro) and a beautiful extended "Silver Paper". Closer is a Berry tribute "Roll over Beethoven" which again showcases the extraordinary skills of Leslie West. This same band dissolved afterwards, only to record "Avalanche" with the aforementioned original bandmembers in 1974 but they could not repeat old times and didn't survive. So this set is a true souvenir of a great band.