Mystic Fire

Performer: Mountain
Engineer: Ben Elliot
Producer: The Inulin Brothers
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Mountain: Leslie West (vocals, guitar, bass); Corky Laing (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Todd Wolfe (guitar); Chuck Hearne, Richie Scarlett (bass). Recorded at Showplace Studios, Dover, New Jersey. Personnel: Leslie West (vocals, guitar); Todd Wolfe (slide guitar); Corky Laing (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Jim Parr. Recording information: Nantucket Sound Studios; Showplace Studios, Dover, NJ. Photographer: Taffi Rosen. Although singer/guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing, two of the four musicians who were known as Mountain on such hit recordings as 1970's Mountain Climbing!, have released several albums under the band's name since its nominal demise in the 1970s, their legal right to do so is somewhat belied by their inability to fully re-create the group's style. The absence of keyboard player Steve Knight isn't that much of a problem (even though it reduces the sound to that of a power trio with the addition of bass guitar played by different session men or West overdubbing), but Felix Pappalardi, who not only played bass, but also brought his arranging and producing skills to Mountain, is a key omission that cannot be replaced; he was shot to death by his wife, occasional Mountain lyricist Gail Collins, in 1983. West was always the lead vocalist and lead guitar player, so the most identifiable elements of the sound are in place. But without Pappalardi, Mountain is really a West solo project released under a more marketable name. That said, Laing makes his presence felt on Mountain's 2002 reunion effort, Mystic Fire. He is the co-author of several songs, gets drum solos on "Marble Peach/Rotten Peach" and "Johnny Comes Marching Home," and is responsible for the strings on a remake of "Nantucket Sleighride." Still, West dominates the record, his always gruff voice having deteriorated, but his guitar playing still recalling late-'60s/early-'70s peers Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page. The songs are often rudimentary compositions that serve as excuses for the guitar excursions; they lack the poetic lyrics formerly contributed by Collins and Pete Brown. So, old fans can welcome back a group that sounds like Mountain, while recognizing that it is not what it once was. ~ William Ruhlmann

Led by power-riffing guitarist Leslie West and bassist/songwriter/producer Felix Pappalardi, Mountain formed in New York City in 1969. With songs like "Mississippi Queen" and "Boys in the Band," the Woodstock alums have come to represent the fierce technique and utter heaviness (and often the unfortunate excess) of the best 1970s blues-inspired hard-rock bands. Pappalardi was tragically murdered by his wife in 1983; however, West and drummer Corky Laing continued to tour and record under the Mountain name into the 2000s.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25