Climbing!
1970 studio album by Mountain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Climbing! (also known as Mountain Climbing!) is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Mountain. The album was released on March 7, 1970, by Windfall Records.[1][2] It peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart,[3] and spent 39 weeks on the chart.[4]
| Climbing! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 7, 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1969–1970 | |||
| Studio | Record Plant, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:38 | |||
| Label | Windfall | |||
| Producer | Felix Pappalardi | |||
| Mountain chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Climbing! | ||||
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The album included the group's best-known song, "Mississippi Queen", which became a hit, and "Never in My Life", which was regularly aired on contemporary FM radio.[5] Both were sung by West, while Pappalardi supplied the vocal on another radio favorite, "Theme for an Imaginary Western".[6]
The album was recorded at the Record Plant in New York City. Felix Pappalardi produced the album, while Bob d'Orleans engineered it.[7]
Background and release
In 1969, Leslie West recorded his debut solo album, titled Mountain, with Felix Pappalardi on bass and drummer Norman Smart. Smart was replaced by Corky Laing on drums and percussion, and keyboardist Steve Knight was added to form the classic Mountain lineup, with Pappalardi as producer.[6]
Windfall Records released Climbing! on March 7, 1970.[1][2] The album debuted at No. 186,[8] and peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart.[3] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[9] on August 28, 1970.[10]
"Mississippi Queen" was the band's debut single, released in February 1970.[11] The single peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[12] "For Yasgur's Farm" was released as a single in August 1970.[13] It peaked at No. 107 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[14] "Silver Paper" was also released as a single in 1971,[15] but it failed to chart.
Music
Classic Rock Magazine said: "Its organic, hard-driving blues rock owed a significant debt to Cream, who were produced by Mountain bassist/vocalist Felix Pappalardi."[16]
Artwork
The album artwork was painted by Gail Collins. It depicts Collins standing in front of a mountain.[17]
Critical reception and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C+[18] |
| Record World | [19] |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music |  [20] |
| The Music Box | [21] |
| Daily Vault | A[22] |
Matthew Greenwald, in a review for AllMusic, gave the album four and a half out of five stars. In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote:
We all know they're the original Cremora—what this makes clearer is that they're Jack Bruce's third of the jar. On "For Yasgur's Farm" Felix Pappalardi emulates JB's self-dramatizing vocal propriety as well as his bass lines, but when Leslie West runs an acoustic guitar solo from raga to flamenco without ever touching the blues you know he's not doing an Eric Clapton tribute. Can't fit the humongous "Mississippi Queen" into this theory, but I can tell you who wrote "Theme for an Imaginary Western": Jack Bruce and Pete Brown.[18]
The album's opening track, "Mississippi Queen," has been covered by artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Ted Nugent and W.A.S.P.[16]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocal(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mississippi Queen" | Leslie West, Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, David Rea | West | 2:31 |
| 2. | "Theme for an Imaginary Western" | Pete Brown, Jack Bruce | Pappalardi | 5:06 |
| 3. | "Never in My Life" | West, Laing, Pappalardi, Gail Collins | West | 3:51 |
| 4. | "Silver Paper" | West, Collins, Laing, Pappalardi, Steve Knight, George Gardos | Pappalardi, West | 3:19 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocal(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "For Yasgur's Farm" | Collins, Gardos, Laing, Pappalardi, Rea, Gary Ship | Pappalardi, West | 3:23 |
| 2. | "To My Friend" | West | instrumental | 3:38 |
| 3. | "The Laird" | Collins, Pappalardi | Pappalardi | 4:39 |
| 4. | "Sittin' on a Rainbow" | West, Collins, Laing | West | 2:23 |
| 5. | "Boys in the Band" | Collins, Pappalardi | Pappalardi, West | 3:33 |
| Total length: | 32:38 | |||
On the 2003 Legacy Recordings CD, a live version of "For Yasgur's Farm" was added as a bonus track.
Personnel
Band
- Leslie West – guitars on all tracks, vocals
- Felix Pappalardi – bass guitar on all tracks except 6 and 7; piano on tracks 1, 2 and 9; rhythm guitar on track 7, vocals; production
- Steve Knight – organ on tracks 2, 3, 4 and 5; Mellotron on tracks 2 and 9; handbells on track 4
- Corky Laing – drums on all tracks except 6 and 7; percussion on tracks 7 and 9
Additional personnel
- Bud Prager – executive production
- Bob d'Orleans – engineering
- Lillian Douma – engineering assistance
- Beverly Weinstein – art direction
- Gail Collins – cover artwork, photography
Charts
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[23] | 19 |
| US Billboard 200[24] | 17 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[25] | Gold | 500,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||