Mountain

About Mountain

Overview

Mountain was an American hard rock band formed in Long Island, New York, in 1969. Originally consisting of vocalist-guitarist Leslie West, bassist-vocalist Felix Pappalardi, keyboardist Steve Knight, and drummer N. D. Smart (soon replaced by Corky Laing), the group disbanded in 1972, but reunited on several occasions prior to West's death in 2020. They are best-known for their 1970 smash hit song "Mississippi Queen", which remains a staple of classic rock radio, as well as the heavily sampled song "Long Red", and their performance at Woodstock Festival in 1969. Mountain is one of many bands commonly credited with influencing the development of heavy metal music during the 1970s. The group's musical style primarily consisted of hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal. History 1969–1972 In early 1969 Leslie West, formerly of the Long Island R&B band The Vagrants, put together a band, Leslie West Mountain, with Norman Landsberg (keyboards, bass) and Ken Janick (drums) and began playing gigs and recording demos. Right around this time, former Cream collaborator/producer Felix Pappalardi, who had previously produced the Vagrants, expressed an interest in producing West's work. West, previously disgruntled and unsatisfied with the lack of success in his first project, found Cream to be a great inspiration. He began to feel disillusioned with the R&B and blues scenes of the 1960s in which he had played. He envisioned a project that would take on a rawer and much harder style which he had begun to favor, with his newly-developed guitar style inspired by hearing Cream's Eric Clapton. Pappalardi rejected the demos by the West-Landsberg-Janick trio, but took a suggestion that he play bass on West's solo album, Mountain. The album also featured Landsberg and former Remains drummer N.D. Smart. The album spotlighted West's raw vocals and melodic, bluesy guitar style, and Pappalardi's bass lines were prominent. According to West, when Pappalardi asked what would be next, West suggested the pair go on the road. Keyboardist Steve Knight (from Devil's Anvil, another of Pappalardi's productions) was added after Landsberg left to form another group, Hammer, with Janick.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“I remember at Chamouni – in the very eyes of Mont Blanc – hearing another woman – English also – exclaim to her party – "did you ever see any thing more rural".”
— Lord Byron, Journal entry for September 17, 1816.
“A man can hardly be a beast or a fool alone on a great mountain.”
— Francis Kilvert, Diary, May 29, 1871.
“Woher kommen die höchsten Berge? so fragte ich einst. Da lernte ich, daß sie aus dem Meere kommen. Dies Zeugnis ist in ihr Gestein geschrieben und in die Wände ihrer Gipfel. Aus dem Tiefsten muß das Höchste zu seiner Höhe kommen.”
— Where do the highest mountains come from? I once asked. Then I learned that they come from out of the sea. The evidence is inscribed in their stone and in the walls of their summits. It is from the deepest that the highest must come to its height.
“You must ascend a mountain to learn your relation to matter, and so to your own body, for it is at home there, though you are not.”
— Henry David Thoreau, letter to Harrison Blake (November 16, 1857).
“When you reach the top of the mountain, keep climbing.”
— Quoted as a Zen koan in Kevin Grange, "Beneath Blossom Rain: Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World" (2011), p. 284.
“The mountain was in labour, and Jove was afraid, but it brought forth a mouse.”
— Tachos, King of Egypt.

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

About Mountain

About Mountain

Overview

Notable quotes

Live room · 1 here

Notable quotes

Overview