Mountain (group)

See also: Mountain

Mountain is an American group of rock'n'roll blues formed in 1969 around imposing (in fact obese) but skilful the Leslie West, former guitarist of The Vagrants, group Garage of Long Island present on compilations Nuggets, and the thread-like one and man with a moustache Felix Pappalardi, bass player and singer, and also producer who had worked with Cream on the album " Disraeli GEARs ".

Two musicians being found at the time of the album solo of West entitled " Mountain" decided with N.D Smart with the battery and the keyboard Steve Knight to continue the adventure under this name.

After having taken part in the Festival of Woodstock, the group reinforced by the beater Corky Laing left in 1970, the album " Mountain climbing" and knew a tube in the USA with the piece " Missippi queen".

Success continued with " Nantucket Sleighride " in 1971 and its piece titrates which was to remain the most famous composition of Mountain then " Flowers off evil " in 1972 and " The road goes one forever-Mountain live " , the same year.

The group found its originality in the opposition not only of physics between its two leaders but especially of styles between the melody lines of the compositions of Pappalardi (generally Co-written with its wife Gail Collins also in load of the drawings of the small pockets) reinforced by its voice charming lady, and that raucous and éraillée of holding West of pieces Blues rock'n'roll aggressifs whose supported fronts fleurtaient on the occasion with the Hard rock.

Able of best like worse excesses, the musicians separated a time in 1972 in spite of the popular enthusiasm of which they were the object in North America, because in particular of the hearing disorders of Pappalardi caused by the excessive volume in the concerts that they gave (following the example noisy Grand Funk Railroad) and problems of ego between its members launched sometimes in concert in random improvisations reproducing a diagram identical to Cream with which they presented an undeniable relationship.

In this logic, Leslie West and Corky Laing joined then the bass player Jack Bruce of Cream to found the trio " West, Bruce and Laing" , the time of two albums studio and live, Bruce Jack missing to leave its tympanums in the experiment.

In 1973, Mountain was reformed temporarily with Felix Pappalardi, Leslie West, Bob Mann, with the guitar and the keyboards and Alan Schwartzberg with the battery for an album live " Twin peaks " recorded with Japan, symbolic system of the time with these long improvisations in turn magic or indigestible follow-up with the return of Laing, an album studio in 1974 " Avalanche ".

The group was then dissolves to leave its members poursuivrent independent careers, Laing and frequently collaborating West.

In 1983, Felix Pappalardi who devoted himself mainly to the production was killed at the time of an argument by his wife Gail Collins making definitively impossible the reformation of Mountain around his two historical pillars.

Despite everything, to the occasion, Leslie West gave regularly on foot of the new versions of Mountain with the albums " Go furnace your live" in 1985 then " Man' S world " in 1996 and " Mystic fire " in 2002 in alternation with discs solos under its name.

External bonds

official site of Mountain

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