Climbing!

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Climbing!
Mountainclimbing1970.jpg
Studio album by
Mountain
ReleasedMarch 7, 1970 (1970-03-07)
Recorded1969–1970
Studio Record Plant, New York City
Genre Rock [1]
Length32:38
Label Windfall
Producer Felix Pappalardi
Mountain chronology
Climbing!
(1970)		 Nantucket Sleighride
(1971)
Singles from Climbing!
  1. "Mississippi Queen"
    Released: February 1970
  2. "For Yasgur's Farm"
    Released: August 1970
  3. "Silver Paper"
    Released: 1971

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. [2] [3] It peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart, [4] and spent 39 weeks on the chart. [5]

Contents

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. [6] Both were sung by West, while Pappalardi supplied the vocal on another radio favorite, "Theme for an Imaginary Western". [7]

The album was recorded at the Record Plant in New York City. Felix Pappalardi produced the album, while Bob d'Orleans engineered it. [8]

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. [7]

Windfall Records released Climbing! on March 7, 1970. [2] [3] The album debuted at No. 186, [9] and peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart. [4] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) [10] on August 28, 1970. [11]

"Mississippi Queen" was the band's debut single, released in February 1970. [12] The single peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [13] "For Yasgur's Farm" was released as a single in August 1970. [14] It peaked at No. 107 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. [15] "Silver Paper" was also released as a single in 1971, [16] 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." [17]

Artwork

The album artwork was painted by Gail Collins. It depicts Collins standing in front of a mountain. [18]

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]
Christgau's Record Guide C+ [19]
Record World Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [20]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [21]
The Music BoxStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [22]
Daily VaultA [23]

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. [19]

The album's opening track, "Mississippi Queen," has been covered by artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Ted Nugent. [24]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Vocal(s)Length
1."Mississippi Queen" Leslie West, Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, David Rea West2:31
2."Theme for an Imaginary Western" Pete Brown, Jack Bruce Pappalardi5:06
3."Never in My Life"West, Laing, Pappalardi, Gail Collins West3:51
4."Silver Paper"West, Collins, Laing, Pappalardi, Steve Knight, George GardosPappalardi, West3:19
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Vocal(s)Length
1."For Yasgur's Farm"Collins, Gardos, Laing, Pappalardi, Rea, Gary ShipPappalardi, West3:23
2."To My Friend"Westinstrumental3:38
3."The Laird"Collins, PappalardiPappalardi4:39
4."Sittin' on a Rainbow"West, Collins, LaingWest2:23
5."Boys in the Band"Collins, PappalardiPappalardi, West3:33
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

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (1970)Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [25] 19
US Billboard 200 [26] 17

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [27] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Metzger, John (June 2003). "Mountain - Climbing! Mountain - Nantucket Sleighride" . Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Harkins, Thomas E. (2019). Woodstock FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Fabled. Lanham, Maryland: Backbeat Books. p. 134. ISBN   978-1-61713-666-5.
  3. 1 2 Rivadavia, Eduardo (March 7, 2016). "How Mountain's First Album Deftly Straddled Two Decades". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  4. 1 2 "Billboard 200 - Week of May 2, 1970". Billboard . May 2, 1970.
  5. ↑ "Billboard 200 - Week of December 5, 1970". Billboard . December 5, 1970.
  6. 1 2 Greenwald, Matthew. "Mountain: Climbing! –Review". AllMusic . Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Eder, Bruce. "Mountain –Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Bob d'Orleans To Record Plant" (PDF). Record World . March 7, 1970. p. 39 – via World Radio History.
  9. ↑ "Billboard 200 - Week of March 14, 1970". Billboard . March 14, 1970.
  10. ↑ "Record World - October 10, 1970" (PDF). Record World . October 10, 1970. p. 37 – via World Radio History.
  11. ↑ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA.
  12. ↑ "Record World Single Reviews" (PDF). Record World . February 21, 1970. p. 10 – via World Radio History.
  13. ↑ "Mountain - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Cash Box / Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box . August 29, 1970. p. 28 – via World Radio History.
  15. ↑ "US Hot 100 Bubbling Under". Top40weekly.
  16. ↑ "Picks Of The Week" (PDF). Cash Box . August 7, 1971. p. 22 – via World Radio History.
  17. ↑ Dome, Malcolm; Ling, Dave; Ewing, Jerry; updated, Geoff Bartonlast (March 30, 2020). "The 30 albums that built heavy metal". Louder. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
  18. ↑ Kielty, Martin (January 12, 2021). "50 Years Ago: Mountain Take a 'Nantucket Sleighride'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  19. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 8, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  20. ↑ Record World Review
  21. ↑ The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music. Virgin. 1997. p. 297.
  22. ↑ Music Box review
  23. ↑ Daily Vault review
  24. ↑ Dome, Malcolm; Ling, Dave; Ewing, Jerry; updated, Geoff Bartonlast (March 30, 2020). "The 30 albums that built heavy metal". Louder. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5373". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  26. ↑ "Mountain Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  27. ↑ "American album certifications – Mountain – Climbing". Recording Industry Association of America.
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