| Nantucket Sleighride | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1971 | |||
| Recorded | late 1970 | |||
| Studio | The Record Plant, New York City, New York | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 35:12 | |||
| Label | Windfall (US) Island (UK) | |||
| Producer | Felix Pappalardi | |||
| Mountain chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Nantucket Sleighride is the second studio album by American hard rock band Mountain, released in January 1971 by Windfall Records in the US and by Island in the UK.
The song and album title is a reference to the experience of being towed along in a boat by a harpooned whale (see Nantucket sleighride). Owen Coffin, to whom the song is dedicated, was a young seaman on the Nantucket whaler Essex , which was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. In the aftermath of the wreck, Coffin was shot and eaten by his shipmates. The story of the Essex was recorded by its First Mate Owen Chase, one of eight survivors, in his 1821 Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. [2]
The instrumental break in the second half of the track uses the melody of the traditional Scottish song "The Parting Glass". The closing section of "Nantucket Sleighride" was used as the theme to the long-running British political television show Weekend World (1972-1988).
A cover version was recorded by British heavy metal band Quartz in 1980.
The song "Tired Angels" was dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, and "Travellin' In The Dark" was for Pappalardi's mother, Elia. [3] "Taunta (Sammy's Tune)" was named after Pappalardi's pet poodle. [4]
"Don't Look Around" was featured on the soundtrack of Pineapple Express (2008).
The album itself reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart in 1971. [5]
The bonus tracks on the 2004 edition include the Chuck Berry cover "Roll Over Beethoven" and the original song "Crossroader", which were released as the A- and B-sides of a promotional single in 1971. The latter was later released on Flowers of Evil (1971). Live versions of both tracks appeared on subsequent live releases, such as Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On (1972) and Twin Peaks (1974).
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Don't Look Around" | Leslie West, Sue Palmer, Felix Pappalardi, Gail Collins Pappalardi | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Taunta (Sammy's Tune)" | Pappalardi | 1:00 |
| 3. | "Nantucket Sleighride (to Owen Coffin)" | Pappalardi, Collins | 5:49 |
| 4. | "You Can't Get Away" | West, Collins, Corky Laing | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Tired Angels (to J.M.H.)" | Pappalardi, Collins | 4:39 |
| 6. | "The Animal Trainer and the Toad" | West, Palmer | 3:24 |
| 7. | "My Lady" | Laing, Pappalardi, Collins | 4:31 |
| 8. | "Travellin' in the Dark (To E.M.P.)" | Pappalardi, Collins | 4:21 |
| 9. | "The Great Train Robbery" | West, Laing, Pappalardi, Collins | 5:43 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Roll Over Beethoven" | Chuck Berry | 2:59 |
| 11. | "Crossroader" | Pappalardi, Collins | 4:50 |
| 12. | "Travellin' in the Dark (to E.M.P.)" (live) | Pappalardi, Collins | 5:14 |
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [6] | 38 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [7] | 17 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [8] | 43 |
| US Billboard 200 [9] | 16 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ) [10] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| United States (RIAA) [11] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Thomas Gibson Nickerson was an American sailor and author. In 1819, when he was fourteen years old, Nickerson served as cabin boy on the whaleship Essex. On this voyage, the ship was sunk by a whale, and the crew spent three months at sea before the survivors were rescued. In 1876 he wrote The Loss of the Ship "Essex", an account of the ordeal and of his subsequent experiences at sea. The manuscript was lost until 1960, and was first published in 1984.
Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has become a classic rock radio staple. Originating in the eclectic music scene in New York's Greenwich Village, he became closely attached to the British power trio Cream, writing, arranging, and producing for their second album Disraeli Gears. As a producer for Atlantic Records, he worked on several projects with guitarist Leslie West; in 1969 their partnership evolved into the band Mountain. The band lasted less than five years, but their work influenced the first generation of heavy metal and hard rock music. Pappalardi continued to work as a producer, session musician, and songwriter until he was shot and killed by his wife Gail Collins in 1983.
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, 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.
Goodbye is the fourth and final studio album by Cream, with three tracks recorded live, and three recorded in the studio. It was released in Europe by Polydor Records and by Atco Records in the United States, debuting in Billboard on 15 February 1969. It reached number one in the United Kingdom and number two in the United States. A single, "Badge", was subsequently released from the album a month later. The album was released after Cream disbanded in November 1968.
Essex was an American whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, which was launched in 1799. On 20 November 1820, while at sea in the southern Pacific Ocean under the command of Captain George Pollard Jr., the ship was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale. Thousands of miles from the coast of South America with little food and water, the 20-man crew was forced to make for land in the ship's surviving whaleboats.
Gail Collins was an American songwriter, record producer and visual artist.
West, Bruce and Laing were a Scottish–American blues rock power trio super-group formed in 1972 by Leslie West, Jack Bruce, and Corky Laing. The band released two studio albums, Why Dontcha (1972) and Whatever Turns You On (1973), during their active tenure. Their disbanding was officially announced in early 1974 prior to the release of their third and last album, Live 'n' Kickin'.
Owen Chase was first mate of the whaler Essex, which sank in the Pacific Ocean on November 20, 1820, after being rammed by a sperm whale. Soon after his return to Nantucket, Chase wrote an account of the shipwreck and the attempts of the crew to reach land in small boats. The book, Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, was published in 1821 and would inspire Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick.
Woodstock Two is the second live album released of the 1969 Woodstock Festival concert. The two-LP set contains more material from many acts featured on the first Woodstock album with additional performances from Mountain and Melanie. The tracks by Mountain were in fact not from their Woodstock performance but rather a show recorded at New York's Fillmore East. Unlike the first Woodstock soundtrack LP, this LP does not contain any ancillary stage announcements. Like the previous album this was also packaged in a triple gatefold sleeve.
Laurence Gordon "Corky" Laing is a Canadian rock drummer, best known as a longtime member of the pioneering American hard rock band Mountain.
Climbing! is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Mountain. It was released on March 7, 1970, by Windfall Records.
Flowers of Evil is the third studio album and first live album by American hard rock band Mountain. The title track concerns drug abuse in Vietnam. The first side of the album includes new studio material, while the second consists of live material recorded on 27 June 1971 at the Fillmore East in New York City. It was released in November 1971 by Windfall.
Live: The Road Goes Ever On is the second live album by American hard rock band Mountain, released on 24 April 1972 by Windfall Records. It contains four songs recorded at three shows in August 1969, December 1971, and January 1972. The album was produced by the band's bassist and second vocalist Felix Pappalardi, while the artwork was created by his wife and collaborator Gail Collins. The Road Goes Ever On takes its name from J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit.
Twin Peaks is the third live album by American hard rock band Mountain, released in February 1974 by Columbia and Windfall Records. It contains recordings from the band's performance at Koseinenkin Hall in Osaka, Japan on August 30, 1973. The album was produced by the band's bassist and second vocalist Felix Pappalardi, while the artwork was created by his wife and collaborator Gail Collins. It was Mountain's first release since returning after a year-long hiatus.
The Best of Mountain is the only compilation album by American hard rock band Mountain. It consists of material recorded throughout 1970-1971, culled from their first three LPs. On 15 April 2003, the album was remastered and reissued in an expanded edition with new liner notes and four bonus tracks, two of which are taken from Leslie West's first solo album, 1969's Felix Pappalardi-produced Mountain, the project which eventually led to the formation of the band.
Owen Coffin was a sailor aboard the Nantucket whaler Essex when it set sail for the Pacific Ocean on a sperm whale-hunting expedition in August 1819, under the command of his cousin, George Pollard, Jr. In November 1820, a whale rammed and breached the hull of Essex in mid-Pacific, causing Essex to sink. The crew escaped in small whaleboats, with sufficient supplies for two months, but were not rescued within that time. During January 1821, the near-starved survivors began to eat the bodies of those who had died. When even this resource ran out, the four men remaining in Pollard's boat agreed to draw straws to decide which of them should be killed, lest all four die of starvation. Coffin lost in the lottery, and was shot and eaten. The captain volunteered to take Coffin's place but Coffin refused, saying it was his 'right' to do so that the others might live.
Avalanche is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Mountain, released in July 1974. It featured the return of drummer Corky Laing and was the band's only recording with second guitarist David Perry. It was their final album of the 1970s and the last to feature bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi.
Mystic Fire is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Mountain, released in 2002. It is their final album of original material, as their following album, Masters of War, would consist solely of covers.
George Pollard Jr. (1791–1870) was the captain of the whalers Essex and Two Brothers, both of which sank. Pollard's life, including his encounter with the sperm whale that sank Essex, served as inspiration for Captain Ahab, the whale-obsessed character in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.
