Climbing!

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+^[3]

Climbing! (also known as Mountain Climbing!) is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Mountain, released on 7 March 1970 by Windfall Records.

Background

The album featured the 'classic' Mountain lineup of Leslie West (guitar, vocals), Felix Pappalardi (bass, vocals, piano), Corky Laing (drums, percussion) and Steve Knight (keyboards) and followed the West solo album Mountain featuring Pappalardi and drummer Norman Smart, released in 1969 and often credited to the band. Produced by Pappalardi, the album reached number 17 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart and featured the band's best-known song, "Mississippi Queen". An early rendition of "For Yasgur's Farm" was actually performed at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969 as "Who Am I But You And The Sun". It was subsequently recorded and retitled for the album.

Critical reception

Reviewing 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."^[3]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Personnel	Length
1.	"Mississippi Queen"	Leslie West, Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, David Rea	Personnel: Leslie West — lead vocals, guitar Felix Pappalardi — bass guitar, piano Corky Laing — drums	2:31
2.	"Theme for an Imaginary Western"	Pete Brown, Jack Bruce	Personnel: West — guitar Steve Knight — organ, mellotron Pappalardi — lead vocals, bass guitar, piano Laing — drums	5:06
3.	"Never in My Life"	West, Laing, Pappalardi, Gail Collins	Personnel: West — lead vocals, guitar Knight — organ Pappalardi — bass guitar Laing — drums	3:51
4.	"Silver Paper"	West, Collins, Laing, Pappalardi, Steve Knight, George Gardos	Personnel: West — co-lead vocals, guitar Knight — organ, handbells Pappalardi — co-lead vocals, bass guitar Laing — drums	3:19

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Personnel	Length
1.	"For Yasgur's Farm"	Collins, Gardos, Laing, Pappalardi, Rea, Gary Ship	Personnel: West — co-lead vocals, guitar Knight — organ Pappalardi — co-lead vocals, bass guitar Laing — drums	3:23
2.	"To My Friend"	West	Personnel: West — guitar	3:38
3.	"The Laird"	Collins, Pappalardi	Personnel: West — lead guitar Pappalardi — lead vocals, rhythm guitar Laing — percussion	4:39
4.	"Sittin' on a Rainbow"	West, Collins, Laing	Personnel: West — lead vocals, guitar Pappalardi — bass guitar Laing — drums	2:23
5.	"Boys in the Band"	Collins, Pappalardi	Personnel: West — co-lead vocals, guitar Knight — mellotron Pappalardi — co-lead vocals, bass guitar, guitar, piano Laing — drums, percussion	3:33
Total length:				32:38

Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–9 on CD reissues.

2003 North American CD bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"For Yasgur's Farm" (live)	Collins, Gardos, Laing, Pappalardi, Rea, Ship	4:19

Track timings listed on the original 1970 Windfall Records LP pressings of the album differ slightly from the above, with the notable exception that the listed duration of 4:50 for "Never in My Life" is significantly in error.

Personnel

Leslie West – guitars on all tracks; lead vocals on tracks 1, 3, and 8; co-lead vocals on tracks 4, 5 and 9
Felix Pappalardi – bass on all tracks except 6 and 7; piano on tracks 1, 2 and 9; rhythm guitar on track 7; lead vocals on tracks 2 and 7; co-lead vocals on tracks 4, 5 and 9; 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

References

^ "Leslie West & Mountain 9pm". WAIL995. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
^ Mountain - Climbing! (1970) album review by Matthew Greenwald at AllMusic.com
^ ^a ^b 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.

External links

Mountain - Climbing! (1970) album review by Matthew Greenwald, credits & releases at AllMusic.com
Mountain - Climbing! (1970) album releases & credits at Discogs.com
Mountain - Climbing! (1970) album to be listened as stream at Play.Spotify.com

[1] "Leslie West & Mountain 9pm". WAIL995. Retrieved March 23, 2019.

[2] Mountain - Climbing! (1970) album review by Matthew Greenwald at AllMusic.com

[CG-3] 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.

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