AMG Review of Best of Mountain [Bonus Tracks]

Eduardo Rivadavia
All Music Guide

Mountain's meteoric ride through the early '70s was as memorable as it was brief -- so much so that this excellent greatest-hits set was released less than four years after the band had inaugurated their career at ~Woodstock. In retrospect, its easy to understand why the strange chemistry (pun intended) struck between boogie-loving, Clapton-worshiping guitar hero Leslie West and eclectic bassist and Cream producer Felix Pappalardi was fated to be a short one. But during their brief run, Mountain's adventurous proto-metal did indeed resemble a somewhat twisted but effective American version of the legendary power trio that inspired them. Of course, Mountain would continue to re-form off and on over the years, but seeing as most of their later efforts were disappointingly under par, this set covers all the stuff you'll need -- most essentially, Homer Simpson's favorite song, the immortal "Mississippi Queen." [The 2003 reissue of The Best of Mountain has new liner notes by Ben Edmonds, great photos, improved sound, and four bonus tracks: "Long Red" and "Dreams of Milk & Honey" from 1969's Mountain, "Silver Paper" from 1970's Climbing!, and "Travelin' in the Dark (To E.M.P.)" from 1971's Nantucket Sleighride.]