Mountain

There are few sounds more likely to bring a smile to a rocker’s face than the sound of a Leslie West riff starting up – the man was a master .

This album was originally released after the band had been on hiatus for eleven years and West had been doing solo material as well as guesting all over the place and Corky Laing (Drums) had done stints with Jack Bruce (with West), Ten Years After and Mahogany Rush. They first had Miller Anderson on bass but replaced him with Mark Clarke before they recorded ‘Go For Your Life’.

As a Mountain album it is not their best but it is way better than almost anything else that was being released in the mid-eighties and West’s guitar is on fine form all through.
The album boasts four stone great numbers in ‘Hard Times’ (the opener), ‘She Loves Her Rock (And She Loves It Hard)’ and ‘Makin’ It In Your Car’ which burns like ZZ Top but with a better guitar sound. Closer ‘Little Bit Of Insanity’ is one of West’s finest moments.

The remastering is excellent – the original vinyl sucked but they have made this listenable and actually sparkles in places.

Mountain were – and are – one of the great rock bands and this album doers them justice – there is no ‘Mississippi Queen’ or ‘Nantucket Sleighride’ but they only happen once in a band’s life and most of this album is super.