Frequently classified as the first album by the group
Mountain, which was named after it,
Leslie West's initial solo album featured bass/keyboard player
Felix Pappalardi, who also produced it and co-wrote eight of its 11 songs, and drummer
N.D. Smart II. (This trio did, indeed, tour under the name
Mountain shortly after the album's release, even performing at Woodstock, though
Smart was replaced by
Corky Laing and
Steve Knight was added as keyboard player for the formal recording debut of the group,
Mountain Climbing!, released in February 1970.)
Pappalardi had been
Cream's producer, and that power trio, as well as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, were the models for this rock set, which was dominated by
West's throaty roar of a voice and inventive blues-rock guitar playing. Though
West had led
the Vagrants for years and cut a handful of singles with them, this was his first album release, and it made for an auspicious debut, instantly establishing him as a guitar hero and setting the style of
Mountain's subsequent recordings. [Originally released in July 1969 as Windfall 4500,
Mountain was reissued on CD on April 16, 1996, as Columbia/Legacy 66439.] ~ William Ruhlmann