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Climbing!

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Climbing!
Studio album by
Mountain
ReleasedMarch 7, 1970 (1970-03-07)
Recorded1969–1970
StudioRecord Plant, New York City
Genre
Length32:38
LabelWindfall
ProducerFelix Pappalardi
Mountain chronology
Climbing!
(1970) 		Nantucket Sleighride
(1971)
Singles from Climbing!
  1. "Mississippi Queen"
    Released: February 1970
  2. "For Yasgur's Farm"
    Released: September 1970

Climbing! (also known as Mountain Climbing!) is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Mountain. The album was released on March 7, 1970, by Windfall Records.[1][2] It peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart,[3] and spent 39 weeks on the chart.[4]

The album included the group's best-known song, "Mississippi Queen", which became a hit, and "Never in My Life", which was regularly aired on contemporary FM radio.[5] Both were sung by West, while Pappalardi supplied the vocal on another radio favorite, "Theme for an Imaginary Western".[6]

The album was recorded at the Record Plant in New York City. Felix Pappalardi produced the album, while Bob d'Orleans engineered it.[7]

Background

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In 1969, Leslie West recorded his debut solo album, titled Mountain, with Felix Pappalardi on bass and drummer Norman Smart. Smart was replaced by Corky Laing on drums and percussion, and keyboardist Steve Knight was added to form the classic Mountain lineup, with Pappalardi as producer.[6]

Release

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Windfall Records released Climbing! on March 7, 1970.[1][2] The album debuted at No. 186,[8] and peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart.[3] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)[9] on August 28, 1970.[10]

"Mississippi Queen" was the band's debut single, released in February 1970.[11] The single peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[12] "For Yasgur's Farm" was released as a single in September 1970.[13] It peaked at No. 107 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[14]

The album artwork was painted by Gail Collins.[15]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [5]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[16]
Record World[17]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music [18]

Matthew Greenwald, in a review for AllMusic, gave the album four and a half out of five stars. 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.[16]

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Vocal(s)Length
1."Mississippi Queen"Leslie West, Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, David ReaWest2:31
2."Theme for an Imaginary Western"Pete Brown, Jack BrucePappalardi5:06
3."Never in My Life"West, Laing, Pappalardi, Gail CollinsWest3:51
4."Silver Paper"West, Collins, Laing, Pappalardi, Steve Knight, George GardosPappalardi, West3:19
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Vocal(s)Length
1."For Yasgur's Farm"Collins, Gardos, Laing, Pappalardi, Rea, Gary ShipPappalardi, West3:23
2."To My Friend"Westinstrumental3:38
3."The Laird"Collins, PappalardiPappalardi4:39
4."Sittin' on a Rainbow"West, Collins, LaingWest2:23
5."Boys in the Band"Collins, PappalardiPappalardi, West3:33
Total length:32:38

On the 2003 Legacy Recordings CD, a live version of "For Yasgur's Farm" was added as a bonus track.

Personnel

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Band

Additional personnel

Charts

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Chart (1970) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[19] 19
US Billboard 200[20] 17

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Harkins, Thomas E. (2019). Woodstock FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Fabled. Lanham, Maryland: Backbeat Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-61713-666-5.
  2. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo (March 7, 2016). "How Mountain's First Album Deftly Straddled Two Decades". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  3. ^ a b "Billboard 200 - Week of May 2, 1970". Billboard. May 2, 1970.
  4. ^ "Billboard 200 - Week of December 5, 1970". Billboard. December 5, 1970.
  5. ^ a b Greenwald, Matthew. "Mountain: Climbing! – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Eder, Bruce. "Mountain – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "Bob d'Orleans To Record Plant" (PDF). Record World. March 7, 1970. p. 39 – via World Radio History.
  8. ^ "Billboard 200 - Week of March 14, 1970". Billboard. March 14, 1970.
  9. ^ "Record World - October 10, 1970" (PDF). Record World. October 10, 1970. p. 37 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA.
  11. ^ "Record World Single Reviews" (PDF). Record World. February 21, 1970. p. 10 – via World Radio History.
  12. ^ "Mountain - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  13. ^ "Record World Single Reviews" (PDF). Record World. September 5, 1970. p. 8 – via World Radio History.
  14. ^ "US Hot 100 Bubbling Under". Top40weekly.
  15. ^ Kielty, Martin (January 12, 2021). "50 Years Ago: Mountain Take a 'Nantucket Sleighride'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ Record World Review
  18. ^ The Virgin Encyclopedia of Seventies Music. Virgin. 1997. p. 297.
  19. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5373". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Mountain Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  21. ^ "American album certifications – Mountain – Climbing". Recording Industry Association of America.
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