Dreams of milk and honey (Mountain) (LP 3298 - 3302)

Mountain  Live (The Road Goes Ever On) (Vinyl, Image Records, 1972) ***  

Mountain  Millenium Collection  (2CD, Digimode Entertainment, live 1971 - released 1999) ****

Mountain  Roll Over Beethoven (CD, Image Records, live 1974 - released 2002) ***

Mountain  Twin Peaks (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1974) *** 

Mountain  Eruption (CD, Snapper Music, live 1983/2003 released 2004) ** 

Genre: Hard rock, rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy, The Warehouse

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Long Red (Live)

Gear costume: Nantucket Sleighride (Milennium Collection)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: The Live (The Road Goes Ever On) album's four songs cover a wide range of time - 1969 to 1972: Long Red and Waiting to Take You Away are from the August 16, 1969, performance at Woodstock, Nantucket Sleighride is from the December 14, 1971, show at the Academy of Music in New York City, and Crossroader from the January 29, 1972, appearance at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

So, it lacks cohesion and flow. I have always liked the versions of the songs though - Long Red in particular and the side long version of Nantucket Sleighride is okay but it stretches the song out a tad too much.

Millenium Collection is a 2CD album of their gig at the Fillmore East, New Years Eve, 1971. This is probably the best of the live albums that I own (Spotify has a truckload of them). Long Red is still in the setlist, and Nantucket Sleighride weighs in at around 6 minutes. Just avoid the 10 minute guitar solo!

Roll Over Beethoven is a 1974 show broadcast on radio (The King Biscuit Flower Hour) and also marketed as Greatest Hits Live. It features some spirited performances. The band has fun on the covers like Whole Lotta Shaking Goin' On. The sound of the recording is perfect too, btw.

Twin Peaks is a double live album, also documenting a gig from 1974 in Japan (Corky Laing hadn't rejoined at this point). 

It would have made a killer single album - a bloated version of Nantucket Sleighride takes up two sides and West's tedious guitar solo also slows things down. Apart from that the band deliver on the usual songs.

Eruption is a double CD set. The first takes in some shows live in New York City from 1983 (Mark Clarke on bass) and the second from European shows in 2003 (West and Laing joined by Richie Scarlet on bass). Luckily the '85 live version is nothing like the wimpy studio one. The guys fire through a sloppy but spirited set list that includes a so so version of Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way. Felix' vocals are very much missed on songs like Imaginary Western and Sleighride (terrible version of that one).

The 2003 gig kicks off with a damn good version of West Bruce & Laing's Why Dontcha, but then it gets a tad sloppy with long introductions from Leslie and less than stellar versions of old songs. 

Where do they all belong? And, apart from a Greatest Hits album on CD, that is it - my brain hurts after navigating their complicated catalogue. To a novice I'd recommend that compilation - it has everything you need.

Boys in the band (Mountain) (LP 3292 - 3297)

Mountain  Mountain (2LP Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1972) ****  

Mountain  Climbing! (Vinyl and CD, Windfall/ CBS Records, 1970) ****  

Mountain  Nantucket Sleighride (Vinyl and CD, Windfall/ CBS Records, 1971) ****  

Mountain  Flowers Of Evil (CD, Windfall Records, 1971) *** 

Mountain  Avalanche (Vinyl and CD, Windfall/ CBS Records, 1974) ****  

Mountain  Go For Your Life (Vinyl, Scotti Bros. Records, 1985) *  

Genre: Heavy rock, hard rock, rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, Fopp, The Warehouse.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin)

Gear costume: Never In My Life (Climbing!)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: The Mountain releases are super confusing given all the different labels involved, the different titles for the same album, different covers for the same album and similar sounding album titles. Then there are all the re-releases. For instance, the first album on the list is a double album that combines Climbing! with Leslie West Mountain (the 1969 version). Some of the latter now sounds like a demo album, but it does set out the template for Mountain. 

1970 on Bell Records.

Long Red is thin on Leslie West Mountain (1969) compared to the meaty version that appears at Woodstock. It can be found on Mountain Live (see below when we get to the equally confusing live albums).

Another case in point is that debut album. 

It could be called Climbing!, Mountain Climbing or Leslie West Mountain (on Bell Records - same cover/title but released in 1970). It's the same album, same songs, in the same order. Told you it's confusing.

To limit the confusion, I'll separate the studio albums from the live as much as I can (they also love to combine the two - one side live and one side studio on one album). So, there will be two peaks, if you will.

Whatever it's called, the 1970 Climbing! album is a brilliant debut that came out a year after they'd performed at Woodstock (their third gig). All power bass and chunky guitar from Leslie, plus Corky Laing on drums. Not quite a Cream style power trio though - Steve Knight's on keyboards.

Second album, Nantucket Sleighride is another awesome album. The title track is one of my favourites. All that seadog/ Moby Dick imagery gets me every time. Other standout songs are Don't Look Around (Corky in great form), and The Animal Trainer And The Toad (about Felix and Leslie).

Flowers of Evil is also from 1971. This is the one with a side live from 27 June 1971 at the Fillmore East in New York City/ a side in the studio. The live material was named Dream Sequence but was in reality a medley of rock'n'roll hits and Mississippi Queen. 

Crossroader stands out on the studio side, which is good on the whole, but the live side isn't essential. So, three-stars for Flowers of Evil.

The band went into hiatus after Flowers of Evil - notably Leslie and Corky joined up with Cream bassist Jack Bruce to create West Bruce and Laing. A brilliant power trio; we'll get to their three albums eventually. When that band flamed up the boys eventually reconnected with Felix Pappalardi, and Mountain was reborn.

By August 1973, West and Pappalardi had reformed Mountain with Allan Schwartzberg on drums and Bob Mann on keyboards and guitar; the new lineup toured Japan and produced a double live album, Twin Peaks from the tour (I'll get to this when I look at the live albums). 

Avalanche was the next studio album after Corky replaced touring drummer Schwartzberg, and it's a beauty! All the best components of Mountain's no-nonsense hard rock style are on display.

They kept going into the eighties and Go For Your Life (1985) was the next studio album after Avalanche. It's full of glossy eighties production ticks, questionable lyrics (I Love Young Girls is icky) and synths. Yes - synths! Felix Pappalardi is absent because, tragically, his wife - Gail Collins - the one who'd done those earlier artistic covers, had shot and killed him in 1983. Go For Your Life is best forgotten as a bridge too far after Felix was killed.

Where do they all belong? West and Laing hung in there for another three studio releases (from 1996 to 2007) - none of which I have, nor am I keen to get. After Felix left this mortal coil, his presence was sorely missed in Mountain. Next post - the live albums. 

Jerkin' crocus (Mott The Hoople) (LP 3291)

Mott The Hoople  All The Young Dudes (CD, Sony/BMG Music, 1972 - this re-release 2006) ***  

Genre: Rock, pop

Places I remember: Fives

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Sweet Jane

Gear costume: One Of The Boys, All The Young Dudes

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Mott The Hoople have not been a band I've paid much attention to outside of a greatest hits album and this one which I bought in 2006 while living in England.

I used to own one of their post All The Young Dudes albums but sold it for the same reason I am giving this album 3 stars. Their hits are out of this world sublime and brilliant - catchy as all get out (Roll Away The Stone is my fav) but the albums have a lot of filler.

As far as glam bands go - I'll take Slade and T Rex thanks.

Where do they all belong? The compilation Collection is also in my CD racks and is all I/you need really.

Overkill (Motörhead) (LP 3290)

Motörhead  No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (CD, Sanctuary Records, 1981 - re-release 1996) ****  

Genre: Heavy metal, rock

Places I remember: Fives

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Overkill

Gear costume: The Ace Of Spades

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Motörhead know what they're about: guitar blitz, overloaded bass, the Muppert's Animal on drums, and force of nature - Lemmy - three blokes making a hell of a din! A riotous racket.

Unpretentious, uncompromising and consistent - the band basically play variations on one style - full noise at pace and it's great. The 'slow' song is Capricorn (it gets a cheer from the faithful).

In truth, the band only know two speeds - fast and faster. It's great music for walking (which I've just done). It keeps the feet moving and the hands twitching!

Where do they all belong? All the big songs are here, and in their live element. There's no band out there doing what Motörhead did (and does via the albums). Love live Motörhead!

Pass the clock (Mostly Autumn) (LP 3287 - 3289)

Mostly Autumn  Passengers (CD, Classic Rock Legends Records, 2003) ****  

Mostly Autumn  Storms Over London Town (CD, Mostly Autumn Records, 2006) **** 

Mostly Autumn  That Night In Leamington (2CD, Mostly Autumn Records, 2011) *** 

Genre: Prog rock

Places I remember: HMV, Fives, Fopp.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Pass The Clock Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Gear costume: Spirit Of Autumn Past

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I happened upon Mostly Autumn via a sampler (called Shine On) from Classic Rock magazine. Their song, Pass The Clock Parts 1, 2, & 3 clicked with me instantly. The cover of that sampler says '100% guaranteed goblin-free zone' and introduces '12 tracks of epic ambient symphonic metal and frankly mad new prog'. Bang on!  

BTW - It's a great sampler - it introduced me to Riverside, Porcupine Tree, The Flower Kings, Frost and Spock's Beard, as well as Mostly Autumn.

Speaking of which... their guitar heavy prog rock sound is at the Pink Floyd (Dave Gilmour influenced version) end of the spectrum, so it was a bit of a no-brainer that I would latch onto them.  

Storms Over London Town was the first Mostly Autumn album that I found in Fives, just a minute's walk from where we lived in Leigh-on-sea. I instantly fell for the band and this album. 

It is full on and glorious in its embrace of almost metal prog. The classic rock sound of co-lead vocalists Heather Findlay and Bryan Josh (Mostly Autumn is mostly his baby) won me over completely.

The band has gone through many line-up changes over the years (Pete Frame is sorely needed with his family tree chart) but Heather and Bryan are on all of these three albums.

The fact it's a single album live album also works in its favour - no flab - just killer song after killer song!  

Passengers is the only studio album I own by the band but it houses Pass The Clock Parts 1 to 3 which I still love to bits.

The double live album That Night In Leamington, celebrates Heather's last efforts with the band before leaving to go solo. Being a double it's not as cohesive as Storms Over London Town but it still gives a worthwhile overview to the band's career to that point.  

Where do they all belong? Always keen to find more of their albums but nothing doing in NZ record shops I'm afraid.

Rising power (Steve Morse) (LP 3286)

Steve Morse Band  Out Standing In Their Field (CD, Eagle Rock Records, 2009) ****  

Genre: Prog rock, Rock 

Places I remember: Fopp

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Name Dropping

Gear costume: Rising Power (Live)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: This is an instrumental guitar shredding album but different to others I own by Joe Satriani, Stevie Vai and Jeff Beck. They are each pretty distinctive players and while I own a gazillion Satriani albums I only have the one by Steve.

It's fitting that he follows Neal Morse in my collection because the two of them are similar in their love of playing in collaborative settings. Steve is well known from playing in Deep Purple, Kansas and Dixie Dregs (all of whom have appeared already in this blog).

He also has a prolific solo career. This is his eleventh! He is not just a Led Zeppelin/ Deep Purple loving guitarist, he plays a variety of styles on this album with his power trio.

If you love guitar-driven rock music without vocals and you love Joe Satriani, then you must have a listen to this album.

Where do they all belong? An underrated guitarist. Fits right in to the possie next to Neal (no relation).

Smoke and mirrors (Neal Morse) (LP 3285)

Neal Morse  Momentum (CD, Radiant Records, 2012) ****  

Genre: Prog rock 

Places I remember: HMV

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Thoughts Part 5 (not on Spotify)

Gear costume: Momentum

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Neal is a prolific musician and a great collaborator. I have albums by Spock's Beard, Transatlantic, Flying Colors (who have already appeared), and this solo album - his ninth! There are tons of other albums listed in his discography.

Yes, it's prog Jim, but he can do powerpop, straight rock and jazz rock as well, and often in the same song! Take Thoughts Part 5 as exhibit A. It sounds like a mix of Jellyfish, Dream Theatre and Living Color.

Neal also sounds a bit like McCartney at times (the Wings version) which is also very cool with me. The lengthy prog wig out track (World Without End) is epic in a Dream Theater sort of way, which is appropriate as Mike Portnoy is the drummer on Momentum.

Where do they all belong? Spock's Beard and Transatlantic to come.