Mountain is the 1969 debut solo album from guitarist Leslie West. It is often cited as a Mountain album due to its title and the presence of bassist and vocalist Felix Pappalardi, but it was actually a solo album. (More from Wikipedia)
In early 1969, guitarist Leslie West of the Vagrants started a band called Leslie West Mountain (with “mountain” being a reference to his then-large size); other bandmembers were Norman Landsberg (keyboards, bass) and Ken Janick (drums). Felix Pappalardi expressed interest in producing the band’s work.
The album is called Mountain and was released in July 1969, just five months after Goodbye; Felix Pappalardi produced the album and also performed bass guitar with Leslie West, Norman Landsberg, and drummer N. D. Smart, formerly with the highly regarded Boston garage band the Remains (who are featured on the Nuggets album). The album is often confused as being by the band Mountain; but officially, it is the first solo album by Leslie West.
After Mountain, the solo album by Leslie West was released, the group then went on the road using the band name Mountain, bringing along Steve Knight on keyboards after Norman Landsberg and Ken Janick left to start the band Hammer. Their fourth concert as a working band was at the 1969 Woodstock festival; though they were not included on the first album or the concert film, their performances of “Blood of the Sun” (from the Leslie West solo album, Mountain) and “Theme for an Imaginary Western” (written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown) were included on the double album Woodstock 2 that came out in 1971.
