Mountain-Climbing! (1970)

With their memorable performance at the Woodstock Festival, Mountain quickly became a revered band, captivated by thousands of fans who were thrilled by their powerful hard rock, fueled by Leslie West's incendiary guitar work and the driving bass of Felix Pappalardi. Along with keyboardist Steve Knight and drummer ND Smart, they had borrowed the band's name from West's first solo album, released in 1969. A year later, they released their debut album, on which drummer Coky Lang joined the band, replacing Smart, thus forming the classic and most successful lineup of this American band. On this debut, titled "Climbing!", this legendary quartet delivered a sharp and penetrating hard rock sound, led by an unleashed Leslie West. Thrilling hard rock anthems like "Mississippi Queen", "Theme for an Imaginary Western", "Never In My Life", "Silver Paper", "To My Friend", and "Sittin' On A Rainbow" contrast sharply with the folk-tinged melodies of "For Yasgur's Farm" and "The Laird". With this celebrated album, Mountain secured their place in history, delivering one of the greatest American hard rock records and a fundamental source of inspiration for countless bands that followed.