Mountain
Flowers Of Evil

THE REVIEW

I note with particular wonder that no one has yet reviewed a historic American hard and blues group known as Mountain. Well!... I will attempt to describe them.

The typical sound undertaken by this band is a mix of blues-tinged cries in the style of Cream and a healthy and massive dose of distorted hard rock. The name of the band, officially formed in 1969, reflects the figure of the leader and guitarist Leslie West (previously on stage with people like Jimi Hendrix and the Who), a big guy with a powerful voice and quick fingers. Accompanying him on bass are Felix Pappalardi, who was the producer of Cream on Goodbye and was shot dead by his wife in 1983, and the unknown Corky Laing on drums and Steve Knight on keyboards.

In 1972, the group released Flowers Of Evil, an album captured both in studio and live where the components of hard rock and blues merge in an almost baroque context. The work progresses with harmonic moments, almost relaxed and melancholic, then bursts into rhythmical accelerations of hard rock manner, all seasoned with the great persuasive power that blues is capable of creating and of which Leslie West and his guitar are legitimate offspring. The most important moments of the album are surely the opener "Flowers OF Evil", "One Last Cold Kiss", a song that David Coverdale kept well in mind for his future Whitesnake, a sweet and decidedly erotic song; "Dream Sequence", a very long 24-minute suite, where Leslie West extensively displays his musical talent and the classic "Mississippi Queen", which became a flagship over the years and in concerts to come. In short, if you prefer a captivating hard sound with peaks of raw blues, this album is definitely for you.