SamboraBlog

Seismographs jump as Mountain moves through Lansing

By WHITNEY SPOTTS

In true 21st-century fashion, it’s likely that many younger people these days are only familiar with ‘70s power-rock group Mountain through the Budweiser commercial that featured a shapely beauty walking to the dirty opening guitar riffs of the band’s biggest hit, “Mississippi Queen.” VH1 junkies may have seen the band listed as one of the top 100 hard rock groups of all time. Now Lansing fans and rock historians have a chance to relive the heyday of rock in person, when the reunited Mountain — featuring original members, guitarist Leslie West and drummer Corky Laing (nee Laurence Gordon Laing) — roars into REO Town’s Cadillac Club on Tuesday, April 5.

Mountain has experienced a resurgence in popularity following the release of a version of “Mississippi Queen” recorded by Ozzy Osbourne, with guitar tracks by West, for a disc of cover songs included in his four-CD box set “Prince of Darkness.”

Despite the fact that the band officially broke up in 1972, longtime fans have had plenty to keep them interested in recent years. In 2003 Sony released re-mastered versions of “Mountain Climbing,” “Nantucket Sleighride” and the “Best Of” compilation, the same year the band issued a DVD called “Sea of Fire,” recorded live at Northern California’s Mystic Theater in August of 2002. West and Laing have also co-authored a book titled “Nantucket Sleighride and Other Mountain On-the-Road Stories,” and the group is planning to release a new album of Bob Dylan covers.

The band formed in 1969, picking up where quintessential ‘60s supergroup Cream left off. Bassist Felix Pappalardi, who died of a gunshot wound in 1983, had already gained respect in the rock scene as the unofficial “fourth member” of Cream for his production on “Disraeli Gears” (1967), “Wheels of Fire” (1968) and “Goodbye” (1969), while West was widely recognized, particularly on the East Coast, for his previous band The Vagrants. The band’s lineup was completed by Laing, noted for his powerful use of a double-bass-drum setup, and organist Steve Knight. The band’s name was, in part, a play on the large size of West (weight he’s

since lost).

The band’s sound drew heavily not only on Cream, but also on Deep Purple, The Band and the widespread influences of guitar gods like Jimi Hendrix. Its first two releases, “Mountain Climbing” — featuring “Mississippi Queen” — and “Nantucket Sleighride” both went gold.

West himself is regarded as a highly influential guitar player, having played with artists like The Who, The Rolling Stones and Van Halen, and is cited by guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen, Richie Sambora and Billy Corgan as inspiration. In a 2001 interview, West talked about his guitar playing, saying, “I discovered that eight different harmonics can be gotten out of any one note. It’s all in the angle of the right hand.”

Most recently, outside of his work with Mountain, West has released a collection of blues standards titled “Blues to Die For,” although he’s been quite active behind the scenes of the music industry for some time. He’s been a repeat guest on the Howard Stern show, and served as musical director for Stern’s Fox series. He also cemented the connection between his influential ‘70s sound and the modern rock scene by writing and producing the Clutch single “Immortal” off of the band’s 2001 release “Pure Rock Fury.”

Tuesday’s two-hour performance will begin at 9 p.m. at The Cadillac Club, 1115 S. Washington. Tickets are $20 and reservations are encouraged.