Mountain - Sea Of Fire

Year of Release: 2003
Label: Lightyear
Catalog Number: DV54584
Format: DVD
Total Time: 75:00:00

When I found out that Mountain was back together I wanted to immediately know what music was available. I found out by visiting their website, while I was covering the remastered series of releases from their back catalog on Columbia/Legacy, that there was a CD and DVD recently released. The CD Mystic Fire, was actually released in 2002 and the DVD Sea Of Fire was released in March of this year. The DVD has some tracks from the latest recording such as ?Mutant X? and ?The Sea,? as well as many of the classic tracks that the band built their following on, such as their signature song ?Mississippi Queen,? as well as other fan favorites ?Nantucket Sleighride,? ?Yasgur's Farm? and ?Theme From An Imaginary Western.?

There are two surviving members left, Leslie West and Corky Laing; Felix Pappalardi lost his life tragically, as his wife shot him to death in the early '80s. The new bass player is Richie Scarlet, who seems to be doing just fine blending in with the old timers West and Laing.

West has lost some of his edge on vocals, the power and bite is not there as it used to be. That kind of breakdown is only natural over the years, particularly with someone that sings like West -- he belts out a song with every ounce of his energy right from his toes. He can still play the guitar better than most of his contemporaries and the crowd on hand readily acknowledges his artisanship with his axe. His voice is hardened and raspy now, sounding like he has been smoking Marlboros for the past 30 years. West has some fun with his guitar(s) during the course of the concert, he frequently gets some distortion cranking out that the crowd seems to love. At end of the show, he takes out what looks to be a special vintage one for the encore ?Mississippi Queen.?

In the interview segment of the DVD, West and Laing reminisce about the old days with colorful stories. Laing commented: ?We weren't pretty, Leslie was 350 pounds and Felix was like a moustache with ears.? When the fans get their opportunity to speak there are nothing but accolades for West as being one the greatest rock-blues players of all time. One man commented that West was better than most of the big name stars of the day. For certain, West has his own distinct sound and tone that nobody else has and he has been able to maintain that over the years.

The Hall of Fame section is a treat as well showing rare footage of the band playing classic tunes. In its entirety this is a well-packaged DVD that hits on all the points of interest for Mountain fans. Technically, this is spot on for viewers looking for different angles, literally. The quad screen split feature is very cool, allowing music fans to see four different views of the concert footage at one time. If you have a big screen TV, you will be in heaven. There is a lot to be excited about if you are a classic rock fan, and with Leslie and Corky back full steam ahead, it is time to rock!

Tracklisting:
Blood Of The Sun (0:30) / Yasgur's Farm (1:56) / Crossroads (1:56) / The Sea (6:29) / Never In My Life (6:29) / Mutant X (8:38) / Theme From An Imaginary Western (8:38) / Nantucket Sleighride (7:34) / Mississippi Queen (7:34) / Credits (7:07)

Features: "75-minute concert including both the band's greatest hits & new songs from the Mystic Fire CD / 30 minutes of documentary "scrapbook" features, including: - The origins of the group... - the Felix Pappalardi story... his life and death - Mountain's 4th gig... Woodstock - The night the lights went out ... and Mississippi Queen was the result! / Entire concert formatted with ?quad-split? multiple camera view alternative, allowing viewer to seamlessly switch back and forth from live cut."

Musicians:
Leslie West - guitar, lead vocals
Corky Laing - drums
Richie Scarlet - bass

Discography:
Climbing (1970/2003*)
Nantucket Sleighride (1971/2003*)
Flowers Of Evil (1971)
Mountain Live (Road Goes On Forever) (1972)
The Best Of Mountain (1973/2003*)
Twin Peaks (1974)
Avalanche (1974)
On Top (1974)
Go For Your Life (1985)
Over The Top (1995)
Man's World (1996)
Mystic Fire (2002)
King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Mountain (2003)
From The Front Row Live (2003)
Roll Over Beethoven (2003)
Eruption (2004)

Sea Of Fire (2003) (DVD)

Genre: Rock

Origin US

Added: June 15th 2003
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.mountaintheband.com
Hits: 1911
Language: english