Label: Columbia Records (US), CK 52749
Style: Hard Rock
Country: Long Island, New York, U.S.
Time: 50:48
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 268 Mb
Charts: US #31, CAN #23, AUS #39, GER #39, NOR 17.
Mountain in the studio is not the same group as Mountain live.
Nothing
supports that statement more than Flowers of Evil, their newest album,
one side of which was recorded at the Fillmore East before it’s demise,
the other in the studio. This juxtaposition makes it all the easier to
distinguish the difference.
Side one (studio) opens with the title
cut. Reeking of Black Sabbath, Mountain has taken a simple chord change
structure and repeated it over and over while Lester West moans a set of
lyrics straight from the Grand Funk school of relevance. Oh can you
tell me/ how the joy passed from his childhood./ That’s not my boy./ We
never dreamed when he was leavin’/ that he would taste the flowers of
evil.
The next two songs, "Crossroader" and "One Last Cold Kiss" are
of the same feel with little variation in guitar work. The lyrics rival
even the title cut for triteness (triteness?). By now it is quite
evident that the lyrics are not the most dazzling feature Mountain has
to offer, yet, surprisingly enough, the arrangements are built around
the lyrics rather than the usual opposite. Verses are piled on top of
each other leaving no room for the band to actually work. Not until the
final cut of Side One do the inane lyrics magically part for a
disappointing solo by West.
Side Two was recorded at the Fillmore
East. Leslie West’s dormant studio guitar is finally awakened for a
ballsy 25-minute ""Dream Sequence." Included in the medley are "Roll
Over Beethoven," "Dreams of Milk and Honey," and "Swan Theme." All are
intertwined with fine guitar work.
After the live Mountain material
on the Woodstock album, their new stage presence is a welcomed change.
The live Mountain is excellent in all aspects, whether just jamming
along or really rocking. Their encore is "Mississippi Queen," probably
their most famous tune. This version outdoes the much played AM version
by a large margin.
The album as a whole, however, fails to produce
any definitive style for the group. Mountain’s brand of rock is not
unique, it is shared by thousands of other groups. The only reason that
they have grown mildly popular is that they are a bit more accomplished
musicians than the hoards of others. Obviously the group can’t record
live material for the remainder of their existence, something must be
done to remedy their sorry studio work. Perhaps if they made their music
a little more uncommon, they would achieve real success.
As for Flowers of Evil, it would have been better off as a live album.
(theuncool.com/journalism/mountain-flowers-of-evil-review/)
01. Flowers Of Evil (04:52)
02. King's Chorale (01:04)
03. One Last Cold Kiss (03:54)
04. Crossroader (04:53)
05. Pride And Passion (07:11)
06. Dream Sequence (25:03)
07. Mississippi Queen (03:48)
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