Their future profile may have been irreparably limited when Mountain elected not to allow inclusion of their performance at Woodstock in the subsequent album or movie, but early hard rock connoisseurs will be aware of their reputation, not to mention the (literally) sizeable instrumental talent of the late Leslie West. This compilation, repackaged from its original 1995 incarnation, is a pretty tidy primer for the uninitiated, even if it hasn’t been updated to include their fleetingly arresting later work.
And while Corky Laing’s thumping, Bonhamesque introductory beat of has been sampled in hip-hop records galore from its live version, the 1969 studio take here is superior, its bluesy country-rock enhanced by flute-ish organ accompaniment that somehow evokes a quintessentially free festival quality.
