[FredZarguna]

Felix Pappalardi was murdered by his wife; it was a famous case, and the end of Mountain for all practical purposes, although Jack Bruce replaced him in a followup act called West, Bruce, and Lang. Jack was a fine bassist, as all Cream aficionados know, but he could not write or produce like Felix.

Leslie West is still out there, and in my opinion better than ever. If you're a blues fan, check out his fairly recent Got Blooze CD. Classic covers, which even some of the naysayers on this thread would recognize as anthemic Rock 'n' Roll numbers ("Heartbreak Hotel," "Riot in Cellblock #9," covered as only LW can.) Awesome.

[Cboldt]

-- Leslie West is still out there, and in my opinion better than ever. --

Leslie West rocks. I saw his act about 40 years ago, and was blown away by his chops and the quality of the sound. Hearing the studio albums does not prepare one for what he can do live. I suppose that not hearing of Mountain dates a person. I'd call it rock, not heavy metal. Very blues based.