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This album is mostly the effort of keyboardist Jan Hammer and bassist Gene Perla, with Hammer engineering, Perla producing, and the writing split evenly between both. Nonetheless, it is credited to Elvin Jones, the legendary drummer of the John Coltrane Quartet, probably as a tip of the hat to Jones' tremendous contributions as a jazz player over the previous years. On the Mountain was recorded at Hammer's then newly-built Red Gate Studios, though this intimate fusion album presents quite a different musical side than his expansive, more formally composed symph-rock album The First Seven Days, recorded that same year. Common to jazz, the songs here consist of simple restated themes giving way to larger jams. One of the basic joys of the album is getting to hear Jones stretch out in an electric setting. On "Thorn of a White Rose," "Smoke in the Sun," and "Destiny," he is the star, combining the steady cymbal chugs of his inimitable jazz style with a less recognized rock forcefulness that is strikingly reminiscent of Tony Williams. On other tracks, such as the shuffles "Namuh" and "London Air," he steps back into the supporting role, with the showcase more on Perla's acoustic bass work and Hammer's sprightly piano passages. Critics who see mid 70s fusion as the Death Valley of jazz are most likely not going to warm up to this one either. While this is not a masterpiece, I still find this one quite enjoyable. Now he is on the mountain, but Elvin's spirit as captured on such authoritative performances as "Thorn of a White Rose" will live on. review by Joe McGlinchey — 9-19-04 —