The Ballad of Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter - Album by Album thread

I understand what you're saying, and I might feel the same if there wasn't always a voice in the back of my head saying "Damn, this could be really good if Mick had let Ian sing it." Does anyone really think a Mick version of "Rock 'n' Roll Queen" would be listenable?

I do have to give Mick credit for improving with time. While still sub-par, he's a far better singer on "I'm A Cadillac" than he was on the vocal version of "You Really Got Me".

I don't own much Bad Company (another band with a great vocalist). Did Paul ever let Mick sing?

 

The only Mick vocal I truly like is Black Hills

 

BTW, I assume Ian/Mott fans know this but just in case...

There's a great site with just about everything you'd ever want to know about Mott the Hoople & Ian Hunter. For example, did you see the reference to "Black Hills" above and wonder where it was released? The Mott the Hoople track finder will give you the answer in seconds.

 

There you go: the alternate mixes on the 1st lp:

Back in 1969, the first 5000 copies were mis-pressed, and include The Road To Birmingham at the end of side 1 and Backsliding Fearlessly at the start of side 2 (ie omitting Rock and Roll Queen). The "mispress" also has an alternate mix of Laugh At Me; Rabbit Foot And Toby Time has an extended intro, and Wrath And Wroll has an extended outtro, with a few bars of God Save The Queen at the end. Half Moon Bay is different in places as well.

 

[I don't own much Bad Company (another band with a great vocalist). Did Paul ever let Mick sing?[/QUOTE]
I had all the BC albums up to Rough Diamonds (the 1st Paul Rodgers era) and I'm pretty sure Ralpher didn't get any lead vocals. Maybe some backing vocals but Wikipedia doesn't even mention that. While we're on the first album

 

Huge Mott/Hunter fan here.
Ian Hunter just played the Kent Stage (Kent, OH) on October 8th, Marking the 5th time I've seen him live.
He's still a force, and I suggest to anyone who stopped paying attention to correct that, and check out his recent output. Unfortunately, I never saw a Mott the Hoople live show, which were somewhat legendary.
A great rock band, who for me stand head and shoulders above most of their classic rock contemporaries.

That said, the debut album is decent, but not great. They haven't found their footing yet, and there are some average tracks, but the good ones are outstanding. I'm pretty much in agreement with others who like You Really Got Me, Rock and Roll Queen, Laugh at Me, and the brilliant Half Moon Bay. Better things would come...

 

They were Mott immediately!

 

It is quite an eye-opener looking at the concert dates in Campbell Devine's book. In their early days - in fact throughout their career - Mott the Hoople toured constantly. For example, 55 dates in the first three months of 1970. Another surprising fact: their first concert was *after* the recording of the first album.

It also seems that he early gigs went badly. A residency at the Bat Caverna club in Ricciona, Italy did not lasst long. Back in the UK they supported first King Crimson, then Free, and according to the band's recollections they felt utterly outclassed.

Fortunately things came together after a couple of months. They realised that it was the fast numbers that got the crowd going, not the ballads, and soon built a reputation as one of the most energetic and exciting live acts.

You get the sense that Ian Hunter in particular felt that music put colour into what for some were otherwise drab lives, and that by touring he was making a contribution. You can hear a bit of this philosophy in several of his lyrics, though I am not going to pre-empt them here.

 

Which makes (not to get ahead of ourselves) Wildlife even more of an oddity. It feels very strange sandwiched between the much heavier Mad Shadows and Brain Capers.

 

Really got into them about 2 years ago - what a great band!!! Wish I'd have gone when I was invited to see them & Queen @ The Uris in '73. Have got UK orig pressings of everything except the UK R&R Queen 45 and the pic sleeve for Midnight Lady...

Fave Mott song - Walking With A Mountain, of course!

 

Upon further reflection, the reason for this is rather clear; Wildlife had less input from Guy Stevens.

 

Technically it may have charted but back then only the top 30 was published in the music press.

 

Got the box set today but now I want to play the first Mott album! The vocal version of YRGM is good but I'm glad they went with the instrumental

 

I think it bears mentioning here that Mott were a scrappy. rag-tag group especially in the early years.

The story went that Traffic wrote The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys after a dreadfully out-of-tune Mott opened for them in the U.S. although there is a Wikipedia quote from Jim Capaldi that denies that...

which makes no sense given the actual lyrics:

If you see something that looks like a star
And its shooting up out of the ground
And your head is spinning from a loud guitar
And you just cant escape from the sound
Don't worry too much, it'll happen to you
We were children once, playing with toys
And the thing that you're hearing is only the sound of
The low spark of high-heeled boys

 

Mad Shadows

ILPS 9119 released September 1970.

Chart position: UK 48



In February 1970 Mott the Hoople started studio sessions at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, for their second album, initially to be called Sticky Fingers. The title was acquired by the Rolling Stones, possibly via Guy Stevens who hung out with the Stones while working with Mott. The Stones were actually recording in Studio 2 when Mott was recording in Studio 1. The sessions, which continued on and off until April, were not particularly easy according to Ian Hunter, mainly because of the mercurial contribution of producer Guy Stevens, who is credited with "Spiritual percussion" and "Pychic piano" on the sleeve.

Stevens apparently wanted a "live in the studio" approach and the sessions seemed to be a combination of hanging round the studio doing nothing at one time, or at another time putting pressure on the band to come up new compositions there and then; Walkin' with a Mountain was composed in a tea break. Biograher Campbell Devine also notes that "Ian recalls the coda containing Jumping Jack Flash because Mick Jagger came in to see the band during a session."

Guy Stevens was having trouble with drugs at the time and wanted the album to explore the dark side of human nature, evident in the albums final title, the black sleeve, and the Baudelaire poem on the back sleeve which begins "Descend the way that leads to hell infernal."



There is some question though whether the angst in the album comes more from Stevens or from Ian Hunter. Julian Cope of Teardrop Explodes loves the album and says:

"MAD SHADOWS, was to be Mott's greatest statement of all and a true cry from the heart for Ian Hunter. His wife had taken his children and returned to Shrewsbury, telling him that she would not accept his new longhair and new lifestyle, and the whole album resounds with Hunter's wailing and fist-pounding as the ghosts of his still recent former life spill over into every song. The sledgehammer attitude of the first album is, if anything, overtaken by the brutality of musical execution of MAD SHADOWS. Indeed, what makes MAD SHADOWS so powerful is the brazen way in which the other much younger musicians interpret Hunter's work. Simple to the point of repetition because of his ultra-limited piano playing, Hunter's songs actually gain from this flash, virtually punk energy which the rest of the band brings, and his desperate cry from the heart of a dissolving 30-something marriage is gloriously mistranslated by rampant musical interpreters barely out of their teens."

That said, Hunter was not happy with the album, mainly because of the chaotic nature of the sessions and imperfections in the recording. "It was badly produced and mixed and I couldn't listen to it. I haven't even got it at home. It was a diary of bad periods we were going through at the time and was recorded live in the studio."

Personally I have always liked the album, partly because explorations of the dark side appeal to me (I also like David Bowie's Man who sold the world which has a similar vibe in some respects), and partly because this is classic Mott, benefiting from the band's touring.

The opening track is Mick Ralphs' propulsive Thunderbuck Ram, one of three tracks in which the Mott rock out strongly, and a great performance which stands apart from the darker numbers to follow. The band were not happy with the mix though, in which the organ is mixed way back. The original and band-preferred mix is on the Island sampler Bumpers.



Next up is Hunter's lament, No Wheels to Ride, which builds nicely from its quiet opening. Note the appearance of "Can't get enough of your love" in the middle of the song, pre-echoing Bad Company's song years later.

You are one of us, featuring jaunty organ, may be about Mott's relationship with its audience in its amazing live performances.

Thank you for the way you've been
Each and every night ...
You are one of us yes you are

The aforementioned Walking with a Mountain closes side one, reminiscent of Rock 'n' Roll Queen from the first album, but written by Hunter rather than Ralphs.

Side two is the darker side. I can Feel is an impassioned cry of pain from Hunter. You can hear a squeaking drum pedal if you listen carefully.

Next is Threads of Iron, by Mick Ralphs, which comes as some light relief, complete with the profound lyric "you are what you are yes you are"; but it chugs along nicely.

Finally we get a second long, anguished Hunter number, When my mind's gone, apparently recorded as a kind of stream of consciousness with Stevens willing Hunter to compose on the spot. "I just looked at Guy and sang," says Hunter. If that's the case, it's pretty good. Hunter accompanied just by piano and organ for a stark, primeval sound.



A good album then but distinctly odd, with tension between Stevens' controlling (and drug-crazed) influence and Hunter's strong personality, redeemed by the fact that Mott the Hoople was a great, tight band thanks to life on the road. Then again, a straighter rock album, or a live album, would probably have been better for the band's sales and career.

As for the cover, it's downright peculiar, especially the centerfold!

 

According to the Just a Buzz site:

"The front cover is a Gabi Nasemann mirror-image photograph of a fire grate. (Nasemann's work can also be found on covers of science fiction magazine New Worlds, on Michael Moorcock books, and on Hawkwind album covers.) The inside cover reproduces William Strutt's painting Peace, and a little child shall lead them, representing the biblical prophesy in Isaiah 11:6-9 ('... and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.') The Baudelaire poem quoted on the back cover is a translated passage from Damned Women, taken from from the preface to the 1959 novel Mad Shadows by French-Canadian writer Marie-Claire Blaise (who may have done the translation)."

Tim

 

My favorites here are Walking With A Mountain, Thunderbuck Ram, Threads Of Iron and When My Mind's Gone.

 

Interesting that the Stones took the title Sticky Fingers from Mott as I seem to recall reading elsewhere that Mott took the title Mad Shadows from Steve Winwood. A game of musical album titles!

Mad Shadows is dark and dreary for sure and a thick slice of sonic sludge, but I think it represents a nice step up from the debut. I like every song on it, though it can be a bit much to take in all at once. "When My Mind's Gone" has a mantra-like hypnotic quality that keeps me engaged to its bitter end. "Walking With A Mountain" seems to be the acknowledged classic from the album and I suppose it is the most entertaining track, but it feels a bit too derivative to me to fully embrace it. Ralphs gives a good account of himself here. "Thunderbuck Ram" is a fine opener with a nice riff even though it just seems wrong for a Mott album not to open with a Hunter track.

 

Love the first two on vinyl in my collection..love them both

 

I have the Edsel CD for S/T and Mad Shadows, I am curious why they did not follow up with the next two albums. The Edsel CD sounds great but watch out for bronzing copies.

Fantastic artist to pick for this type of thread by the way.

 

Mott the Hoople are one of my all time favorite bands. "Mott" was my introduction to the band and I've never really gotten into the earlier recordings. I look forward to to giving my 2 cents worth when the thread reaches that point.

 

These aren't the first two, they are the first and third, maybe you know that

Tim

 

Right..thanks. I always forget the middle child! Love them all the same though!

 

Just played the Bumpers version of Thunderbuck Ram ... it's true, the organ is much more prominent in the instrumental second half of the song. Not sure which version is on Rock 'n' Roll Queen (compilation), or the various CDs.

Tim