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

Ah, what a great show! It amazes me that people are spending hundreds of dollars on overpriced, over-the-hill concerts for bands that are pale shadows of their former glory when artists as vibrant and strong as ever can be seen for well under $50 in a much more intimate setting.

Joe Grushecky was a great opener. Shortly after this show was announced, I sent a question to the "Horse's Mouth" on Ian's site asking if there was any chance Joe could join him... and a few weeks later he was added to the bill. I doubt it was my prompting, but pretty cool! Played a fairly short set including "Pumping Iron", "Have A Good Time (But Get Out Alive)", "Chain Smokin'", "That's What Makes Us Great" (his new single with Bruce Springsteen) and a few others (sorry imawalrus, no "Junior's Bar"). This was his first time playing a show in several months, but the band was tight. Reminisced about what a great experience it was having Ian & Mick work on Have A Good Time But Get Out Alive! and touring with them. Said that he was basically just out of his basement on Mt. Washington (a hill overlooking Pittsburgh) in 1980 and that touring with Ian & Mick was a crash course in rock college. Described Ian as a great gentleman and lobbied several times during the set that he should be in the R&RHoF and called for a write-in campaign (as if that institution ever cared what fans thought). Also thanked Ian & his band for the invite to play and for the use of the drum kit.

Brief intermission for setting up the stage and on came Ian & The Rant Band. Ian, two guitarists, bass, drums, & keyboard.

"That's When The Trouble Starts"
"Once Bitten, Twice Shy"
"Fatally Flawed"
"When I'm President"
"Saint"
"The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nuthin' But The Truth" (neat hearing a different guitarist's take on one of Mick's most iconic solos)
"Morpheus"
"Just Another Night"
"Fingers Crossed"
"All-American Alien Boy" (great version!)
"Dandy"
"Bow Street Runners"
(Ian made a tongue-in-cheek comment here about folks wanting to hear the "old stuff" so this was the Mott portion of the show and that he should charge extra for it...)
"Roll Away The Stone"
"I Wish I Was Your Mother" (very nice, complete with harmonica & mandolin)
"Ghosts"
"23a Swan Hill"
"Bastard" (a definite crowd favorite)
"Sweet Jane"

Encores:
"Irene Wilde" (false start, quickly leading into...)
"All The Way From Memphis"
"Long Time"
"Life"
"All The Young Dudes"
"Goodnight Irene" (one verse)

Ian's voice was strong and he had far more energy and drive than any other 77 year old rocker I've ever seen (and far more than most guys I've seen half his age).

My only criticism is that the sound wasn't the greatest. The music was fine but the vocals, and even the between songs intros and talk was pretty difficult to hear clearly, at least from my vantage point on the balcony. But for $27, it was the best bang for the buck I've ever had at a concert. If Ian's coming to a venue near you, don't hesitate!

 

Aargh! No Junior's Bar or Soul of America! Two songs I've championed that should of been huge hits! Oh well... Joe and Ian have plenty of great songs to choose from for making their setlists. Glad you enjoyed the show! I recall on a couple of my trips back east in the early '80s that I went up to the top of Mt Washington to admire the view of downtown Pittsburgh at both the day and night. Very impressive. I didn't take the inclines though.

 

Ah Joe Grushecky. I've recently bought a couple of his cd's that I need to give a listen to. I'm also trying to get some listening in on a couple of Ian Hunter cd's that I've picked up lately.

 

Thanks for the great review. Tasty setlist! Can't wait to see the band next month (I'm going to the Stables).

Tim

 

It is a long time between Artful Dodger (1996) and Rant (2001). What was Ian Hunter up to?

He toured to promote the Artful Dodger of course, including an extensive UK tour in May 1997, and more dates in September and October. He also performed at the Mick Ronson Memorial concert in Hull (August 1997) as mentioned above.

Sony released All the Young Dudes, a Mott the Hoople anthology, and Campbell Devine’s biography was published, both in September 1998.

In January 1999 Hunter performed at the Bruce Henderson Charity Ball at Bowery Ballroom in New York,, where the house band included Andy York and G E Smith.

“Former Mott The Hoople frontman Ian Hunter hit the stage, eyes covered by brown-tinted sunglasses and curly blond hair touching his neck. His mission, expertly carried out, was simple: Kick the crowd's ass and leave. So he quickly ripped into "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", followed by the obligatory "All The Young Dudes", and then left the stage.”​

This was Hunter’s first meeting with Andy York who played with Hunter for a US date the following year, and became a member of the excellent Rant Band.

Later in 1999 he played a 16-date UK tour and was joined by Ariel Bender and Verden Allen on stage in Wolverhampton, almost a Mott the Hoople reunion!

At this point it is also worth mentioning the retrospective double CD Once Bitten Twice Shy which was released by Sony in May 2000. This is not just the hits. With 38 tracks, it is split into Rockers and Ballads, and includes numerous unreleased songs, some outtakes, some live versions, some done for film soundtracks (I’m the Teacher, Great Expectations, Good Man in a Bad Time).



Each song also has notes from Hunter which are a good read. “Schizophrenic was the best solo album I ever did,” he writes, “but was panned by the English rock critics because I was a US resident. Very small-minded.”

I am not sure of the historical accuracy of this but there must be something he recalls!

Clearly the focus is on the past, perhaps making it harder for Hunter to draw attention to his current work. Still, the notes to Once Bitten do note that he is working on a new studio album, “tentatively titled ‘Worm’s Eye View’”.

I am grateful to the Ian Hunter forum for a bit more background here. Member grastark says:

“The next real turning point was when he teamed up with Andy York, who persuaded Ian that he still had the force in him to write and sing great songs. This first of all led to Rant and gradually soon after that, Ian's touring band individuals morphed into the Rant Band that we know and love. Probably, without Andy York kicking him up the backside, Ian would not have developed such a stellar "late career" that he has done.”​

This brings us to Rant, recorded in 2000 at New Calcutta in New York City. This post has gotten rather long though, so I shall review Rant in another post.

 

Rant (2001)
Papillon BITFLYCD0016



Rant was produced by Andy York and Ian Hunter. Musicians include Andy York (Guitar, Bass, Background vocals); Steve Holley (Drums, Percussion); Robbie Alter (Piano); Mickey Curry (Drums) and John Conte (Bass).

The UK release was on the Papillon label, whereas the US release was on Fuel and has a different cover and order of tracks. I think of the UK version as the true one but that it because it is the one I have! According to post from Ian19 on the Ian Hunter forum (now scrolled off):

“If memory serves right Ian said at the time that the US record label had told him that people don't buy albums with black and white covers!!”

The general theme seems to be that England is going down the drain. I don’t know the backstory here but suspect it is to do with personal feelings as well as some kind of political statement. Hence the title, Rant.

Ripoff is a mid-tempo rocker on this theme. England “turned into a wilderness, it turned into a third world country.” Perhaps the key line here is the last one, “I’d love to live in England, but it gets to me.” A reluctant alien.

Musically it’s good but not great.

Good Samaritan is an unusual track sung in a near monotone, ostensibly about a sexual encounter in which the man wants a deeper relationship. Echoes of Hunter’s previous sad reflections on one night stands with groupies but with the tables turned perhaps.

Death of a Nation is a return to the England theme; Hunter dreams of “having a drink with Prince Charles ‘n’ the Queen” and reflects on how this “cradle of civilization” is “falling apart.” Rather negative but actually a pretty ballad.

Purgatory is about rich people with nice lives “sent to destroy us.” As with Good Samaritan, effects are used on Hunter’s vocal, in this case giving almost an industrial groove. Not really sure what Hunter is on about here but it cooks nicely.

American Spy is about fleeing to the USA to escape the daily grind. This is a more good humoured song though, tongue in cheek. However, when Hunter sings about “sleazy little snobs, I don’t want to know ‘em, I don’t trust them suckers as far as I can throw ‘em,” I am not convinced that the word is suckers!

Dead Man Walkin’ (Eastenders) is an impassioned song about, I think, being a faded rock star. “The silence is deafening – the phone never rings. It doesn’t really matter any more – Dead man walkin’”.

I really like this song. Hunter is just past sixty, he has plenty to say but is perceived as someone whose best work is all in past. “What am I supposed to do now, sink to the bottom of obscurity?” He sings it perfectly, to a sensitive accompaniment.

Wash us Away sounds almost upbeat but has another sombre lyric about the transience of things.

Morons is a faster number, another class warfare thing – or is it about the record industry? - with Hunter playing the part of the working class kids (or musicians) dismissed as “morons” “from the day we were born,”, complete with manic background laughter. Quite a bleak lyric “we’re starving – it’s something that needs to be said.” The closing line is key, “we were morons, but then again no, no, no.” There’s also a reference in there to “I’m 60, and what have I got? Surrounded by morons, don’t tell me I’m free when I’m not.” Marionette and Crash Street Kids come to mind.

Soap ‘N’ Water is another impassioned song, though I’m not sure what it is about. It’s about someone whose words are cruel, maybe a relationship, maybe fans, maybe managers. “All you do is drag old memories through the dirt.” Good song though.

Knees of my Heart is a love song, maybe to Trudi, and a welcome bright spot. Title some kind of pun on “from the bottom of my heart” I guess. “For ever and ever, till death do us part, I will be yours, from the knees of my heart.” Pretty melody, nicely sung.

No One is another love song though with a twist, it’s about being jealous but reassured that “that’s there’s no one else”.

Still Love Rock and Roll is the most Mott like of the songs here, and to my mind much better placed here at the end, rather than being the album opener as on the US release. The title says it all, and it lightens the mood at the close of an album with some bleak themes. Right at the end Hunter sings “that’s all” quietly which proves it!



I realise I have written more about the lyrics than about the music but that is because they dominate for me, though the band is excellent, they know how to rock as well as providing a sparse and sensitive accompaniment when appropriate.

Listening to it I am reminded of punk rock albums like the first from The Clash, some of the themes are similar though Hunter has the perspective of the older musician rather than the young punk.

It is an album that repays repeated listens; my favourites are Death of a Nation, Dead Man Walkin’, and Knees of my Heart.

The monochrome artwork fits the album perfectly.

 

Great "review". Thanks.

 

A great album and worthy successor to Artful Dodger. If only it did not have "Morons" on it. I friggin' hate that "song", ruins the album for me.

Interesting about the different tracklists and cover for the UK vs. USA release. I 4got about that.

 

What did I do to earn the quote marks?

Tim

 

Sounds like incredibly good value!

 

Ian Hunter does quite a few interviews, some of which are online, but of course everyone asks him about Mott, Bowie etc so there is not much on these later albums.

There is one here though.

Hunter says it took three years to write the songs for Rant. "Usually the first year or so I'll think I've written great stuff but two weeks later I don't like it. It's a quality control thing. You just keep writing and writing and discarding and discarding. But all the time you're writing the writing muscle improves. After a couple of years all of a sudden it starts kicking in and you start getting things that you really don't want to get rid of. The first song I felt was too good to not go on the record was "Morons." That was recorded in my basement apart from the drums. A guy called Robbie Alter was stating with me, he plays on a couple of tracks. He said, "Why don't you write one of those things that you used to write in Mott?" And I said, 'What's the point to that?" And he said, 'Well, you're the only person that can do that." So when he left, I hadn't touched a piano in about ten years, the album before I did all on guitar. So I started playing piano and that was the first one that came out. The first line, 'We were morons the day we were before.' That was it right there. I knew I'd captured something that was running around in my head for a long time."

And on Dead Man Walkin':

"It came about because there's a song on Rant called "No One", it's the last track on the record. It's a four-chord song in B flat. I was playing "No One," when I came to the fourth chord of the sequence, instead of going to the F chord, I went to E flat by mistake. That's how "Dead Man Walkin'" was born. It just developed from that. The sound of those four chords is so eerie to me that I ditched "No One" and carried on writing that. Andy York had heard "No One" on a cassette and he said we should do that one as well. "Dead Man Walkin' is my favorite track on the album."

You and me both, Ian, but what's this about No One being the last track

He describes the line, "What am I supposed to do now, sink to the bottom of obscurity" as "Brutal self-assessment. If I cast myself back to when I wrote it, I had no label. I had no musicians, I had no access."

On the making of Rant:

"I couldn't get a record deal. Rant was done on a very small budget. It came in under seventy grand, largely due to people helping me out. People working for cents on the dollar. A pro tools guy who worked on the record figured out that I was paying him seven cents on the dollar (laughs). But what can you do? That's what was confronting us? I really didn't like the Eighties. I really didn't try in the Eighties. I wasn't very good. I only got really serious about it again after Mick Ronson died. I thought that I should be doing something with my life. I said to myself, You get a free pass in life and you're really abusing it, you should get serious and do something about it. That's been the motivation behind this. The motivation wasn't to sell a load of records and be a big star, that wasn't the motivation at all. The motivation was to get back up to the level, which I set myself earlier on and then lost."

and on Wash us Away:

"It seems to be a generational thing, a decade thing comes to mind. It's about the succession of liaisons that take place throughout life. They become more adult but they all pass."

Tim

 

On getting together with Andy York:

"I had to find someone to take Mick’s place, and that’s not easy. Steve Holley, my drummer, said to me, ‘You’ve got to get going here.’ He wasn’t my drummer at the time, but he was living in New York and I was living in New York and he likes what I do. And he was like, ‘You’ve got to do something.’

“So in the end, I went down and I did a show for some guy who was really ill, a charity show, and I met Andy York. And Andy was great, he was doing this trio thing, he was singing and playing lead guitar. I’d never seen him before. I said to Steve Holley, ‘Who’s that?’ And Steve tells me and I’m saying, ‘Steve, if I’m going to do this again, I need to work with a guitar player. I can’t just do it with a drummer, I need a guitar player.’ Cos that’s what I was used to, with Mick Ralphs and then with Mick Ronson.

“With Andy and myself, it took about a year to get the thing going, because he was on tour and doing various things, and we hardly knew each other at all, and then we finally did get together and we did Rant in New York, and it was… I was scared, it was like starting all over! But that was a good record and all the records ever since have been good. You might not like them, you might like one more than the other, but I think they’re all pretty good.”

 

I am not sure if I should mention a double live album called Missing in Action that came out in 2000 on Burning Airlines/NMC (PILOT 52).



I will quote from the official site:

"This album is a compilation of previously unreleased live material from various periods in Ian's solo career (Long Island NY 1979; Chicago IL 1979; Essen Germany 1980; San Jose CA 1989; Toronto Canada 1987/88). The bonus disc, Collateral Damage, contains more live material from those shows, and was included with the first 5000 copies."

The reason I am dismissive of this album is that it has more the feel (and sound quality) of a bootleg than an official album. I hope Hunter was paid something; that would be the test I guess. The first CD has live tracks that are good to hear, including American Music, (I'm The) Teacher, Tell it like it is, but in poor quality; the second CD is less interesting but has better sound quality. Sources are FM broadcasts and even audience tapes, from the sound of it. It is not of professional standard and I don't recommend the CD other than for the most ardent fans.

I hope nobody was unlucky enough to get a copy without the 2nd CD!

 

Sorry...don't you like quote marks?

 

I love quote marks

They are sometimes used to mean "not really". So a tramp might say, the streets are my "home".

Or, the "song" by the Beatles called Revolution 9.

Tim

PS I love Revolution 9 too

 

I like Rant. It got me back into Ian Hunter and I picked up some of the releases that I missed.

My favorites are Purgatory, American Spy and Wash Us Away but I like most of the tracks.

 

I bought this after seeing IH live, I think, and knowing it was limited,. It's not good sound -wise, and has a few dropouts. But disc 2, as you say, sounds better.

 

Reminds me McCartney and Starr are still referred to as ex-Beatles. Ian has been a solo artist for much longer than he was a member of Mott. Still called "former member".

Rant is one of my favorite Hinter albums--proved that he still had the talent and fire.

 

I played Rant a lot after it came out, but it's been quite a while since I've listened to it. "Wash Us Away" is the standout track to me. I can hear it in my head 15+ years later. Some of the album is a throwback in ways. "Morons" sounds as if it could slot right into "The Hoople" album and "Still Love Rock & Roll" likewise in the "Mott" album. "Knees of My Heart" would have fit in well with either one of his first two solo albums and "Ripoff" on "...Alien Boy". "American Spy" is a fun song. And is that a Mellotron on "Dead Men..."? I think part of the appeal of this album (to me anyway) is that it sort of has a mid '70s sound to it that I like. Maybe because they recorded it on a $70,000 budget? Teaming up with Andy York proved to be a good move.
The OP said, “If memory serves right Ian said at the time that the US record label had told him that people don't buy albums with black and white covers!!”
So what does the next DVD look like?

 

Strings Attached
Double CD (Mercury/Universal 067711-2) 2004
DVD (Universal 087714-9) 2004



Ian Hunter is not the first rock musician to mix things up a little with some orchestration, but nevertheless the Strings Attached project came as a surprise at the time. It was very much a Norwegian event; Hunter says that Björn Nessjö, producer on Artful Dodger, “put this whole thing together.”


Björn Nessjö

Something I wonder about is where the money came from, since orchestral albums are generally expensive to product, and Hunter had noted what a small budget there was for his previous album, Rant.

Strings Attached was on a major label (Mercury/Universal) and came out in both CD and DVD formats so presumably there was hope that sales would be decent (I am not sure if they were).

Anyway, Hunter performed a series of concerts at the Spectrum Scene Oslo in early 2002, of which the Jan 29th and 30th events used for the official releases. The band was as follows:

Band:
Ian Hunter (vocals, guitar)
Andy York (guitar)
Torstein Flakne (guitar)
Kjetil Bjerkestrand (keyboards, arrangements)
Sven Lindvall (bass)
Per Lindvall (drums)
TrondheimSolistene (The Trondheim Soloists) (20 piece strings)

The setlist is focused on Hunter’s quieter songs, but not exclusively so. The performance has an unplugged feel. What is it like playing with an orchestra, Hunter is asked during an interview included on the DVD. ““You’re a little apprehensive because it’s totally different. They’re reading changes, I can’t just come in when I feel like it. The whole thing will go wrong,” he replies, explaining why the show has to be disciplined.

Most of the tracks are familiar, but there is a new song, Rollerball, which is one of the best things here, a great mid-tempo track about the decline of everything, a tad depressing though.

Hunter was apparently asked to include a cover or two, so included A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Eric Maschwitz and Manning Sherwin, also covered by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole etc). It’s well done, the closest Hunter has come to crooning.

The strings are not always prominent. In fact, during some songs (Twisted Steel, for example), they hardly play. On 23A Swan Hill, the strings only come in at the end. On Memphis, TrondheimSolistene do a great job with a loony violin backing.



How I feel about this album is very much a matter of mood. Sometimes it seems quite magical, other times rather a snoozefest. I’d actually like the strings to be more prominent and the vocals a bit quieter; Hunter’s Dylanesque tones are rather at odds with the smoothness of the soloists.

The opening song, Rest in Peace, is nicely done. Rollerballl is excellent as noted above. Michael Picasso, Hunter’s tribute to Mick Ronson, is ideally suited to this kind of backing. Waterlow, from Mott days, is a superb performance, so is Irene Wilde Dudes is graceful, but the closing number Saturday Gigs is not too good.

Really it is pretty good overall, especially if you like Hunter’s ballads more than his rockers.

Of course there are a few tracks only on the CD set so you have to buy both if you want everything. The DVD includes an interview with some insightful remarks from Hunter about his work. "The first line of a song is the most important. If you can get a firest line, it just goes from there," he says.

Asked if Mott will ever play together again, he says no, "it would be horrible".



Tracklisting:

Strings Attached Double CD:

Rest in Peace
All of the Good ones are Taken
I wish I were your mother
Twisted Steel
Boy
23A Swan Hill
Waterlow
All the Young Dudes
Irene Wilde
Once Bitten Twice Shy
Rollerball
Ships
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
Michael Picasso
Wash us Away*
Don’t let go*
All the way from Memphis
Roll away the Stone*
Saturday Gigs

*not on video

Strings Attached DVD:

Rest in Peace
All of the Good ones are Taken
I wish I was your mother
Twisted Steel
Boy
23A Swan Hill
Waterlow
All the Young Dudes
Irene Wilde
Once Bitten Twice Shy
Rollerball
Ships
A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square
Michael Picasso
All the way from Memphis
Saturday Gigs

 

I'm not sure this was actually released in the USA...

Tim

 

David Quantick review:

"2004’s Strings Attached is one of his best, a two-disc set recorded in Stockholm with a band and large string section. Drawing on Mott and solo oldies – more importantly, recent songs like the Mick Ronson tribute Michael Picasso and the triumphant told-you-so 23A Swan Hill – Strings Attached sees Hunter combining passion with compassion, energy with grace and, on his version of the oldie A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, a surprising delicacy and tenderness. Without exaggeration, this is one of the best live albums of all time."

Ian Hunter: Strings Attached

Funny how when people write "without exaggeration" they invariably exaggerate!

Tim

 

Different cover photo and track listing for the US : Still love rock & roll, Wash us away, Death of a nation, Morons, Purgatory, American spy, Dead man walkin', Good samaritan, Soap 'n' water, Ripoff, Knees of my heart, No one.

 

Afaik it is the only recording with Ian on it that I never bought (except for the new box set that is, which is too expensive considering I already have over half of what's in it). I don't like orchestrations added on to rock songs so I was (thankfully) warned off from buying this just by the title

 

I hope you have at least heard Rollerball on the Astoria live album!

Tim