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

Exactly the same with me. That and Life both struck me as decent tracks but after hearing them live I loved them. In fact some of their arrangements (Sweet Jane and Bastard for example) of old songs have given them a new lease of life

 

"Really all it is, is a guy in a bar, if I were president I would do this, I would do that"



Tim

 

Fingers Crossed (September 2016)
Proper Records PRPCD137
UK: 36

The most recent studio album from Ian Hunter and the Rant Band (at the time of writing) was released in September 2016. It was most notable for Dandy, Hunter's tribute to David Bowie, who died in January 2016. Hunter's song parallels his earlier song in memory of Mick Ronson, Michael Picasso, in that it does not mention its subject by name.



Fingers Crossed was recorded at Hobo Sound in New Jersey, a move away from A-Pawling Studios used for the previous album. It was mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound; despite this illustrious name, the album may be Hunter's worst in respect of excessive compression, robbing the music of much of its natural dynamics.

"Fingers Crossed, to me, is a [culmination] of the last four or five records," said Hunter in an interview. "I write from the point of view of personal quality control—that’s how I do it. And this album is kind of consistent throughout. So I’m very happy with this one — I’m very happy with the people who played on it and the other people who were involved with it, like the engineering and stuff like that."


The Rant Band: Paul Page, Ian Hunter, James Mastro, Steve Holley, Mark Bosch, Dennis Dibrizzi (left to right)

That's When The Trouble Starts is a bluesy number in which Hunter reflects on the hazards of falling out of fashion. "After yorur 15 minutes of fame, look out here comes the driving rain." It doesn't seem particularly heartfelt though, more an opportunity to deliver an urgent, growling opener. A decent start.

Dandy: Hunter says, "David changed things around a little bit, and that’s what it would mean to me. I hadn’t seen him in God knows how many years. I was writing a song called “Lady” and this was last January (2016). And then I found out that he had passed, and “Lady” turned into “Dandy.” It’s written from the point of view of a fan going to see him in 1971, prior to Ziggy (Stardust), you know….very Technicolor."

The song is peppered with quotes from various Bowie songs and comes over as affectionate and respectful. "I guess I owe you one, so thanks for the memories," he sings, perhaps in reference to how Bowie famously rescued Mott the Hoople's career. Despite its subject though, this is a less personal song than Michael Picasso, reflecting the more distant relationship. Celebration rather than mourning.

This song also shows Hunter's philosophy, that music is a means of escape from a mostly grey and tedious life. "All we had to look forward to was the weekend. You made our lives worth living."

Ghosts, according to the record company's blurb, "was inspired by a November 2014 visit to Union Avenue in Memphis where Ian and the Rant Band were invited to jam in rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Sam Phillips’ legendary Sun Studio." Plenty of ghosts there! One of the best songs on here for my money, sung with passion as Hunter pays tribute to great musicians of the past.

"I'm like some kid in a candy store - always been a fan.
It's all still here,
the atmosphere,
it's where it all began."

Fingers Crossed was composed, according to Hunter, when a line popped into his head. "It wasn’t inspired by anything material. I’ve no idea where it came from as I simply woke up one day with the line – ‘I was pressed into service, through no fault of my own’ – and from there the song took its own course. It could only go one way. It’s great when you get a strong opening line!”

What emerged was a song about sailors press-ganged into service in the 18th century. A slow song whose cheery melody belies its dark theme, "from the land of the living to the land of the lost."

White House is by contrast a light-hearted, up-tempo piece about a country house where Hunter lived, maybe. "Wally the Beaver" appears in the last stanza, apparently a real beaver. "He was most upset when we moved in. I think he thought we were taking over. There is a pond and a dam. He ran over my feet a couple of times. It was like ‘you don ‘t belong here…this is my place.’”

Wally, says Hunter, has now "moved downstream."

The lyrics in the CD booklet are misprinted. Hunter clearly sings "Wally the beaver" and not "Eager Beaver"!

Bow Street Runners is a historical song whose origins are similar to Fingers Crossed. "The title just came into my head and I liked it….I’ve got a title and now I have to write a song about it. So that’s when you Google and start checking things out," said Hunter. He disovered that "In the 1700s half-a-million people lived in London and there were no cops, so crime was rampant. It was crazy. One of the Fielding brothers was known as Blind Beak – he couldn’t see but he could smell crime and recognized thousands of criminals by the sound of their voices – so the story goes. The brothers Henry and John Fielding formed the Bow Street Runners … Britain’s first Bobbies!”

The song is pretty good, a mid-tempo track with a trademark catchy chorus.

Morpheus, says the blurb, "is framed around the Ancient Greek god who had the ability to mimic human form and shape people’s dreams." It's a slow song about the joys of sleeping.

Stranded in Reality: I have no idea what this one is about, a daft story about a broken spaceship which transmutes into a rant against "the age of the deluded." Forget the lyrics though, this song builds nicely and passes pleasantly enough.

You Can't Live In The Past is a slow number with a reggae-tinged beat. Not entirely sure what is about, but it is a heartfelt song in which Hunter laments his inability to help someone who can't help themselves, remarking along the way that "I don't think I've ever understand man's inhumanity to man."

Long Time is a jolly track to close. There is some honky tonk piano, credited to Andy Burton on the CD insert, though Hunter said in an interview, "the piano player in that is John Mayer." Andy Burton seems more plausible.



Overall it's not a bad album but doesn't hit the heights for me. Dandy is the highlight, and I really like Ghosts, but some of the others seems a bit like going through the motions, though I still enjoy them.

Kudos though to Hunter that he is still recording and performing with amazing energy.



As ever, I am interested in other opinions!

Interviews quoted above are from rockatnight, songwriter universe, and Proper Records.

 

Stranded in Reality (October 21 2016)
Proper Music SHADES1

Also Sampling in Reality EP (PRPEP003)



Stranded in Reality is a big box, a 30 disc set (including 2 DVDs) which covers Ian Hunter's musical output from his first solo album to When I'm President. It also includes a book with notes on every song (well, all the main songs at least). And a Shades magazine in the style of NME (New Musical Express) or Melody Maker back in the day, which has reviews and ads previously featured in Melody Maker, Sounds, NME and Zigzag. Would have been useful for this thread, but unfortunately I do not have the box, though a friend brought it round for me to see so I had a quick hands-on and watch/listen.

There is a YouTube video with an unboxing in which Hunter (looking somewhat bored) together with someone (I presume) from Proper Records gives a bit of background. In particular, he explains that much of the research and content is down to Campbell Devine, author of the Mott the Hoople biography which I quoted extensively in the earlier part of this thread. "It's a fan job ... Campbell Devine's a fan," says Hunter.



The song-by-song commentary, for example, was done by Devine after interviewing Hunter. Some of the commentary is also familiar from compilations where Hunter has written notes before.

The contents:

Albums:
Ian Hunter (30th Anniversary edition)
All American Alien Boy (30th Anniversary edition)
Overnight Angels (with bonus track England Rocks)
You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic - 30th Anniversary Edition
Welcome to the Club (2CD)
Short Back n' Sides - With Bonus Tracks
All of The Good Ones Are Taken - With Bonus Tracks
YUI Orta
Ian Hunter's Dirty Laundry
The Hunter Ronson Band: BBC Live In Concert
The Artful Dodger (with bonus track)
Rant
Strings Attached (with bonus tracks) (2CD)
Shrunken Heads (with bonus tracks, most from the EP)
Man Overboard
When I'm President
Ian Hunter and the Rant Band: Live in the UK 2010 (2CD)

Rarities:
Tilting The Mirror - Rarities (2CD)
If You Wait Long Enough for Anything, You Can Get It On Sale - Live 1979-81 (2CD) (Hammersmith 1979, San Francisco 1981, New York 1979)
Bag Of Tricks - Live Rarities (3CD)
Acoustic Shadows - Live (Dartford 2008)
Experiments - Previously Unreleased Recordings
It Never Happened (2DVD) (Live tracks and promos)

There is also Sampling in Reality (PRPEP003) (EP, two unique tracks American Music (Early Version) and Sweet Jane (Ian Hunter and Tribes).

The box costs £249.99, and is a limited edition of 2,500 (though it is still on sale though they were not exactly snapped up). Still, Hunter has said that it sold well.

Why have I not bought it? Well, it is a nice piece, but of course I have most of the contents already. I'm also not hugely excited by the rarities - they are nice to have, but for me not £249 worth. If you are new to Hunter's work, of course, the box is a great buy.

It was rather annoying and unnecessary to make fans buy the Sampling in Reality EP as well as the box if they want everything.

Note that the box is not quite complete, in terms of released work. Omissions include:

'The Truth The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth' 2CD live release
Just Another Night DVD (Astoria Theatre, May 2004)
Fingers Crossed (released separately just before the box)
Two tracks from Mick Ronson Memorial Concert (Hammersmith Apollo 1993)
Easy Money from The Secret Sessions CD

The box is nicely produced but reportedly existing albums are not generally remastered, they are the same as before plus on occasion new bonus tracks.

 

That's it then ... until the next album Over to Ian Hunter...

Tim

 

I found the album to be underwhelming (oh well). Still I'd rather have Ian out there making new music, I'm sure he will still come up with things I like.

I hate the song Dandy though, just don't like it at all. A friend of mine who is a singer loves it though, he thinks it is brilliant, but he pays attention to lyrics (I on the other hand only care about the music, lyrics are almost meaningless to my music enjoyment).

 

Man, I bought Fingers Crossed on release and still haven't listened to it...
Still stuck at When I'm President on the box set..
.. rainy days... rains days... lol

 

I don't think FC is as good as WIP but it is very good. It's a grower

 

Don't know how I missed this interview, by Andrew Darlington:

Eight Miles Higher: Interview: 'Ian Hunter: Ballads Of Mott The Hoople... & Beyond!'

Asked whether he looks back on the Mott the Hoople albums with pleasure:

"No. I mean, that guy did that. And now I’ve got to beat him. It’s as simple as that. I look back on them with absolutely nothing. I don’t feel a thing. I never look back. I can’t look back. I can only look forward. I still feel I’m a viable proposition and I’m still happening. But whether I am or whether I’m not, why should I want to look at that ****? I don’t think I even have any of those albums. What interests me now is what I’m writing now. I mean, to look back and do all that ******** is alright when you’re seventy-five or something, then you can go ‘ah, we weren’t too bad after all’ (in frail quavering voice). But right now I’m not the slightest bit interested. No – neither was Mick (Ronson). We never sat around listening to old records and all that like people seem to think we do. Never."​

Perhaps explains why he looks so unenthusiastic in that Stranded in Reality video!

Is it easier working solo?

"I’m not a solo artist. I really am not. I never have been. It just seems to be that way. I’m always part of a band. I’m playing tonight as part of a band. I just never seem to get into a regular band situation, because – I don’t know, perhaps nobody asks me or something? But I much prefer a band. I do write solo. I’ve never been able to sit down with another person to write. To me it’s a very personal thing. We’d never write together with Mott, what we used to do was write separately. Mick (Ralphs) would write solo, I’d write solo and we’d just bung ‘em in and if there were pieces missing we’d help each other out. You can come in with a riff and go ‘I’ll give you this, put that there’. You can do it that way. That is how we did it. But I can’t even bear to have somebody around while I’m actually writing. I don’t mind later if it gets chopped around, but not at the time. I’m so fixed on what it should be that it just pisses everybody off anyway."​

Tim

 

I am day late with this, anniversary of 13th Sept 1973 Mott the Hoople concert in LA. We are fortunate to have a snippet of video.



Tim

 

Great work on this thread Tim and many thanks. I have discovered much and rediscovered much more. A great artist still pulling the punches.

 

I had no idea Luther was in the band at this time. This period has always been a bit fuzzy to me. According to the Just a Buzz website Just a Buzz - Mott The Hoople - Concert Dates Mick's final gig was August 19, 1973 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and then three days later, August 22, they did an ABC In Concert TV show in New York City. Did do the TV gig without a lead guitarist or bring in a temporary substitute? Just a Buzz then says that the next gig, August 25, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was cancelled. Then they went back to England for rehearsals with an appearance on Top of the Pops on September 3. This is when I would think they brought in Luther. More rehearsals, then to LA for the Midnight Special TV show September 11, followed by another couple of days of rehearsals and this Don Kirschner TV show September 13 and a US tour.

 

That tallies more of less with what Campbell Devine says. "Mott appeared on Top of the Pops with Bender to promote All the Way from Memphis before flying back to America to commence the second leg of their tour, starting at the Palladium in Los Angeles on 14 September." Devine references the Midnight Special as being on the previous night but I think he has merged this in his mind with the Don Kirschner TV show.

Tim

 

I remember when i was watching ABC'S in concert in 1973 and Mick Ralphs was on that broadcast. They played Live. That seems to be a rare one. Maybe someday we'll get to see it.

 

Ian Hunter says that his book Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star will be reissued next year:

"Diary is being reissued by Omni Books in 2018. Scheduled for summer release, but might be later – if I tour in the fall."

Horse’s Mouth (Issue #189, December 2017)

I may buy it since although I have a copy somewhere I can't find it!

Tim

 

Funny you mention that....I thought I lost mine but I found it recently while looking on a shelf for something else entirely! So don't give up, yours should turn up someday.

 

Now you need to look for something else so that you can that Wishbone Ash album !

 

LOL. Unfortunately it took me something like 5 years to stumble on where Ian's book went. So it could be another 5 until I find that Ash XM CD. Part of the problem is that it is the disc is in that thin mini-album sleeve thing, so it does not stand out well amongst all my other stuff lying around.

(sorry to derail the thread, back to Ian/Mott)

 

"No. I mean, that guy did that. And now I’ve got to beat him. It’s as simple as that. I look back on them with absolutely nothing. I don’t feel a thing. I never look back. I can’t look back. I can only look forward. I still feel I’m a viable proposition and I’m still happening. But whether I am or whether I’m not, why should I want to look at that ****? I don’t think I even have any of those albums. What interests me now is what I’m writing now. I mean, to look back and do all that ******** is alright when you’re seventy-five or something, then you can go ‘ah, we weren’t too bad after all’ (in frail quavering voice). But right now I’m not the slightest bit interested. No – neither was Mick (Ronson). We never sat around listening to old records and all that like people seem to think we do. Never."

I think he is being a cranky bastard here. I think he does own his old albums and Mott's as well. And I thought he was 75 or there about?????

And he sure as hell listens to other artists old records, absolutely sure of it.

There might be a bit of resentment if they had bad record deals, and he sees little income from the Island era, I can see not wanting to bother much with it until he retires if he ever does.

 

I think it probably just a case of him being sick of people continually bringing up his past.

Artists tend to live in the now looking forward.
Fans however (& you need to look no further than this forum) are mostly stuck in the past.

Reflection is something artists do when they have finished & retired. Ian Hunter doesn't look like iether are on the horizon.

 

I can come at this from both sides.

First, I get being an artist and wanting your "current thing" to be at the forefront. I honestly do. I'd never want my career to be only viewed through the prism of something I did shortly after I started at a given gig when I'd been at the job for decades.

Now, moving on from that, I also get the fan approach and think people are being... uncharitable, to put it politely when it comes to how fans relate to music. Yes, there are fans capable of handling an artist's body of work as a cohesive whole and respecting all of it. However, even those have favorites. Bits that hit them just right at a particularly receptive place in life, etc. Not every hit lands. Sorry, but that's not how people work - particularly when dealing with the arts.

So yeah, while some people are clearly hoping they can relive 19 forever (which is sad), it's also kind of daft to expect people to just go, "oh, well this was the most powerful relationship I had to this person's work, but it offends them, so I'll just drop it and pretend whatever they just put out is just as amazing."

 

The side I come from is...if you love the songs from when you were 19, listen to the records.
If you want to hear the artist 40+ years later sing all your favorites...listen to the records.
If you go to see the artist 40+ years later, and don't accept what he/she/they have to offer, you don't like the artist. You just like some songs.

Give me something new, every single time.

 

None of this applies to the real reasons Ian comes off as a "living only in the present jerk". The real reason is he has not very long ago gone over all of it including early Mott albums and gig in some fine detail. He should of just said that, rather than being so "looking only ahead" when the truth is Ian has not that many years to look forward to here on this life after 80.

 

78 this year but only about 60 when he did that interview

 

Cranky bastard at 60 even. LOL