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

Waterlow is my favorite, it's heartbreaking, the strings make it even more sad than The Debt.

 

Ian Hunter Stranded in Reality

 

Not that this counts for anything, but I would give the first two Mott albums maybe 5 or 6 out of 10 stars each. They have stuff I like but overall are not albums I go back to very often.

However for Wildlife I can only give it a 0 or a 1. Just dreadful IMO.

 

I'd not rate it quite that low, but it's clearly a significant step down for me.

I agree that "Keep a Knockin'" is a bit incongruous on this album, but as the closing track it makes a great transition to the creative (though sadly not commercial) triumph that was to follow. From ballads and mellow with nods to folk and country to literally "who gives a f--k" pre-punk...

Not much more to say on this one, but I'm already loaded and ready to go once we move on...

One side comment... I propose that we pause between the Island and CBS years (and again when we transition from Mott to solo Hunter) and cover the various retrospective and live albums from the preceding period. There are some truly great tracks on those and it would be a missed opportunity to not give them their due.

 

Aw man, try to give it a fresh listen. Program out the Mick Ralphs tracks if you have to. Hunter is doing some good work here I tell ya! (Or am I just a Hunter fanboy--it's possible )

 

i remember when i found "Wildlife" in a cutout bin in the later 70s, whist I was in high school, after getting the CBS lp's, i wasn't quite sure if i liked it or not! I do like "It Must Be Love" a bit, and I always thought in "Keep a Knocking'", when Mick Ralph's guitar comes in, to me it sounded not unlike Sex Pistols or Clash chording!! Not the whole song of course, but the first few bars that kick in are pretty raw for 1971!

 

I'm late to the party, but I'm going to use this thread to express these thoughts about Mott:

• Although all their albums have their merits, the first two albums are simply awesome. Side two of the debut is just killer. And Mad Shadows to me sounds like Sticky Fingers in its desperate and yet rockin' sound.
• The Ballad Of Mott DVD bio is a *must see*
• It was drummer Ric Menck who tipped me to early Mott, to which I owe him my eternal gratitude, even though it took several listens to appreciate those albums.

 

Thanks, I'll give that some thought. Live at Croydon for sure. Problem is there are a lot of releases out there and of variable quality.

Tim

 

I agree it would be problematic to try to cover them all, but to cherry pick a few of the best seems worthwhile.

 

A thread concerning Mick Ralphs' health posted on this forum yesterday that Mick has suffered a stroke.
Mick Ralphs »

 

Brain Capers

ILPS 9178 released November 1971

Chart position: UK zilch US 207

Ah, Brain Capers. The beginning of the end of the beginning.



After Wildlife failed to fly off the shelves, Mott the Hoople felt under pressure, even though the band’s live shows were wildly popular. In July 1971 they played at the Royal Albert Hall in London, causing such mayhem that the venue banned future rock concerts as well as sending Mott a big bill for repairs. “Originally it was just for two boxes but somehow it changed to thirty,” said Hunter, quoted by Campbell Devine, suggesting perhaps that the damage became exaggerated.

Whatever the case, it was frustrating to have such success on the road but few record sales. The band decided to do an album that was better aligned with its hard-driving stage shows. In August 1971 they returned to the studio. The initial plan was to self-produce, but after a week or so they invited Guy Stevens back, in search of more energy. Or perhaps they always wanted him; Hunter is quoted saying, “Guy was pissed off because we hadn’t asked him to do it originally. We’d been looking for him, but hadn’t been able to find him because he was off on another of his binges.”

“The early Mott-produced sessions are relaxed and atmospheric, while the subsequent recordings with Guy Stevens have a raw and aggressive manner,” said Dale Griffin (Buffin).

Going by the account in Devine’s book, the sessions sound manic. Stevens set fire to the studio on one occasion. On another occasion he freaked out and smashed a clock when told he was overrunning. On the last day, “Guy got us drunk out of our heads, we put the tracks down, then smashed up the studio,” said Pete Watts.

Well, the results don’t sound quite that chaotic, but there’s no doubt that Stevens was able to inspire an energy that was lacking on Wildlife – though the softer Mott-produced tracks which appeared later as outtakes have their own appeal.

The album has often been compared to punk rock, four or five years ahead of its emergence in the UK, especially the track The Moon Upstairs, with its pounding rhythm and aggressive lyrics. “I swear to you before we’re through you’re gonna feel our every blow. We ain’t bleeding you we’re feeding you, but you’re too f-ing slow.”

The lyrics can also be seen as referring to Island Records, with whom the band felt increasingly uncomfortable. They felt that Island could not come to terms with the raucous side of the band, and did not do enough to promote them, despite demanding a heavy touring schedule.

The album was originally to be called AC/DC, reflecting the rock vs ballads offered by the band. Then Stevens came up with two other titles, Bizarre Capers and Brain Damage. He combined two, making Brain Capers, and credited the sleeve design to Bizarre Damage.

Brain Capers is widely admired, but has never been a big seller. Julian Cope’s review is worth a look:

“Recorded live in the studio over a span of four days, it was rendered as if cognizant of teetering the verge of being dumped by their record company -- which, as time would show, they were.”​

Death may be your Santa Claus is the opener, originally called How Long (which makes more sense), a rocker by Ian Hunter and Verden Allen. It sets the scene with an urgent beat, swirling organ, and defiant lyrics “I don’t care what the people say, I don’t give a _ anyway”.

Your Own Backyard is a cover; the song is by Dion (DiMucci), an American singer-songwriter, though Mott make it their own with a propulsive performance. The vocal is mixed low in the mix.

Darkness Darkness is another cover; a 1969 song by Jesse Colin Young of Youngbloods fame. The original is softer than Mott’s effort, though still quite a spooky song. “Darkness darkness, be my blanket, cover me with the endless night. Take away the pain of knowing, fill the emptiness of right now.” A song that would not have been out of place on Mad Shadows. Ralphs takes the lead vocal.

The Journey is an eight and half minute epic by Hunter, and closes side 1. It was based on a poem by Hunter, inspired by a bridge in London known for its suicides (lovely). The song shows Mott’s softer side, but on Brain Capers even the songs that start quietly have their crescendos and manic moments.

Sweet Angeline is a rocker by Hunter which became a live favourite. The band was apparently unhappy with the performance and wanted to re-record, but Stevens refused. Perhaps he liked the raw, chaotic feel of the song.

Second Love by Allen is a favourite of mine. It is the first song he wrote according to Devine. It is about going out with a girl who has a “second love,” which is her Jewish religion. “Why does it have to be this way?” sings Allen. Jim Price plays trumpet giving the song a soaring feel.

Next up is the aforementioned The Moon Upstairs. Credited to Hunter and Ralphs, it began as a country song, before it morphed into a pre-punk classic. The title “meant nothing really”, said Ralphs, though it was something to do with the moon making you insane (“lunatic”).

The album closes with The Wheel of the Quivering Meat Conception, which is really a two-minute outtake from sessions for The Journey, extracted by Guy Stevens and given one of his wild titles. Featuring strange noises, feedback, and a Stevens voiceover which sounds like an intro rather than an ending.

Sometimes portrayed as Mott’s lost classic, Brain Capers is not one of my absolute favourites, though it is a remarkable piece. This is heavy rock and deals with some dark themes, perhaps even more so than Mad Shadows. “Those of you who always laugh, let this be your epitaph,” says The Moon Upstairs. The influence of Guy Stevens is very evident. It was his last album with Mott, and the band that emerged post-Stevens had a lighter touch.

The one thing it did not do of course was to become a best seller, a problem that pushed Mott to breaking point. But that is for another post.

 

My favorite Mott The Hoople album. Great album.

The cover of Your Own Backyard is excellent as is Darkness, Darkness. Ian Hunter and the band were great at interpreting material from others.

My favorite original here is the punkish The Moon Upstairs. However, Death May Be Your Santa Claus, the Journey and Sweet Angeline are also excellent.

I like the dynamics on this album between the slower portions and the more uptempo tracks.

 

These first four albums by Mott the Hoople appear to be out of print on CD, or nearly so, which is a shame. You can still get downloads.

Tim

 

I use to love Mott the Hoople. I stopped listening to them once Ian Hunter and Mick Ralphs left the band. The final lineup of Mott the Hoople didn't do much for me.

 

That is sad because at the minimum Brain Capers should always be in print.

 

You are in luck; we are still in 1971

Tim

 

Brain Capers is possibly my favorite Mott record. When it's playing, it is for sure. Great covers, great lyrics, great swirling, stomping rock and roll. The ballads are some of their best. I didn't care for the direction they went in on Wild Life, but this one set them back on the right path IMO.

Casual fans don't know this exists. Real fans love it.

 

I just listened to that one today. Now, I am listening to All The Young Dudes (Columbia/Legacy 2006).

You can smoke my cigar all night through the link in your chain.

 

Even the Angel Air discs from 2008? That is sad, the bonus tracks on those were great.

 

I'm surprised by that - I know they were reissued (I never got around to picking up the reissues though, except for Brain Capers).

Anywho, I LOVE Brain Capers. My first exposure to MTH was the Mott album (one of my top 10 albums ever), then The Hoople (huge disappointment for me but I won't go into why until we get to it), then Dudes (which I love), then the R&R Queen comp, and then this one which I bought as a cutout for like a buck.

Being from the US, the cover art for my LP looked like this though:



Supposedly that mask was included inside the UK version but not on the cover art?

 

As usual I've managed to catch onto a thread further on down the road. Appropriatley I've joined this thread at the same point that I discovered the band with the Brain Capers album.
I have a massive cd collection and I really enjoy threads like this as it gives me a focus on what to listen to and the chance to see & hear what others think about the albums. I have only had the first 3 Mott The Hoople albums for a couple of years but have not spent much time with them (the downside of a massive collection is that stuff can get overlooked for ages).
So currently I'm listening to the 1st album and it's not hard to see that people at the time thought that it was Dylan with a different backing band. The current track playing (bonus track on Angel Air reissue cd) is Ohio (live CSNY cover) it's great. Is it Mick Raplhs singing because I like it. Also the harmonies are very good. The sound on the cd is fabulous with Pete Watts thundering bass prominent.

Overall i'd give the album 7 or 8 out of 10 - a great debut with a nice variety of sounds.

I agree with a previous comment about it being strange that they didn't do any Dylan covers.

Thanks for the thread I'll try & catch & keep up.

 

I've just finished my listen to Mad Shadows - again it is the Angel Air CD reissue - the sound is very good but maybe not as good as the 1st album but certainly not something you'd compalin about. The squeaky drum pedal was noticable straight away. In fact I'm glad it had been mentioned before I listened because I thought at first it was a fault in the disc or my system.

So rating the album I see it as a very good follow up album, certainly no 2nd album blues. Not quite as good as the 1st but not far off. At least 7 out of 10.

I'm on a roll now so straight into Wild Life.

Ian Hunters book Diary Of A Rock & Roll Star has been mentioned. I got this back in the day - It was released in 1974 and documents MTH's 1972 tour from the end of November up to Christmas. From memory it is a great read and Ian comes over as anything but a Rock & Roll Star. I'll have to have a re-read if I can squeeze in some spare time but I've got a big pile of unread music books to get through already.

 

I actually like the first four quite a bit but it was a different band at that point as they were still trying to develop their identity.

i like his take on Darkness, Darkness as well. His reedy vocals were much better suited to harmonies and backing vocals but I liked most of his lead vocals. However, having said that I couldn't help but wonder how they would sound with Ian singing them.

Both Ian and Mick complimented each other as songwriters never liked Watts' songs. Born Late '58 is a poor substitute for Mick's marerial much less Ian or even Verden Allen's.

Of the early years I love Brian Capers and, Mad Shadows as well but I also have a soft spot for Wild Life where they attempted a very different folk-rock direction that was very interesting if not entirely successful.

When My Mind's Gone demonstrated that Ian isn't at his best when creating a song on the spot and on demand but it's an interesting try.

 

Once you hear that squeaking pedal, you can't I hear it. My vi up version of this was a little noisy at the time so I didn't immediately notice it but it was clear as a bell on CD.

 

Its taken a bit more effort on Wildlife. I needed a second listen

Whisky Woman - pretty good but not as strong as Thunderbuck Ram on the previous release.

Angel of Eighth Avenue - for me it suffers a bit from the softer production on this album. I would have preferred it a bit more in your face similar to Ian Hunters previous ballads.

Wrong Side of the River - A good song and nice vocals from Mick Ralphs - just not what you expect from Mott The Hoople

Waterlow - I'm not a fan at all of strings & maybe in the context of later tracks on the album some pedal steel instead would have given it a more country feel

Lay Down - this is good cover of a well known song . I would have preferred if they had toned down the chorus

It must be love - the first of the tracks with a strong lean towards country-

Original Mixed-Up Kid, - another track with a strong lean towards country

Home is where I want to be - another country feel track

Keep a Knockin - I think they should have kept this track off this album & put it on the live album that they should have released

The album contains some really nice organ playing from Verdun Allen, some beautiful piano from Ian Hunter & Mick Ralphs is more prominant on acoustic rather than electric guitar

The Angel Air CD reissue contains 2 bonus tracks

It'll Be Me - written by Jack Clements and covered by many others although this is the first time I can recall hearing the song.
Long Red - written by Mountain (Pappalardi/West)
Both these tracks would fit perfectly on the first 2 albums

So overall the album is not what you expect from Mott The Hoople. The country influence reminds me of British Pub Rock from roughly the same era (Eggs Over Easy,Bees Make Honey,Brinsley Schwartz). Its not a bad album just not what you expected.I presume it didn't go down too well at the time not that it meant much because MTH were not really selling big quantities at this stage.

My rating would be 6 out of 10 - not an album I'd go back to a lot

Mott The Hoople continue to display their abilty to cover songs yet make them sound & feel like their very own