Greetings from Adelaide, South Australia. I reckon your descriptions are pretty spot on but I would have put 'The Hoople' at number 2 it's genius. I've been a Hoople fan for 50 years. I have just discovered your channel through the Mott the Hoople Al Gore Rhythm I suppose so maybe I'll investigate further... Now I've had a look to find you've got Zappa, the Residents and the Kinks so now I feel compelled to Sub. Cheers
Your top 4 are solid picks. 'Mott' and "The Hoople' albums are my favorte. 'Roll Away the Stone' is my Favorite song, And that first side is just fabulous. My older Bro was really into them, and an Arial Bender 74 concert even. I liked the later stuff more, but there are Gems from the early stuff: 'Death may be your Santa Clause', 'Moom upstairs', 'Rock and Roll Queen' to name just a few. I saw 'Mott The Hoople 74' in 2019. Ian was awesome, up there for 2 house at almost 80 YO.
Nice list, pretty much in agreement - been a fan since 74, didnt get to see them until 2013, the last show at the 02 in London, aside from Buffin on drums was the original lineup. Ariel Bender (real name Luther Grosvenor) is ex-Spooky Tooth guitarist - he really shines on the Mott The Hoople Live LP. BTW Mick Ralphs is singing on 'Ready for Love'.
I literally lived off of your #1, "Mott," during my first time in N.Y. city. The Hoople and Roy Wood ("Boulders") were THE musicians on the juke boxes in several N.Y. bars. Such fond memories! Your overview of their albums is spot-on. Thank you for your great personality, too. You're a blast to listen to!
I was fourteen years old and Mott the Hoople were the second band I saw live at a proper evening show. This was a short time after the release of Wildlife, which a mate had bought and thus we knew the album well enough already, and we knew Mad Shadows (my intro to Hoople was Thunderbuck Ram. What a song!) too. The show was blinding (of course it was, how could it not have been?) and I remember very clearly Ian Hunter addressing the crowd and saying that this was probably one of their last ever gigs as they couldn't afford to carry on. Luckily for them, as we know, they found a saviour, but it might interest you to know that although we (me, my mates, people at school) were pleased that could continue, not many of us were so sure about the direction the great David was taking them. Let's just say that their audiences changed from being primarily male to not primarily male. And I am afraid that we all thought that the music suffered too, although I still have plenty of time for Mr. Hunter to this day. So my list would not agree with yours in many places, but there's always gonna be a different viewpoint, I think, if you were there at the time waiting for the next album from your favourite band - who knows what they will come up with - as opposed to being able to listen to a complete back catalogue. So I don't agree, but I did enjoy your reasoning, and both views are utterly valid, methinks. And lastly, Hoople were supported that evening by another British band called Bronco who brought out a couple of wonderful albums in the early 70s (their style would today be referred to as Americana, I suppose) and whose lead singer is one of the unknown giants (is that an oxymoron?) of British rock/soul singers, and to hear him you might consider checking out the Jess Roden Band from around '75-'77. Cheers!
Wonderful presentation and I'd agree 85% with how you viewed the albums. What I'd do different is flip 'Brain Capers' with 'All the Young Dudes' because I hate David Bowie's production on the latter album for the heavier songs - 'Jerkin' Crocus,' 'Mother's Little Jewel,' and 'Sucker.' Mott the Hoople was a rip-the-seats-out band live to the extent that they were banned from several major venues, which Ian Hunter has described as being cool but a bummer. At the time of the 'Wildlife' release, there was a story that it was meant to be a live album but the audience destroyed all the recording equipment as it invaded the stage and they were left with only that ten minutes of medley of live tape. The story has changed over the years, but it makes sense because the album otherwise is just weird. Still, it does have one of Ian Hunter's greatest songs, 'Waterlow,' sung by Ian in falsetto, would you believe. I would personally put 'Mad Shadows' higher. It had great songs and it is very consistent (perhaps their most consistent-sounding album alongside 'Brain Capers' and 'Mott.'). I would definitely not call 'Sea Diver' cheesy. It is about songwriting and was superbly arranged by Mick Ronson, who also arranged much of Lou Reid's 'Transformer' album in a similar vein (think 'Perfect Day). The post-Hunter and Ralph's Mott was tepid stuff, but they did have one great song - 'Career (There's No Such Thing As Rock N Roll).' There is a no more Ian Hunter song out there, except it was written by Morgan Fisher with no input from Ian Hunter whatsoever (I asked him). I would guess there are about 50,000 pretty rabid Ian Hunter fans still out there, but obviously a literally dying market. Ian has had 50 years since Mott the Hoople, has written over 300 songs in all, and his post-Mott work generally towers over Mott itself. He continued to be inconsistent into the 80s, with great albums like 'Ian Hunter,' 'You're Never Alone With A Schitzophrenic,'
Had everything from All the Young Dudes through Shouting and Pointing . I wish the live album had been a double. Agree with the description “ generic “ after Hunter left
Don't know much about this band all I knew was that Queen were their opening band and they are referenced in Queen's Now I'm Here Cool to know that Bowie gave them a song!
Seen Ian Hunter in the early eighties in Detroit Michigan and then again in London Ontario (Canada). One of the best showmen in the business. He had the whole place singing along to"Just another night". One of the best performers I have ever seen!
Yes, love me some Ian Hunter. But what sets "Brain Capers" so high on the list for me is that it DOES have a fine vocal by Mike Ralphs on "Darkness, Darkness". I find it similar to Procol Harum's "A Salty Dog" - Gary Brooker was by far a superior vocalist to Matthew Fisher. But to hear a different voice lends the album critical diversity and depth. Because the songs ARE well sung, even though the band's main singer was a stud. The same could be said for lots of top tier bands (e.g. The Who, Pink Floyd, The Band, etc).
My top 5 1 All The Young Dudes 2 The Hoople 3 Mott 4 Brain Capers 5 Mad Shadows Solo ; Ian Hunter : Ian Hunter 1975 would be #3 on list of albums and Once Bitten Twice Shy #1 in songs He is still as great as ever Saw him at City Winery in NYC several times last time was maybe 5 or 6 years ago He sounded like Dylan
Hope your okay (and still on the planet), Shaggy! Pretty consistent ranking from a band that used confusion to their advantage. Fun, heartfelt, driving and weird. MOTT is the motherlode but the albums around it are good-to-great and need to be acquired. I was cool on the early stuff until I heard "Walking with a Mountain" and "Death May Be Your Santa Claus". Insane stuff! A point of correction: Mick Ralphs sings his "Ready for Love" composition. As you indicated, it sounds a bit odd when one is used to the smooth, soulful Bad Company reading. Ralphs obviously was after that sound and couldn't really get it with Hunter. You're right about Bad Company though: competent but rarely exciting. Once they used up their best material, it was off to the tar pits. Getting back to the band in question, I'd give a shout-out to Mott's live stuff. Even when their studio albums weren't reaching audiences, their live show packed them in. They were even more forceful, ramshackle, goofy and fun on stage (Hunter being one of the great frontmen of the era) so certainly check out concert releases.
Minor quibbles. I’d slide The Hoople down 2 slots. Mod Shadows so needs a remaster. The production is so veiled and muddled. I listen to Dudes the most.
I like the first album best. A mystical who-are-these guys album. At The Crossroads, Laugh At Me, Backsliding Fearlessly, Half Moon Bay ... all great. Dudes is second, very solid album. Brain Capers is third. Heavy album, but a little inconsistent. Wildlife is pretty good, but it's all over the place. I'm not a fan of Mott. Too much cheesy schtick going on. It sounds like they're trying to be everyone but themselves. I don't even own it anymore. I Wish I Was Your Mother is the lone standout track on this quite overrated album.
... 'You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic,' 'Welcome to the Club,' and 'Yui Orta.' I also love 'All American Alien Boy,' with people like David Sanborn and Jaco Pastorius, but it was radically different, like 'Mad Shadows,' and too much of a departure at the time. However, his 2000s albums have been a complete tour de force: 'Rant,' 'Shrunken Heads,' 'Man Overboard,' 'When I'm President,' 'Fingers Crossed,' 'Defiance Part I,' with 'Defiance Part II: Fiction' due out April 19, 2024. I would also add in the 1998 'Artful Dodger,' but that is more controversial. Still, if you want to give yourself a hard time, rank Ian's solo albums. I spent my early fandom of Mott tearing my hair out at their inconsistency, and the early solo Ian Hunter wasn't much better, but 1998 onwards has been total bliss. And if you should ever get the chance to see Ian live in a 2,000+ seater venue, well sell your granny, sell everything. He is amazing. In smaller venues he seems to shrink a little (a bit like tales of goldfish in small and large bowls), but in a crowded, largish venue he is really hard to beat. World class!
Thanks for this long extended part 2 comment. I am planning on dropping an Ian video but there are a handful of those inconsistent albums I need to familiarize myself with first. Thanks for the feedback and the knowledge drop!
Yeah, and it gets worse ... It sounds like you are pretty knowledgeable about the man, but in listening to one of his more inconsistent albums - 'Short Back N Sides' - right royally messed up by Mick Jones' Clash-drenched production values, you should also listen to a little-known Hunter album called, 'Long Shots & Out Takes,' where several of the songs on 'Short Back N Sides' are recorded as they should have been. If you ever get to 'best tracks of' for Ian, 'Long Shots' has an amazing rocker called 'Venus in a Bathtub' that never made an official album release but which I'm sure you'll love. ('Long Shots' is up on RU-vid, as everything is nowadays.) Another appallingly produced album is 'Overnight Angels' (Roy Thomas Baker), but Joe Elliott did excellent versions of two songs, 'Overnight Angels' and 'Golden Opportunity' on his 'Down N Outz' album of Mott and Ian Hunter covers. Anyway, I have been checking through your shows and am salivating in anticipation of some of the excellent topics you have covered. So, many, many thanks in advance.
