Search - Mott the Hoople :: Mott

The Last Battleground of Mick & Ian

PHILIP S WOLF | SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA. USA | 05/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mott the Hoople had covered lot's of ground since the first album was released way back in 1969. Described as "Dylan's, Blond on Blond meets spacey Roller Skating Rink music" the band had nothing to prove to me by the 1973 release of their 6th record " MOTT ". I was a crazy off-kilter teenaged wastland and their music was the soundtrack of my life. Still I was upset over " Dudes " as not being the best way to represent this great band. Sorry to tell you kid's, but once you labeled Mott the Hoople a 'Glam' band you destroyed them!

"Dudes" turned Mott the Hoople into "Corporate Product " and ripped the Guts out of their center. The Great Verden Allen left the band after being labeled one of "Bowie's Chldren " and then the death blow came right after the release of this album with the departure of Guitartist Mick Ralphs.

Ian Hunter was non to happy of the labels being slapped upon this great band after David Bowie's production on "All the Young Dudes " became their commercial Breakthrough to AM radios in the United States. And on "Mott " he now had something to prove that Bowie DID NOT invent this band. In his anger and the loss of Allen the Songs flowed and the Group took over Production to disprove it was all a 'Magic Act' from the Gods of Glam.

Proof that Greatness was still lighting the fires of Rock was "All the Way From Memphis" (as used in the film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" by the son when he is pissed off at his Mother, and he blasts it at her). "Hymm for the Dudes" shows the band want's to break their ties to Glam, But refuse to throw out their Platform shoes just yet. "Drivin' Sister" is flat out Rock, and one of the best songs written and performed by ANYONE! and in it's simple drive, it is PERFECT .

Mick has only one selection featured here "I'm a Cadillac" and it's been labeled as a 'Minor Tune' but it is a Stellar production and features the best playing of the band on "Mott". Mick DID deserve Fame & Fortune but Bad Company pales in the shadow of what Mott the Hoople could have been.

It all ends with "I Wish I Was Your Mother", those mandolins echo on to the Heavens. If you want a list of the 10 Greatest Rock Albums of the 70's "Mott" would be on that list, as the group was one of the best of that decade.

Another record follows this one and it pales when it is compared to this, and features a REALLY CRAPPY GUITARIST then came the live album three years too late and after the fact with some really sloppy playing and a REALLY CRAPPY GUITARIST but those last two recording were the most popular things they released and remain their Legacy Forever, well they did Burn Out and didn't just Fade away.

"MOTT" is a FIVE STAR RECORD by a band that had a lot to say with only a very short time to do so (1969-1973). The Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame is a JOKE... This was OUR BAND



Anger & Angst... This is Rock, at it's very BEST ."

A Fondly Remembered Mott-ley Crew

R. Mix | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 03/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The booklet that comes with every copy of 'Mott' contains this description from 'Rolling Stone': "The best album from the best band of the early-seventies." I don't quite buy into the idea that Mott the Hoople was the best band of the early-seventies, but 'Mott' is definitely one of that decade's shining lights.



Melodic, wistful and rocking, 'Mott' remains the sole album where this star-struck band was able to put it all together. It oozes disillusionment, testament to their one step forward, two steps back existence as they continually battled indifference and inter-band conflicts. True to form, no sooner had they finished recording their breakthrough than guitarist Mick Ralphs left to form Bad Company, leaving a hole in the band that would never adequately be filled.



The band was perfectly balanced by Ralphs' economical but highly-effective guitar playing, and Ian Hunter's dramatic vocal style. While Hunter's vocal mannerisms could be a bit over-the-top at times, the contrast was powerful, and each seemed to complement the other.



Always literate, Mott had a talent for depicting a certain lost grandeur and melancholy that was very English. It couldn't have been lost on Hunter how Mott's fortunes mirrored those of England at large. But when the mood seized them, they could rock with utter abandon. "All The Way From Memphis", "Honaloochie Boogie" and "Whizz Kid" are the honking, stomping proof.



'Mott's bonus tracks are strong, and Bruce Dickinson's remastering is wonderful. It leaves the band's heft intact while articulating sonic detail and separation. To anyone who grew-up listening to 'Mott' on vinyl, it is a revelation. Best of all, 'Mott' remains untouched by classic rock radio. So anyone wanting to taste this wonderful slice of seventies rock needn't worry about an expired freshness date.



Thank you Sony/Legacy from the very bottom of my heart.



"

Absolute Gem from 1973!! Belongs next to "Dark Side of the M

bass boy | Arkansas | 02/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tremendously great LP. By far, the best studio LP Mott the Hoople ever cut, although "All The Young Dudes" (also reissued today by Sony Legacy) and the easily-obtainable import "Mott the Hoople Live (1974 - expanded 30th Annivesary Edition)" also are necessary to round out any truly great musical collection. This reissue of "Mott" doesn't stray too far from the original warm, fat sound found on the LP, although it is clearer than the 1988 CBS CD version. The only difference I could detect in this reissue and that first CD pressing is there's a bit of horns near the beginning of "All The Way From Memphis," right before Ian Hunter's vocals come in for the first time, that aren't on the original 1988 CD. Who knows, maybe the 1988 CD omitted the horns, if they were originally recorded in 1972/73 but not not used, either on the vinly LP version of the first CD. Whether the horns were originally on the LP or not (I have the vinyl but my turntable is inactive) remains a mystery to me.

However, that is the only artistic difference I noticed in the new CD version, and it really doesn't take away from the wonderful vibe that runs rampant through "Mott." Everything else seems to be the exact same vocal takes, guitar parts, bass, drums, etc. Also, this CD reissue includes the complete piano introduction to "All the Way From Memphis," which mysteriously was cut off from Sony Legacy's 2003 reissue of "Mott the Hoople Greatest Hits." Fans will feel the comfort when they hear the piano-pounding back in its proper place on "Mott." Guitarist Mick Ralphs' mandolins on Hunter's exceptional "I Wish I WasYour Mother" really jump out more on the remastered version, solidifying the fact that this cut, despite its odd title, is one of the greatest songs the British group ever cut.

Overall, the standouts are too numerous to list ... "Honolochie Boogie" is fun, kind of like The Stones paying an homage to the 1950s era, complete with Sun Records-like echo and delay on Hunter's barking vocals, and the Bob Dylan-like "Ballad of Mott The Hoople" and the cryptic "Hymn for the Dudes" also are stellar tracks on this masterpiece, which should have sold more than The Stones' "Goats Head Soup" that year but didn't. It's too bad that Mott split too soon, in late 1974. Ralphs quit right after "Mott" was recorded and eventually went on to form Bad Company with vocal great Paul Rodgers, and Hunter dove into a solo career that has won critical acclaim and some fans, but not as many fas as Hunter deserves. Mott the Hoople did carry on for two more studio LPs and a live disc from circa 1976 with another singer, but without Hunter AND Ralphs, it wasn't the same artisitc beast.

Anyone interested in seeing what all the fuss was about circling Mott the Hoople in the early 1970s - Rolling Stone called "Mott" the "best album from the best band of the early 1970s" - this CD reissue is the perfect place to start. Once you're hooked into the group's sound, which is deeper than the really good Bad Company and more retrospective than the Rolling Stones ever were, you'll want to go for the 2004 import of "Live - Expanded: 30th Anniversary Edition," which originally was released on a single LP in 1974 and CD in the late 1980s, but now boasts a beautiful book and pretty much two complete concerts on two CDs. Although "Live" misses Ralphs - his replacement Aeriel Bender is fine but lacks some of the magic found in Ralphs' fingertips - it's still one of the greatest live albums ever put out. Just listen to Hunter on tracks like "Rose" and "Rest in Peace," two mellow tracks that build in tone and emotion and make the purchase of "Live" a necessity.

Like Badfinger and Free, Mott the Hoople have remained underrated to this day. It's a shame, because "Mott," "All The Young Dudes," "Live" and "The Hoople" (1974 studio LP) are true treasurers that will endure forever."