Mott The Hoople
(Copyright © 1999 Piero Scaruffi | Legal restrictions - Termini d'uso )
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Led by guitarist Mick Ralphs, Mott the Hoople was initially a bluesy
hard-rock band but Ian Hunter's vocals (a clear imitation of Bob Dylan) made
it different from the average.
Mott the Hoople (Atlantic, 1969), inspired by Bob Dylan's
Blonde On Blonde, contains their anthemic Rock And Roll Queen.
The band transitioned to a mellower style with a series of mediocre albums:
Mad Shadows (Atlantic, 1970),
Wildlife (Atlantic, 1971),
and the hardest rocking of them all,
Brain Capers (Atlantic, 1972), with
Hunter's plaintive Sweet Angeline.
Glam-rocker David Bowie rescued them by offering them
the decadent anthem All The Young Dudes, the hit from
All The Young Dudes (Columbia, 1972).
Mott (1973) contained The Ballad Of Mott The Hoople, the driving
All The Way From Memphis, Honaloochie Boogie and a
proto-punk anthem, Violence
Hunter launched his solo career with a book, "Diary Of A Rock Star", while Ralphs left to form Bad Company, while A new line-up, with Luther Grosvenor on guitar and keyboardist Morgan Fisher, recorded The Hoople (1974), with The Golden Age Of Rock N Roll, Roll Away The Stone and another proto-punk anthem, Crash Street Kids, plus the single Saturday Gigs. The last Mott The Hoople (by then shortened to Mott) albums were Drive On (1975) and Shouting And Pointing (1976).
Relocating to New York, and hiring Mick Ronson on guitar, Hunter was far more
successful than the group with
Ian Hunter (Columbia, 1975), that contains his classic
Once Bitten Twice Shy,
All American Alien Boy (1976), that contains
the nostalgic serenade Irene Wilde.
Overnight Angels (1977) was his ultimate decadent album, but, in terms
of artistic value,
You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic (Chrysalis, 1979) was the
real deal, led by
the rousing trio of Just Another Night, Wild East and
Cleveland Rocks and topped by the anthemic Bastard
(plus the poppy When The Daylight Comes and the power-ballad
Standin' In My Light).
Ronson died of cancer in 1993. Suprisingly the partner's disappearance helped Hunter deliver some of his best performances on Dirty Laundry (Norsk, 1995). Keyboardist Morgan Fisher went on to create some of the most adventurous music on the planet with Hybrid Kids and Claws (CherryRed, 1980), two eccentric albums that predate the 1990s, and Miniatures (1980), a work for 50 performers (Lol Coxhill, Fred Frith, Robert Wyatt, Robert Fripp, Pete Seeger, etc), each being assigned only a minute. Ian Hunter continue to release solo albums Artful Dodger (1997), Rant (2001), Shrunken Heads (2007), probably the best of the series, and Man Overboard (2009). |
(Tradotto da/ translated by Matteo Gradellini) Fondati dal chitarrista Mick Ralphs, i Mott the Hoople erano inizialmente una band hard-rock blueseggiante ma la voce di Ian Hunter (una chiara imitazione di Bob Dylan) fece la differenza rispetto alla media del genere. Mott the Hoople (atlantic, 1969) ispirati da Blonde On Blonde di Bob Dylan contiene la loro solenne Rock and Roll Queen la lamentosa Sweet Angeline di Hunter. La band transitò verso uno stile più blando con una serie di album mediocri: Mad Shadows (Atlantic, 1970), Wildlife (Atlantic, 1971), ed il più hard-rock di tutti: Brain Capers (Atlantic, 1972). Il glam rocker David Bowie lì salvò offrendo loro l’inno gay All The Young Dudes (Columbia, 1972). Mott (1973) conteneva The Ballad Of Mott The Hoople, il trascinante All The Way From Memphis, Honaloochie Boogie ed un inno proto-punk Violence. Hunter lanciò la sua carriera solista con un libro, "Diary Of A Rock Star", mentre Ralphs lasciò il gruppo per formare i Bad Company, e mentre una nuova formazione, con Luther Grosvenor alla chitarra ed il tastierista Morgan Fisher, registrò The Hoople (1974), con Saturday Gigs, The Golden Age Of Rock N Roll, Roll Away The Stone e un altro inno proto-punk, Crash Street Kids. Gli ultimi album dei Mott The Hoople furono Drive On (1975) e Shouting And Pointing (1976).
Spostatosi
a New York, e assoldato Mick Ronson alla chitarra, Hunter riscosse molto più successo che
con il gruppo con Ian Hunter (Columbia, 1975), che contiene il suo>Once
Bitten Twice Shy, All American Alien Boy (1976), Reflections Of A Rock Star
e la nostalgica serenata Irene Wilde. Overnight Angels (1977) fu il suo
ultimo decadente album, ma, in termini di valore artistico, You're Never Alone With A
Schizophrenic (Chrysalis, 1979) fu il vero affare, condotto dall’eccitante trio
di Just Another Night, Wild East e Cleveland Rocks e culminante con
l’inno Bastard (più il brano pop When The Daylight Comes e la
superballata Standin' In My Light).
Le pose da ribelle diedero
ad Hunter le attenzioni della generazione punk. Hunter e Ronson continuarono a cooperare con Short Back N Sides (1981), All Of THe Good Ones Are Taken (1983), Y U I Orta (1989). Ronson morì di cancro nel 1993. La morte del partner aiutò sorprendentemente Hunter a creare uno dei suoi migliori album da solista, Dirty Laundry (Norsk, 1995). Il tastierista Morgan Fisher continuò a creare uno dei tipi di musica più avventurosa sul pianeta con Hybrid Kids e Claws (CherryRed, 1980), due album eccentrici che predatarono gli anni 90, e Miniatures (1980), un lavoro per 50 esecutori (tra cui Lol Coxhill, Fred Frith, Robert Wyatt, Robert Fripp, Pete Seeger, etc), a ciascuno dei quali venne assegnato solo un minuto. |
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