Competition for the honor of "Best Glam Rock Act You've Never Heard" has always been stiff. Matter of fact, pretty much anybody (outside the twin giants Bowie and Bolan) could qualify for that title; it's an unfortunate symptom of glam's "middle child" position, between psych and punk, that the genre itself is as forgotten as it was short-lived. But standing head and shoulders over all comers, bar none, is a little band from Hereford, England called Mott the Hoople.
Mott's story reads like a dry run for Behind the Music - only way more interesting. They formed in 1968, were signed by '69 and quickly began to generate buzz with a reportedly stunning live show, showcasing their blend of heavy guitar rock and frontman Ian Hunter's Dylanesque sneer. The band then released no less than three well-received albums between 1970 and 1972, only to be greeted again and again with indifference from the mainstream audience. Finally, after a disastrous gig in Zurich, Switzerland early in '72, they called it quits ... and that marks the beginning of their golden age. Because at that point, no less a personage than David Bowie swept in to the rescue, using the clout from his Ziggy-era rising star to resurrect Mott, produce their next record and give them the promotional/artistic boost they'd been needing all along: namely, a hit single.
And boy, was that single a doozy. Almost thirty years after its release, "All the Young Dudes" still stuns: an epochal, anthemic moment, not just generation-defining but downright youth-defining. You can tell Mott know it, too; from Mick Ralphs' Ronson-esque guitar leads to the resonant church organ courtesy Verden Allen, the track is sheer pop perfection, and Hunter delivers Bowie's lyrics like he'd written them himself and meant every word.
But for all its countless charms, "Dudes" can't quite overshadow the album which shares its name ... and folks, that says a hell of a lot about the album. Songs one and two - an inferior cover of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" and leering, strutting "Momma's Little Jewel" - hold their own, but only until track three kicks off one of the greatest quadruple whammies in rock'n'roll history: "All the Young Dudes," "Sucker," "Jerkin' Crocus," and the coup de grace, "One of the Boys." After this sequence, Dudes' rightful place in history is reserved even without the benefit of another highlight - and it's a good thing, too, since the songs after "One of the Boys" are largely undercooked relics from Mott the Hoople's pre-Bowie days.
Article comments
1 - Don Baiocchi
Great review. I flipped back and forth between your review and listening to their songs on iTunes and am definitely intrigued. Question: if I were to buy just one Mott the Hoople CD, which one would you recommend? A greatest hits? Mott? All the Young Dudes? Just curious.
2 - SFC SKI
One of the few recordings I have here is Hunter's solo album, "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic" fantastic, with excellent MIck Ronson guitar. Ronson is definitely one of the greatest and most overlooked guitarists of rock.
3 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Good call. I'd also put in a good word for the later "The Hoople" ("Crash Street Kids," "Roll Away the Stone"), and "Mind Capers" which has a song with the great title of "Death May Be Your Santa Claus).
4 - marty G.
Congratulations!! You have truly captured the essence of the Mott The Hoople story during the Bowie period. They have been my favorite band since I was in high school and first heard them. Though they have never receieved the recognition that they truly deserve, they cleared the way for many who followede with grester success. Ian still rocks in a mighty fashion even today.
5 - Zach
Thanks for all the compliments, everybody. I'm actually very interested in the Hunter/Ronson stuff, since I'm in total agreement with SFC SKI about his underappreciated status as a guitarist. Guess "Never Alone with a Schizophrenic" is now on my "to-hear" list.
As for a good starting point, both of these albums are fantastic. Personally, I heard "Mott" first (my mom had an original vinyl copy, complete with loving teenage writing in blue ink on the inner sleeve) and I wasn't scared away. It's generally agreed to be their most definitive record. But shit, "All the Young Dudes" and "One of the Boys" are so GOOD!
6 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Glad to also see you mention "I Wish I was Your Mother"--a beautiful, poignant song. I listed it #2 in my "Best Closong Lines in Rock" from earlier this year:
Oooooh I wish I was your mother
I wish I'd been your father
'n then I would have seen you
Would have been you as a child.
Played houses with your sisters
And wrestled with all your brothers
And then who knows
I might have felt a family for a while.
7 - Rodney Welch
I never really think of Mott as a great glam record, although I guess it is. Glam is not, to me, its defining characteristic -- certainly not like it is with the New York Dolls debut or T. Rex's The Slider or Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. There's something gleefully corrupt about those records that I don't really see in Mott.
Rather, I think of it as one of the great rock and roll autobiographies, a tale of life on the road -- not unlike Jackson Browne's Running on Empty -- and life in a band that never quite made it, knows it is about to vanish, and is going out with a blast. I think of it as a farewell record, no less great for being somewhat premature.
It's about the great joy of rock and roll ("All the Way From Memphis," "Honaloochie Boogie"), groupies and lovers ("Whizz Kid," "Drivin' Sister"), rock star braggadocio ("Violence") and, especially, the here-today-gone-tomorrow ephemerality of the whole star-making machinery: "You ain't the nazz...You're just a buzz...Some kinda temporary..." as Ian Hunter sings in "Hymn for the Dudes."
The sense of regret, of being the Next Big Thing and then blowing it, is echoed in the frankly confessional "Ballad of Mott the Hoople": "I changed my name in search of fame to find the Midas touch/I wish I'd never wanted then what I want now twice as much." (Has there ever been a greater couplet about the sheer addictive lure of rock glory?)
"I Wish I Was Your Mother" doesn't fit in this pattern so neatly -- remember I said it was loose -- but it's still a perfect closer. It's a personal, somewhat self-deprecating lament for a closeness and intimacy that could only be wished for, which is maybe not all that far from what Hunter seems to think he promised his fans and never delivered. ("You know all the tales we tell, you know the band so well/And still I feel, somehow, we let you down," as he sings in "Ballad.")
Mott is as wistful as it is energetic; a look back, a look forward, a lasting testament from a band that still can't erase that Rock n' Roll feeling from its mind.
8 - Zach
Very true, Rodney - Mott the Hoople was glam in sound alone, not very camp at all. Hell, they didn't even wear makeup. And Mott, the album, was one of the few times when rock'n'roll got self-reflexive without disappearing up its own asshole. I usually hate rock music about playing rock music, but that record is the shining exception.
9 - Vern Halen
An excellent review!
My own pick for best Hoople album is Brain Capers, their last before jumping record labels to Columbia and Dudes fame. It's glam rock without the glam, as rock as you'll ever hope to get from anywhere - right up the with Free's Heartbreaker and Who's Next as early 70's classics.
10 - Rodney Welch
Another occasionally self-reflecting (actually self-hating) rock and roll record from someone with a foot in glam: Lou Reed's Street Hassle. It's one of the key records in my life, although it tends to be a bit of a hard sell to others. Check it out sometime.
11 - Bill
I have always considered Mott the Hoople as the greatest rock-n-roll band ever...sorry Stones. It would be hard to pick only one album from them as THE one to listen to because each album is so different. In my opinion, 1973's "Mott" album is probably their best studio album followed closely by "All the Young Dudes" and "Brain Capers". Their "Live" album will be the best live record ever recorded! Remember, Mott the Hoople are an acquired taste, not a mass appeal type band. They were not glam, but the ultimate under-dog type rock-n-roll band. Yes, that includes the Rolling Stones.
12 - Vern Halen
That 30th anniversary live album is something - the Hammersmith staff tries to lower the curtian during the final number, resulting in an altercation between the staff & Mott's road crew while the band played on, a performance recorded for posterity's sake. That's rock 'n' roll for y'all. And it has the great Ian Hunter line: "There was a time, when we were ordinary commoners, just like you...and we used to eat!"
13 - pseudolus
"Mott was also the first rock band to have a show on Broadway (during the Mott period). I'm an old fart who remembers their radio hayday. While GlamRock was never one of my fave genres - these guys just rocked, nevermind the makeup.
"And Y-U-I-Orta, another (hard to find) collaboration betweeen Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson, is just a terrific album, end-to-end. It gets more playtime than Mott albums do on my musicboxes. They beat the Rolling Stones at their own game on a couple of tunes and do the same to a few other bands elsewhere on the disk."