After the success of their debut, which oscillates between early blues-based hard rock and Dylan successor, briefly even occupying the cheap spots in the UK and US charts, Mott The Hoople are among the new rock hopes of the early seventies. However, this “obviously talented but confused band” (Paul Nelson) puts themselves in such a position that at some point not only their label, but also themselves almost lose patience. After a failed gig in Zurich, they are on the verge of breaking up, but then David Bowie takes over as producer. Bowie tightens up their compositions, plasters over their musical breaks with choirs and a large band and also writes a smash hit for them.
They actually still sound like four bands that Bowie brought together under the glam umbrella
You can still see the stylistic distortions beneath the glitter-sprinkled surface. In addition to typically theatrical Mott rockers such as “Sucker” and “One Of The Boys”, there is the Stones plagiarism “Jerkin’ Crocus” and Ian Hunter’s melancholic piano ballad “Sea Diver”, which Bowie’s sidekick Mick Ronson transforms into melodramatics with a string arrangement , the mushy Velvet Underground cover “Sweet Jane” and “Ready For Love/After Lights,” a lethargic rocker that guitarist Mick Ralphs soon remodels into a Bad Company song with a few cuts.
They actually still sound like four bands that Bowie brought together under the glam umbrella. And with the pompous, sexually ambiguous title song “All The Young Dudes” he carries her over the threshold himself. Now begins the two or three years in which Mott The Hoople really sip champagne. During the following US tour, Ian Hunter writes his “Diary Of A Rock’n’Roll Star”. The 50th Anniversary Edition honors this lovely footnote in rock history in the usual lavish way with a good remaster, alternate versions, session outtakes, devotional stuff and instructive liner notes in a 72-page book.
Author: Frank Schäfer