Mott the Hoople
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Mott the Hoople
- Artist: Mott the Hoople
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1969
- Total Time: 39:01
- Genre: Rock
Review
Enough works on Mott the Hoople's eponymous debut album, and enough is so imaginatively freewheeling, that it's easier to think of the record as a bit more successful than it actually is. After all, their combination of Stonesy swagger, Kinks-ian crunch, and Dylanesque cynicism is one of the great blueprints for hard rock, and its potential is apparent the moment their monumental instrumental "You Really Got Me" kicks off the record. This is followed by two covers, Doug Sahm's "At the Crossroads" and Sonny Bono's "Laugh at Me," that demonstrate their musicality more than their depth, since all three of these songs sound like they derive from the same vantage point. Then, to cap it off, Ian Hunter turns in "Backsliding Fearlessly" and Mick Ralphs gives Mott their first anthem with the pile-driving "Rock and Roll Queen." Up to this point, Mott the Hoople is wildly imaginative and invigorating, and that's enough to make this a fine debut, even if it falls off the tracks during the second side. The first side and those two originals reveal a band whose rowdy power is matched by sly humor, clever twists, and fierce intelligence -- all qualities they built a career on, and this blueprint still stands the test of time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi| Mott [Legacy Edition] (1973 Album by Mott the Hoople) | |
| Mott the Hoople Family Album (Album by Various Artists) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Mott the Hoople (album)
| Mott the Hoople | ||||
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| Studio album by Mott the Hoople | ||||
| Released | November 1969 UK, 1970 US | |||
| Recorded | May-June 1969, Morgan Studios, Willesden, London | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 38:26 | |||
| Label | Atlantic (US), Island (UK) | |||
| Producer | Guy Stevens | |||
| Mott the Hoople chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | C+[2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[3] |
Mott the Hoople is the debut album by the band of the same name. It was produced by Guy Stevens and released in 1969 by Island Records in the UK (cat. no. ILPS 9108), and in 1970 by Atlantic Records in North America (cat. no. SD 8258).
Stevens, the group's initial mentor and guide, wanted to create an album that would suggest Bob Dylan singing with the Rolling Stones. This was partially achieved, with the album including several Dylanesque cover versions along with aggressive rock originals. Years later, vocalist Ian Hunter - who had only just joined the band prior to Mott the Hoople's recording and had yet to play live with them - would insinuate, in an August 1980 Trouser Press magazine interview, that the Stones' 1971 track "Bitch" bore more than a passing resemblance to this album's "Rock and Roll Queen."[4] (Both songs are in the key of Am, and use the pentatonic scale.)
An instrumental version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" introduces the album, though a vocal version was recorded and is available on Mott's compilation release Two Miles From Heaven. Doug Sahm's "At the Crossroads" (originally recorded by Sahm's Sir Douglas Quintet in 1968) and Sonny Bono's "Laugh at Me" (originally issued by Sonny & Cher on their second full-length album in 1966, but without vocals from Cher) are suitably reminiscent of Bob Dylan, as is Hunter's "Backsliding Fearlessly."
Initial copies of the album were wrongly pressed with the song "The Road to Birmingham," the B-side of their debut single, replacing "Rock and Roll Queen."
The album's cover is a colourised reproduction of M. C. Escher's lithograph "Reptiles." In an interesting coincidence considering Guy Stevens' desire for Mott to sound like the Rolling Stones, in early 1969 Mick Jagger had approached Escher wanting to commission a painting for the cover of the Stones' upcoming album Let It Bleed; Escher declined the request.[5]
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Contents
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Track listing
- "You Really Got Me" (Ray Davies) 2.55
- "At the Crossroads" (Doug Sahm) 5.33
- "Laugh At Me" (Sonny Bono) 6.32
- "Backsliding Fearlessly" (Ian Hunter) 3.47
- "Rock and Roll Queen" (Mick Ralphs) 5.10
- "Rabbit Foot and Toby Time" (Mick Ralphs) 2.04
- "Half Moon Bay" (Mick Ralphs, Ian Hunter) 10.38
- "Wrath and Wroll" (Guy Stevens) 1.49
2003 CD bonus tracks
- "Ohio" (Neil Young) 4.26
- "Find Your Way" (Mick Ralphs) 3.30
Personnel
- Ian Hunter - lead vocals, piano
- Pete "Overend" Watts - bass
- Mick Ralphs - lead guitar, vocals
- Verden Allen - organ
- Dale Griffin - drums
Charts
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Pop Albums | 185 |
References
- ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Mott the Hoople". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r13542. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ^ Robert Christgau. "Mott the Hoople". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=mott+the+hoople. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ^ Ira Robbins (12 April 1991). "Mott the Hoople (1991)". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20205323,00.html. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ^ "Ian Hunter Remembers," interview with Jon Young, Trouser Press, August 1980.
- ^ Wyman, Bill and Ray Coleman (1990). Stone Alone: The Story of a Rock 'n' Roll Band, Penguin/Signet, ISBN 0-451-17055-5, pp. 617-618.
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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums
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