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The Golden Age Of Mott The Hoople!

Martin A Hogan | San Francisco, CA. (Hercules) | 04/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being one of the few seventies bands with more `live' albums than studio, "Mott The Hoople" remains one of the harder-edged, rough sounding, four chord groups that survived despite itself. This album (their best selling) shows the variety and range that Mott is capable of. Starting off the set with "The Golden Age Of Rock & Roll", with a borrowed piano intro, Mott charts a course of pure rockin' fun. "Marionette" follows closely with an almost "Queen"-like rock opera tilt, with lines and ad-libs that are mockingly hilarious. "Through The Looking Glass" is a rare combination of crass vocals, smashing guitars and orchestration that defies explanation - it just sounds good. The slowest song on the album, "Trudi's Song" will disarm you with it sincerity and brilliant arrangement. "Roll Away The Stone" closes this set perfectly and should have charted higher, but the hooks are there and it remains one of Mott's classics. It's no wonder this is still their best selling album - this IS Mott The Hoople at their best."

"Hymn For The Dudes" should've been on THIS album

Bill Board | God's Wrath, Ohio | 12/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yeah....well, that being said, still: "The Hoople" is a MOST worthy sequel to its predecessor, "Mott." Indeed, prior to the sessions that produced "The Hoople," the absolutely irreplaceable Mick Ralphs bailed out to form Bad Company with Paul Rodgers. And he was "replaced" by ex-Spooky Tooth guitarist, Luther Grosvenor, who, according to the unreliable liner notes to the 30th Anniversary "MTH Live," had to accept the name "Ariel Bender" as a prerequsite for the gig, and (sic) "Mick Ralphs doesn't bend ariels anymore." Oh, and the twinkily-mustachioed Morgan Fisher had also come on board to replace Organist Verden Allen (who'd quit an album previously, Ralphs having been a MOST admirable replacement on "Mott"). Although Ariel Bender was a ball of fire live, he...just...wasn't...in...Ralphs' league as a guitarist. Ian Hunter, vocalist/rhythm guitarist/pianist/and now producer, certainly must have been cognizant of that fact. The "lead guitar" solo Bender takes on "The Golden Age Of Rock And Roll" is, with the exception of Dr. Hook's "On The Cover Of Rolling Stone," probably the most abominable, simply atrocious "lead guitar" on record up to that point. That really, REALLY bugged me until I realized that producer Ian was making a not-so-subtle acknowledgement that all the (then) current "lead guitarists" - AND YEAH, I'M ESPECIALLY REFERRING TO JIMMY PAGE - were, in a word, masturbatory, real "wee-wee-diddly" stuff, as Keef Riffhard then noticed. And the more I listen to the song - whether in its original incarnation, or the "MTH Live" incarnation, or on Ian Hunter's "Welcome To The Club - I realize that Ian and Ariel were, um, "making a statement." The other "Hoople" songs? Well, "Alice" has a nice, "phased" bass guitar intro, but the song is kind of...dumb. Bassist Overend "Pete" Watts makes his compositional/vocal debut on the song "Born Late '58," giving us a glimpse into the future as to what MTH would sound like less than a year after "The Hoople" was released. But I absolutely treasure the little "give and take" sort of exchange that Ian and Lyndsey DePaul (I know I mispelt that - sorry) do toward the end of "Foxy Foxy," which is already a keeper because of Ian's Phil Spector-esque production. But then Ian and Lyndsey start babbling, "There's a rockabilly party on Saturday night/Are you gonna be there/OOoohh, I got my invite," and when Ian asks the Lady, "gonna bring your records?" and she replies, "Will Do!" Ian's lecherous sort of chuckle is unmatched on record - well, maybe, except for when Levon Helm sang "Up On Cripple Creek." "The Hoople" ain't a perfect record, but, given the year in which it was released, 1974, it's vastly, VASTLY superior to much of anything else at the time."

Take my mind away

Paul Montag | Minneapolis, MN | 07/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Explosive, down-home, and weird, The Hoople is a mighty fine choice of music. Because I'm drastically inclined to three of the songs ('The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll' 'Born Late '58' and 'Pearl 'n' Roy(England)' and it's not because I like apostrophes a lot), the album is imbalanced. But who cares when some of these songs sound as good as they do.



OnceBittenTwiceShy is the only Ian Hunter-involved song I've ever heard on the radio so finding out about Mott the Hoople in the early stages of the 21st centry wasn't the easiest of tasks, granted they've had some national coverage.



When I saw Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore a few years ago I remember thinking how cool and fittingly used the opening rock number was in that movie when the station wagon is rolling down the highway. How delighted I was, then, upon discovering Mott the Hoople, to come across that song in their catalogue (in case you don't know, it's on their other most frankly titled disk, 'Mott.')



But if you're looking to whoop it up to a frenzying degree of fun in your rock n' roll selections, listen to the opening song again and again and you'll be glad you did.



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