Search - Mott the Hoople :: Mott the Hoople - Greatest Hits Live

For Die Hard Mott Collectors Only

Glenn Heald | Culver City, CA United States | 05/09/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Mott the Hoople was one of the greatest British bands to never quite make it in America. Sure, they gained a respectable level of notice for their amazing live performances, and they'll always have the distinction of being the first band to play on Broadway (a string of sold-out shows, no less), but to be truthful, they'll also always be regarded, fair or not, as something of a One-Hit Wonder, and that from a Bowie-penned song ("All The Young Dudes"). Sadly, the only live tapes professionally produced came after Mick Ralphs had left to form Bad Company and was replaced by the energetic but woefully inadequate guitarist Ariel Bender (nee Luther Grosvener).
This cd captures the band in their best period, with Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, Overend Watts, Buffin and Verdon Allen, at their first ever headlining show in America, at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia during their late-1972 tour to support the 'Dudes' album. Unfortunately, the sound is so terrible as to strip the performance of much of its power. Not only is the mix way too heavy on vocals, but the audience reaction has been "enhanced" to a ridiculous degree and robs the recording of authenticity. The mix starts off horrible and though it improves somewhat as the show progresses, it never sounds clear and defined. Often the bass and organ are nowhere to be heard and the vocals and guitar are so loud as to buzz and distort for much of the first half. The boys play their hearts out, and it sounds like the performance must've been great to see live, but we are left with a poor example of their awesome power.
It's telling to note that Ian Hunter, in his book written during this tour "Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star" (the best music book ever written, hands down) talks about this tape and calls it "bloody awful".
Highlights are Jerkin' Crocus, One of the Boys, and Sweet Jane.
I give the performance five stars, but the sound is so bad as to make this record of value only to the hard-core Mott fan who wants to hear anything and everything they can from the band."

Great live versions of already classic Mott songs!

Brian | 07/08/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This concert comes after David Bowie had already completely changed Mott's image, style of music, work ethic, and what they stood for. This isn't always a bad thing. Bowie did a great job producing their album "All The Young Dudes" and writing the hit song for them by the same name. Mott always already one foot in the grave when Bowie stepped into the picture. There wasn't much for him to do but pick up the pieces. However, there is still great music on this live album. The tracks I lean towards are "Sweet Jane", "Honky Tonk Women", "Jerkin' Circus", and "Sucker". This is a great live album with wonderful sound quality if that is an issue for you. An added bonus is David Bowie's short but sweet introduction."