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Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter

Mott The Hoople CD: "Family Anthology"

Sleeve and track listing

Angel Air SJPCD 196. (4 stars!)

Disc 1

  1. Mott The Hoople Walking With A Mountain (live)
  2. British Lions One More Chance To Run
  3. Overend Watts She's Real Gone1
  4. Mick Ralphs Can't Get Enough (original demo)
  5. Les Norman and the Buddies I Ain't Got You1 (with Mick Ralphs)
  6. MOTT She Does It (live)
  7. The Rats Morning Dew
  8. Doc Thomas Group BareFootin'
  9. Verden Allen St Tropez 1
  10. Dale Griffin aka Cruddy Drekko The Lady Is A Tramp1 (with Overend Watts)
  11. The Silence Something Else1
  12. Phil Hendriks Mommas Little Jewel1 (with Overend Watts)
  13. Mott The Hoople Can You Sing The Song That I Sing1
  14. Mott The Hoople All The Way From Memphis
  15. Ariel Bender Band Roll Away The Stone1
  16. Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson American Music

Disc 2

  1. Mott The Hoople All The Young Dudes (live)
  2. British Lions Wild In The Street
  3. Ray Majors Leave Me Be (with Joe Elliott)
  4. Mott The Hoople Laugh At Me (live)
  5. MOTT Born Late 58 (live)
  6. The Paper Bags Let's Rat
  7. John Fiddler Strong Heart
  8. Mick Ralphs That's Life
  9. The Rats Telephone Blues
  10. Doc Thomas Group Just Can't Go To Sleep
  11. Jon Best and the Shakedown Sound Good Morning1 (with Overend Watts, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Dale Griffin)
  12. Mott The Hoople Sweet Angeline (live)
  13. Mott The Hoople The Chosen Road1
  14. Bad Company Hideaway (live)
  15. Mott The Hoople Golden Age of Rock n Roll (live)
  16. Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson Sons and Lovers

1 Previously unreleased

Review

This is the second "family album" to feature Mott The Hoople, albeit the first on Angel Air. Like the first, this is a "roots and branches" affair but with one major difference: the inclusion of previously unreleased material, thus tempting fans to part with their hard-earned cash.

With the exception of the two Ian Hunter tracks (both taken from the criminally underrated YUI Orta), all of the material here is sourced from Angel Air itself. So for Spooky Tooth (Bender's pre-Mott The Hoople band), "classic" Bad Company and the rest you'll have to look elsewhere.

However, it is the unreleased material the fans will be turning to. There's a new one from Overend Watts - very different from what you'd expect and impossible to describe. There's a new one from Verden Allen, the magnificent, soaring St Tropez which is reminiscent of material from his first (and best) solo album Long Time No See. Something Else is a powerful, ballsy track from the Silence 1990 reunion album Shotgun Eyes.

Then there's the two previously-unreleased Mott The Hoople tracks. Can You Sing The Same Song I Sing is rambling, very much in the mould of When My Minds Gone (Mad Shadows) and made up on the spot. It is an edited version (not the full-length version, which is some ten to fifteen minutes long) but I'm glad it's finally made it onto an official release. The Chosen Road is welcome too, another outtake from Mad Shadows and apparently unfinished (although listening to it you wouldn't know it).

The other tracks are a good introduction to the various roots and branches releases on Angel Air, with hardly a duff one among them. An excellent and comprehensive booklet by Keith Smith, Dale Griffin and Overend Watts gives comprehensive information on each track.

Overall, highly recommended.