Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter

Mott The Hoople CD: "Original Mixed-Up Kids"

Sleeve and track listing

Strange Fruit SFRSCD 24. (3.5 stars!)

  1. Whiskey Women (3:04)1
  2. Darkness Darkness (3:04)2
  3. The Moon Upstairs (3:47)2
  4. The Original Mixed-Up Kid (2:59)1
  5. Thunderbuck Ram (3:39)3
  6. Your Own Backyard (live) (4:51)4
  7. Death May Be Your Santa Claus (live) (4:51)4
  8. Darkness Darkness (live) (7:10)4
  9. The Moon Upstairs (live) (5:25)4
  10. Whiskey Women (live) (4:22)4
  11. The Journey (live) (8:57)4

1 Recorded BBC Maida Vale Studios, 8th March 1971

2 Recorded BBC Maida Vale Studios, 25th October 1971

3 Recorded BBC Maida Vale Studios, 3rd February 1970

4 Recorded BBC Paris Theatre, Lower Regent Street London 30th December 1971

Running time: 52m 15s

Review

Mott the Hoople recorded a number of sessions for BBC Radio 1 during 1970 and 1971, together with several "In Concert" performances at the BBC's Paris Theatre in London. Sadly, very few of these survive in the BBC's archives due to their criminal policy (at the time) of wiping tapes for re-use after broadcast.

This CD, then, is an official release of all that survives of Mott's BBC sessions. There are five studio session tracks, and six live tracks. The live material has, of course, seen the light of day on the Sticky Fingers and Hoopling Furiously unofficial releases. Windsong had access to the BBC's original masters, so quality here is slightly better. The studio tracks have also previously been issued unofficially; sound quality here is much better.

Sleeve-notes are by Campbell Devine and are excellent. They include a complete sessionography of all Mott's BBC sessions (so we can only drool at the material which has been lost forever), and notes on all the tracks included here. Also included are several live (colour) photos.

Windsong have been trying for about five years to get this CD released (apparently Island kept blocking them), so my hat goes off to them for their perseverence. Windsong are, however, docked a point for presenting the live tracks out of real-time sequence.