Mott the Hoople (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople cover
Studio album by Mott the Hoople
Released 1969
Recorded May-October 1969, Morgan Studios, Willesden, London
Genre Rock
Label (UK) Island Records
Producer Guy Stevens
Mott the Hoople chronology
Mott the Hoople
(1969)		 Mad Shadows
(1970)

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. Stevens, the group's mentor and guide, wanted to create an album that would suggest Bob Dylan singing with the Rolling Stones. This was partially achieved, though the stand-out song was, perhaps, guitarist Mick Ralphs' "Rock and Roll Queen" which curiously predicts Mott's signature sound of three years later. The album featured a number of Dylanesque cover versions and some aggressive underground rock originals. In fact, vocalist Ian Hunter had only just joined the band prior to the recording and the album was made before the band had even played live together.

An instrumental version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" introduces the album, though a vocal version was recorded and is available on Two Miles From Heaven. Doug Sahms' "At the Crossroads" and Sonny Bono's "Laugh at Me" are suitably reminiscent of Bob Dylan, as is Hunter's "Backsliding Fearlessly". Initial copies of the album were wrongly pressed with "The Road to Birmingham", the flip side of their debut single, replacing "Rock and Roll Queen".

[edit] Track listing

  1. You Really Got Me (Ray Davies) 2.55
  2. At the Crossroads (Doug Sahm) 5.33
  3. Laugh at Me (Sonny Bono) 6.32
  4. Backsliding Fearlessly (Ian Hunter) 3.47
  5. Rock and Roll Queen (Mick Ralphs) 5.10
  6. Rabbit Foot and Toby Time (Mick Ralphs)2.04
  7. Half Moon Bay (Mick Ralphs/Ian Hunter) 10.38
  8. Wrath and Wroll (Guy Stevens) 1.49
  9. Ohio (Neil Young - bonus track on 2003 CD re-issue) 4.26
  10. Find Your Way (Mick Ralphs - bonus track on 2003 CD re-issue) 3.30

[edit] Personnel