#ariel bender

[musickickztoo]

Ariel Bender *December 23, 1946

[spilladabalia]

All the Way from Memphis - Mott the Hoople | The Midnight Special

[longliverockback]

Mott the Hoople Live 1974 CBS ————————————————— Tracks: Broadway 1. All the Way from Memphis 2. Sucker 3. Rest in Peace 4. All the Young Dudes 5. Walking with a Mountain Hammersmith 6. Sweet Angeline 7. Rose 8. Medley: •Jerkin’ Crocus • One of the Boys • Rock ‘n‘ Roll Queen • Get Back • Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On • Violence —————————————————

Morgan Fisher

Dale Griffin

Luther Grosvenor “Ariel Bender”

Ian Hunter

Peter Overend Watts

* Long Live Rock Archive

[longliverockback]

Mott the Hoople Live [30th Anniversary Edition] 2004 Sony ——————————————————————— Tracks CD One: Broadway 01. Intro - Jupiter from «The Planets» 02. American Pie • The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll 03. Sucker 04. Roll away the Stone • Sweet Jane 05. Rest in Peace 06. All the Way from Memphis 07. Born Late ′58 08. One of the Boys 09. Hymn for the Dudes 10. Marionette 11. Drivin’ Sister • Crash Street Kidds 12. All the Young Dudes 13. Walking with a Mountain

Tracks CD Two: Hammersmith 01. Intro - Jupiter from «The Planets» 02. Drivin’ Sister 03. Sucker 04. Sweet Jane 05. Sweet Angeline 06. Rose 07. Roll away the Stone 08. All the Young Dudes 09. Jerkin’ Crocus • One of the Boys • Rock ‘n‘ Roll Queen • Get Back • Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On • Violence 10. Walking with a Mountain ———————————————————————

Morgan Fisher

Dale Griffin

Luther Grosvenor “Ariel Bender”

Ian Hunter

Peter Overend Watts

* Long Live Rock Archive

[vinylspinning]

Mott the Hoople: The Hoople (1974)

"It's good for your body, it's good for your soul! It's the golden age of rock and roll!"

Mott the Hoople wasn't just a band, they were a state of mind.

Far greater than the sum of their parts and so quintessentially English, they never fully translated their strengths to American audiences, even though many of their British peers were having no trouble with that during the first half of the 1970s.

But, back home in the U.K., the group was as popular as ever and operating at the peak of their creative powers when their seventh studio LP -- unimaginatively named The Hoople (its predecessor was of course named Mott) -- arrived in March of '74.

Yep, 50 years ago!

Decorated with a stylized portrait of Norwegian model Kari-Ann Moller (best-known for her glamorous appearance on Roxy Music's first LP) with band members' faces in her hair, The Hoople only briefly snuck into the U.S. Top 30 but settled into the U.K. charts for weeks, peaking at No. 11.

All this in spite of a concerning rift within the band's ranks when founding guitarist Mick Ralphs left to launch Bad Company and was replaced for these sessions by former Spooky Tooth man Luther Grosvenor -- here credited as Ariel Bender for legal reasons.

Ralphs took much of Mott's modest, scrappy ingredients with him, so except for bassist Peter 'Overend' Watts' spunky "Born Late '58," The Hoople captured the band at their most ambitious and anthemic -- both transcending the glam affiliations they never asked for in the first place and still gaining momentum as a classic rock powerhouse.

Credit frontman Ian Hunter, who by now had really come into his own as a songwriter and was nestling his Dylan-derived knack for colorful characters into immaculate mini-dramas, full of both storytelling and -- in his role as this album's producer -- musical detail.

Take, for instance, the rollicking New York rhapsody of "Alice" (think a likable Lou Reed), punk-foreshadowing street-fighting men of "Crash Street Kids," or the earnest love letter "Trudi's Song," which is as good as the best Stones ballads it obviously mirrors.

And then there was Hunter's sharp sense of humor, which grounded intricate productions like "Marionette" (a hard rocking roar of rebellion) and "Through the Looking Glass" (though grandly orchestrated, it culminates in Ian cursing up a blue streak), maintaining Mott's down-to-earth affinity with loyal fans.

But it's two other songs that, to my mind, epitomize Mott the Hoople's cresting confidence and maturity on this LP, and leaves me wondering what might have been if future events hadn't intervened ...

The first -- an optimistic message of resilience and hope called "Roll Away the Stone" -- comes last here, but actually predates these sessions, still features Ralphs on guitar, and preaches an eternal continuity that ironically proved to be wishful thinking.

And the second (which comes first), "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll," sees Mott celebrating the '50s rock that first inspired them; yet they may as well have been eulogizing the classic rock era -- rock's true golden age -- arguably just then coming to an end.

"The golden age of rock and roll will never die; As long as children feel the need to laugh and cry.

Ohhh, Ohhh, Ohhh ... It's good for your body, it's good for your soul! Ohhh, Ohhh, Ohhh ... You gotta stay young, you can never grow old! Ohhh, Ohhh, Ohhh ... Let's go! It's the golden age of rock and roll!"

Think about it: over the next few years, punk rock, new wave, synth-pop, heavy metal, and other stylistic offshoots would simultaneously splinter, confuse, and dilute the rock idiom into a hundred warring factions, all of them too young and too far removed from those '50s origins to recall their shared heritage.

But back to practical reality: thus armed with new material, Mott's Hunter, Bender, Watts, plus drummer Dale Griffin and keyboardist Morgan Fisher hit the road, thankfully documenting the ensuing tour (often featuring Queen in support) in the simply named Live, released later on in '74.

And then their interpersonal cracks widened into canyons, when Ariel quit and was replaced by one-time Spider from Mars Mick Ronson for a short and tumultuous run, after which a frustrated Hunter decided it was high time he go solo.

Watts, Griffin, and Fischer foolishly attempted to soldier on as Mott (no Hoople), recruiting singer Nigel Benjamin and guitarist Ray Major for a pair of studio albums -- Drive On (1975) and Shouting and Pointing ('76) -- but both sold poorly, and that was that.

And so, The Hoople should be seen as a beyond-worthy last stand for this wonderful band (and state of mind), its (almost) classic formation, and an underrated body of work totaling seven LPs that I grow to understand and appreciate more and more with each passing year.

More Mott the Hoople: Mott the Hoople, Mad Shadows, Brain Capers, All the Young Dudes, Mott, Live.

[decembersoul]

All The Way From Memphis - Mott The Hoople   Happy #81 to Ian Hunter!

[nastassyafilippovna]

[vinylspinning]

Mott the Hoople: Live (1974)

I’m not sure they knew it at the time, but this live LP from ‘74 would eventually punctuate Mott the Hoople’s up-and-down career -- with neither a bang nor a whimper, per se -- but certainly the end of an era, as band leader Ian Hunter made his final 1970s appearance with the group.

Fact is, as we all know, Mott would have expired a couple of years earlier, if not for David Bowie’s kind patronage, gifting them a surefire hit in “All the Young Dudes,” which generated enough momentum to support another two studio LPs, ‘73’s Mott and ‘74’s The Hoople. 

And then this ... though I mean no disrespect.

While it can’t challenge the truly great live albums of the ‘70s, this set is ultimately victorious thanks to the same, underdog charm that made Mott the Hoople special from day one, no matter that flashy new guitarist Aerial Bender (*) was now filling Bad Company-bound Mick Ralphs’ unassuming shoes.

The record’s first half also marks the band’s not-quite-conquest of America, playing the small-ish, undistinguished Uris (now Gershwin) Theatre, where Hunter exaggerates his cockney accent betwixt rollicking numbers like “All the Way from Memphis,” “Sucker” and “Walkin’ With a Mountain,” plus the aforementioned hit single, of course.

Side two finds Mott more at ease, back in their familiar London environs (the Hammersmith Odeon, to be precise), whipping their partisan crowd into a frenzy via the seven-minute “Sweet Angeline,” sorrowful “Rose,” and a 16-minute medley of originals and covers that fittingly climaxed their career -- as well as the show.

For, not long after Live’s release, some 45 years ago, one-time Spider from Mars Mick Ronson briefly replaced Bender on guitar, then “eloped” with Hunter to form a short-lived duo, prior to the official launch of Ian’s rather successful solo run.

Mott, for their part, became just that, abbreviating both their name (by dropping “The Hoople”) and their collective talents for a couple more studio LPs that, most fans agree, are now best forgotten.

Unlike this live effort, which should, by all rights, be remembered as the true final word from this wonderful band.

* Erstwhile Spooky Tooth member Luther Grosvenor, who had to adopt a pseudonym for legal reasons.

More Mott the Hoople: Mott the Hoople, Mad Shadows, Brain Capers, All the Young Dudes, Mott, The Hoople.