Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter - Shades Of Ian Hunter - 1988 - Chrysalis

Shades of Ian Hunter may not be the most comprehensive of hits packages from this longtime rock & roller, but it does combine the best tracks from three of his most successful recordings. With 15 songs, this minor compilation pulls his best material from the outstanding You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic album, as well as the off-the-wall Short Back N' Sides release from 1981 and the live Welcome to the Club offering from 1980. The first seven tunes from Schizophrenic include "Just Another Night" and the monumental "Cleveland Rocks," as well as the gorgeous "Ships." The next five are taken from Short Back N' Sides, highlighted by the haunting "Old Records Never Die." "Gun Control" rolls along firmly with its jittery pace, and the dissonance of "Central Park N' West grows with a strange appeal every time it's heard. The last three tracks that are taken from the live album include two of Mott the Hoople's biggest tunes in "All The Way From Memphis" and the teen rock anthem "All the Young Dudes." Ending the album with songs from his former band is an effective finish to this compilation, which makes for an abbreviated but pleasant listen. © Mike DeGagne © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/shades-of-ian-hunter-r9655/review

Ian Hunter is best known as the front man for the great Mott the Hoople band. Many people associated MTH with overly commercial Glam Rock. In fact, Mott the Hoople were a great rock 'n' roll band, but never really achieved that identity. Even with Ian Hunter's great songwriting ability, it was David Bowie who composed their biggest hit, "All The Young Dudes." Ian Hunter was taken much more seriously as a rock artist when he left Mott the Hoople. One music critic called his "You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic" album a spectacular and perfect" album, and if you listen to it you will understand why these comments were made. The album sold very well, and is possibly one of the great neglected rock albums of the late seventies. It may sound surreal, but Barry Manilow had a big hit with Ships." Let's just say that Manilow's version was "slightly different" to Ian Hunter's version, but it proves the versatility of Ian Hunter's songwriting, especially his talent for writing great rock ballads. In fact, there have been well over fifty cover versions recorded of Ian Hunter's songs. Some of the great rock'n'roll songs written by Ian, as a member of Mott the Hoople include "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll," "All the Way From Memphis," "Roll Away the Stone," and "Honaloochie Boogie," co-written with Mick Ralphs. "Shades Of Ian Hunter" is not necessarily his best compilation album, and if you're a Mott The Hoople/Ian Hunter lover you will probably have all these tracks in your collection. However taken by itself as a rock album, "Shades" is a great rock/Rock 'n' Roll collection and should appeal to any good music lover. It is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to Ian's tremendous "Shrunken Heads" album, and Mott The Hoople's "The Hoople" album. Search this blog for more IH/MTH releases. N.B: There also an 1980 album available entitled "Shades of Ian Hunter: The Ballad of Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople". This album is not the same as this 1988 post

TRACKS

1 Just Another Night - Hunter, Ronson 4:36
2 Cleveland Rocks 3:48
3 Ships 4:10
4 Standin' In My Light 4:34
5 Bastard 6:35
6 When The Daylight Comes 4:25
7 Old Records Never Die 4:19
8 Noises - Hunter, Morrongiello 5:51
9 Gun Control 3:12
10 Lisa Likes Rock N' Roll 3:55
11 Central Park N' West 3:59
12 Once Bitten, Twice Shy 5:26
13 All The Way From Memphis (Live) 3:40
14 All The Young Dudes (Live) - Bowie 3:35
15 We Gotta Get Out Of Here (Live) 3:15

All songs composed by Ian Hunter except where stated. Songs 1-6 are from Ian Hunter's "You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic" album: Songs 7-11 are from his "Short Back n'Sides"album: Songs 12-15 are from his live "Welcome To The Club"album: Tracks 13, & 14 are from Ian Hunter with Mott The Hoople recordings



BIO

With Mott the Hoople, guitarist/vocalist Ian Hunter established himself as one of the toughest and most inventive hard rock songwriters of the early '70s, setting the stage for punk rock with his edgy, intelligent songs. As a solo artist, Hunter never attained the commercial heights of Mott the Hoople, but he cultivated a dedicated cult following. Hunter was born in Owestry, Shropshire, but was raised in cities throughout England since his father worked in the British Intelligence agency called MI5 and had to move frequently. Eventually, the family returned to Shrewsbury, where the teenaged Hunter joined a band called Silence in the early '60s. Silence released an album, but it received no attention. In the years following Silence, Hunter played in a handful of local bands and worked a variety of jobs. In 1968, Hunter began playing bass with Freddie "Fingers" Lee and the duo played around Germany. Shortly afterward, Hunter became the vocalist for Mott the Hoople. During the next six years, Hunter sang and played piano and guitar with the band, becoming its lead songwriter within a few albums. Although few of their records sold, Mott the Hoople was one of the most popular live bands in England. In 1972, David Bowie produced their breakthrough album, All the Young Dudes, which brought the band into the British Top Ten and the American Top 40. For the next two years, the group had a consistent stream of hits in both the U.K. and the U.S. Toward the end of 1973, the band began to fall apart, as founding member and lead guitarist Mick Ralphs left the band. Hunter carried on through another album, but he left the group in late 1974, taking along former Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson, who had just joined Mott. Just prior to leaving the group, Hunter published Diary of a Rock Star, an account of his years leading Mott the Hoople, in June 1974. Hunter moved to New York, where he and Ronson began working on his solo debut. Released in 1975, Ian Hunter spawned "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," a Top 20 U.K. hit. Following its release, Hunter and Ronson embarked on a tour. After its completion, the pair parted ways, although they would reunite later in the '80s. All-American Alien Boy, Hunter's second solo album, was recorded with a variety of all-star and session musicians, including members of Queen. Released in the summer of 1976, All-American Alien Boy was a commercial failure. It was followed in 1977 by Overnight Angels, an album that saw Hunter moving closer to straightforward rock & roll; disappointed with the completed album, Hunter decided to leave the album unreleased in America. Following the mainstream approach of Overnight Angels, Hunter became involved with England's burgeoning punk rock movement, producing Generation X's second album, 1979's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. For Hunter's next solo album, he reunited with Mick Ronson, who produced and arranged 1979's You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic. The album was a hit, especially in America, where it peaked at number 35. Hunter and Ronson set out on another tour, which resulted in the 1980 double live album, Ian Hunter Live/Welcome to the Club. In 1981, Hunter released Short Back N' Sides, which was produced by the Clash's Mick Jones. Two years later, he released All of the Good Ones Are Taken. After its release, Ian Hunter became a recluse, spending the next six years in silence; occasionally, he contributed a song to a movie soundtrack. In 1989, Hunter resumed recording, releasing YUI Orta with Ronson. After its release, Hunter remained quiet during the '90s, appearing only on Ronson's posthumous 1994 album Heaven and Hull and at tribute concerts for Ronson in 1994 and Freddie Mercury in 1992. Hunter returned to recording with Artful Dodger, which was released in Britain and Europe in the spring of 1997. After a Columbia/Legacy compilation titled Once Bitten Twice Shy offered a wealth of Ian Hunter solo titles in the year 2000, much attention was paid to 2001's fine Rant. In 2002, Hunter performed a pair of semi-acoustic concerts in Oslo, Norway, which were recorded for later release on CD and home video; the resulting project, called Strings Attached, included some new songs, including "Twisted Steel," inspired by the events of September 11, 2001. Shrunken Heads, a collection of all-new material, was released in 2007 on the Yep Roc label, followed by Man Overboard in 2009 from New West Records. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ian-hunter-p4528/biography