Redux Nation

New Then, New Again

originally published March 29, 2006

MOTT THE HOOPLE

All The Young Dudes & Mott

Columbia/Legacy

Mott the Hoople wasn’t glam rock’s most famous band, nor was it its best named. Really, what the hell is a “hoople,” anyway? The definitive lineup of Mick Ralphs, Dale “Buffin” Griffin, Pete “Overend” Watts and poodle-locked frontman Ian Hunter was, however - with the possible exception of T. Rex - the band most in-tune with the surly, snarled-lip spirit of early rock and roll.

Spurred by the creative input of supporter David Bowie, Mott hit its stride right after almost calling it quits with the Bowie-penned title track of 1972’s All the Young Dudes album. That lighter-raiser and its follow-up, 1973’s Mott, have now been repressed, remastered and retooled, complete with a nice cache of bonus tracks.

The title track of Dudes became an anthem among the Ziggy Stardust crowd and, also, the band’s biggest hit; it remains the album’s undisputed anchor. Also containing such hook-filled heavies as the almost Spinal Tap-ish “Sucker” and “Jerkin’ Crocus,” Dudes remains a fiendishly, if not tongue in cheek, good time, though a few holes peek through its pressed gold outfit. Mott’s take on the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” was always a puzzling opener for a band desperately trying to set itself apart from the pack, and Ralphs’ beefy “Ready For Love” would’ve been a much better fit for Bad Company, the soon-to-depart guitarist’s next band.

Dudes’ bonus goods, though, are very welcome additions. Among them: an early run of the dramatic Hunter ballad “Sea Diver” (renamed “Ride On the Sun”) and a less lively version of “All the Young Dudes” with Bowie providing the vocals. A couple of live tracks (including one more shot at “Sweet Jane”) and demos round out the Dudes package.

The follow-up release Mott was a more cohesive effort that showed how far the group had come in such a short time. The songs were more ambitiously arranged, the chorus hooks sharpened and Hunter’s boogie-band piano licks, rather than Ralphs’ heavy handed riffing, often provided the band’s compass point. It’s widely recognized as the Hoople’s crowning achievement. It was also the last good load the band had to spend before spinning into disintegration mode.

Beginning with the Little Richard-style rocker “All the Way From Memphis” and ending with the weepy, mandolin-driven ballad “I Wish I Was Your Mother,” Mott’s been remastered like no mother’s business. Digital assistance actually serves this analog oldie well. From the get go, Hunter’s piano rings clear and the guitars hover somewhere around 11, particularly when the terminally pale foursome delivers some serious Faces-style rock. Four bonus cuts round out the ’06 version, including the heroin ballad B-side “Rose” and a rocking live “Drivin’ Sister,” taken from the band’s stand at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. While the band’s above-par Brain Capers album remains unrestored, the Dudes and Mott reissues keep Mott the Hoople boogying on nicely, and reveal that grown men in Spandex and spaceman knee-boots can be taken seriously, if only part of the time.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label

The Numero Group

The indie Eccentric Soul series continues with this funky sampling of the Miami-based Deep City label. What sets this entry apart from its counterparts is the sheer quality of represented talent. Rather than concentrating on at-times hammy unknowns like previous volumes, this disc includes a few names like Paul Kelley and Betty Wright who went on to somewhat bigger and better things. The also-rans and unfamiliar names included also intrigue.

Deep City already had one foot in underground infamy; its house songwriter and session piano man Clarence Reid would eventually recreate himself as X-rated comic/ Rudy Ray Moore acolyte/ rap pioneer Blowfly, who back in January put in an under-the-radar performance at the Caledonia Lounge. However, the songs that Reid, Johnny Peasall and Willie Clarke penned while acting as Deep City’s version of Holland-Dozier-Holland presented a much more traditional take on man vs. woman relations, at least as far as soul circles were concerned. Kelley’s “The Upset,” Helene Smith’s “You Got To Do Your Share” and Them Two’s “Am I A Good Man” are prime examples of the trio’s often under-mentioned talents. Fans of funky Southern soul and the recent Night Train to Nashville series would do well in adding this dusky little gem to their collections.

CRACKER

Greatest Hits Redux

Cooking Vinyl

The story behind this comp is just as interesting as its content. Apparently Virgin, Cracker’s former label, decided to release a greatest hits comp titled Get On With It without the band’s okay. Greatest Hits Redux, then, is the band’s response to that bit of post-downsizing trickery, containing re-recorded songs from the band’s back pages.

Anyone wishing for more dirt on the Cracker/ Virgin feud need look no further than “Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself,” on which frontman David Lowery recounts visiting a posh L.A. office where “everyone was laid off” and visitors want swag “but there ain’t shit to be had.” The rest of the set is a fine sampling of “Cracker soul” from the early “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)” to the new, previously unreleased “Something You Ain’t Got.”

Greatest Hits Redux serves those who might’ve lost track of Cracker after Kerosene Hat (which undoubtedly netted mucho dinero for the band’s ex-label) just as well as the band’s hardcore fans. The new performances take nothing away from the originals, and the track slightly mirrors the Virgin comp. Anyone weighing the two should do the band a favor and get this one; the listing may be similar, but we all know which track didn’t make the opposition’s cut.

Michael Andrews Redux Nation is a monthly column focusing on album reissues, repackagings and box sets.

Michael Andrews

Redux Nation is a monthly column focusing on album reissues, repackagings and box sets.