Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople and “Cleveland Rocks” fame is 83 years old.
This is his new (no really) single from his upcoming album.
Sweet jeebus. I wanna be Ian Hunter when I grow up. (It helps that, unlike many singers of his generation, when Ian was making hits in the 1970s, his signing voice sounded like the hoarse croak of an 80-year-old man.)
The folks playing on this album…
Hunter used the pandemic layoff to write two albums – the first of which, “Defiance Part 1,” comes out Friday, April 21, and would be impressive just on the merit of Hunters’ still-potent performance and writing. But then there’s the guest list and – well, strap yourself in as he’s joined by Ringo Starr, Todd Rundgren, Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Duff McKagan, Metallica’s Robert Trujillo (playing the same bass Jaco Pastorius used on Hunter’s “All American Alien Boy” in 1976), Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Johnny Depp, Billy Bob Thornton and three-quarters of Stone Temple Pilots. If that’s not enough, “Defiance” also features a couple of late greats – Jeff Beck on “No Hard Feelings” and Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins on three tracks.
I mean, when Ian Hunter calls and asks if you want to play on his record, I guess you say “Yes please.”
Man I need to catch up on this thread. Altin Gun sounds really good – love the way it offers an easily embraceable musical on-ramp to styles that I’ve heard A LOT (music from Turkey and elsewhere in the Middle East and Northern Africa) that typically just is so far from my frame of reference that I don’t connect.
And Nation Of Language I remember from a couple of years ago and remember being charmed by them putting out a record on PIAS (there’s a callback!) and wanting to hear more. So this is me, hearing more and liking it a lot!
All of which is kind of burying the lede. THERE’S NEW MUSIC FROM STEPHEN DUFFY!!!
I had no idea! And it’s very much in keeping with his latter-day Lilac Time stuff from the turn of the millennium.
And now listening to The Last Dinner Party, we’re 2 minutes into the song and I’m thinking “Oh, I kind of have a feel for what this band is doing, and I get it and it’s pretty cool.” AND THEN THE GUITAR SOLO BRIDGE. :)
But apparently they have listened to a ton of Bitch Magnet, Seam, and Chavez records. Pretty fucking great to have your debut big label song be in a really weird time signature for rock (I think it’s 5/8, maybe?)
Also, holy shit is that Clientele song great, right? Like it’s not just me wanting it to be good, it really, really is pretty awesome. I think it might be the most upbeat-sounding song in the Clientele catalog, maybe?
“We’d always been interested in music other than guitar music, like for donkey’s years,” vocalist/lyricist/guitarist Alasdair MacLean says. This time out, he — alongside bassist James Hornsey and drummer Mark Keen — incorporated elements of post-bop jazz, contemporary classical and electronic music. According to MacLean, “None of those things had been able to find their way into our sound other than in the most passing way, in the faintest imprint.”
“Donkey’s years.” I love that jagged, scuzzy little riff in Blue Over Blue. Reminds me of Os Mutantes.
And that flute interlude near the end sounds just like The United States of America.
Anyway, now I’m even more excited for the full (double!) album coming soon. They’re one of my all time favorite bands.
I am very much digging the new Blur. And I’m trying to talk myself into the Teenage Fanclub, but I want to hear more.
Meanwhile, here’s PACKS, the musical project of a nice Canadian artist named Madeline Link. I think they’re kinda great – it has that kind of laid-back, Tim Presley or Goodbye Bread-era Ty Segall thing going.
I love the new Orbital. I wish this song had been on the album. The only explanation I can think of is that they must have recorded this after they finished work on the album, so now have released it as a single.
I haven’t revised my French since high school, so I only catch a few of the words of the lyrics when I’m walking around and listening to this song. But I kind of like it that way. Her voice is so lovely, and I like that I only catch a few of the words with my rusty French.
