The Hoople

About

Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter was a true rock ’n’ roll original in that he often donned a gadfly’s hat while composing topical narratives in his songs. Throw in a hankering for organs, saxophones, Bob Dylan, and platform-booted élan, and 1974’s <i>The Hoople</i> captures one of the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll bands in full power. Brilliant moments abound: there’s a rocking sermon about a U.K. alliance bent on limiting noise at rock shows (“The Golden Age of Rock ’n’ Roll”), a hypnotic requiem to a failed street gang (“Crash Street Kids”), and a semi-autobiographical mini-opus of a rock star going mental fending off corporate and commercial demands (“Marionette”). On “Roll Away the Stone,” a tender-but-loud epistle to quixotic risk, you can actually hear Hunter grin as the bridge kicks into the chorus; the Spector-styled production and Hunter’s piano struts create a moment where human exuberance and musical dynamics intersect in ways rarely matched in rock music. Mott couldn’t top <i>The Hoople</i>, so Hunter nabbed guitarist Mick Ronson and went solo in ’75.

via Apple Music