Ian Hunter
Rant
»
Ian Hunter
Rant
Fuel 2000, 2001
RiYL: Mott The Hoople, Queen, Iggy Pop |
Hunter, the 62-year old songsmith best known for his days fronting the late '60s/early '70s influential British rock band Mott the Hoople, displays his tricks on his latest album, Rant, his first in five years. And, as stated above, this old dog doesn't need to be taught anything. Hell, he nearly wrote the rules over 30 years ago.
Now, I realize many indie rock kids haven't the slightest clue who Ian Hunter, or Mott the Hoople, is. Well, for the uninitiated, here's a brief primer: Hunter joined Mott the Hoople in 1969, recorded a quick debut in seemingly punk rock fashion (two weeks), and sold out small club gigs across England. The band released four groundbreaking but poor-selling records from '69 to '72, when -- after the band had already called it quits -- a young fan named David Bowie penned a hit single for them, "All The Young Dudes." You've heard it, but you just didn't know who sung it. After a few more hit records, Hunter left Mott in 1975 to pursue his solo career.
His solo work wasn't always as successful as his Mott days, but it was all the more interesting. Hunter recorded seven solo albums between 1975 and 1983, mixing genres successfully on most occasions (see All-American Alien Boy and You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic), but falling flat on others (see Overnight Angels and All Of The Good Ones Are Taken). His material has been covered by such contemporary acts as Wilco and the Presidents of the United States of America, and he has shared the stagewith such mega-stars as Queen, Guns n' Roses, and Aerosmith.
So the man knows a thing or two about writing songs. And thankfully, his talents still run strong. Rant, which follows another convincing outing in 1996's The Artful Dodger, is as solid as anything he's ever released. Hunter is careful on the record not to take chances where he doesn't need to, meaning his loud, guitar-driven songs like "Still Like Rock and Roll," "Wash Us Away" and "American Spy" are simply straight-up rock songs. At the same time, his quiet acoustic numbers like "Death of aNation" and "Dead Man Walkin' (Eastenders)" are just that: quiet acoustic numbers.
Hunter's brightest moment on Rant is "Morons," a page clearly out of his Mott The Hoople songbook. The song compares easily to Mott's mini-rock opera "Marionette," a song Queen was listening to when writing "Bohemian Rhapsody." In "Morons," Hunter takes a cynical view of baby boomers and the technological advances that keep some of us glued to the tube or computer.
"We were morons -- from the day we were born / We believed every word that you said -- boy were we wrong / we're all dead now -- on the sofas /mini-morons -- taking over / 'Cos we're older now."
Age is a common theme throughout Rant, but not so much the pains of growing older, but the pains of watching the past drift away. Hunter, an Englishman now residing in the States, fills Rant with disparaging thoughts about his homeland. The most obvious is the aforementioned "Death Of A Nation," a slow acoustic tune that explores the mind of England's last great leader, Winston Churchill. And, according to Hunter, Churchill is not pleased with what he sees.
"From the bottom of this ancient heart / I hate to see you falling apart / 'Cos I love you still," Hunter sings, through Churchill's eyes.
Hunter pulls from the same well again in the more rocking "Rip-off," where he wonders more directly "Why England's such a rip-off."
The album does contain a surprise or two, notably the prog-rock "Purgatory" (is that a drum loop, Ian?) and the bass heavy "Good Samaritan." But the best parts of Rant are the songs we expect, the songs we, as Ian Hunter devotees, already know all too well.
The most refreshing thing about Hunter and Rant is simply this: us devotees are gonna wanna hear these songs almost as much as we want to hear his classics. This ain't no Bridges To Babylon, folks. These songs mean something. And goddamn, let's hope he's got more in the tank.
RODEO ROB | An expert on all things "alt," Rob spends his days covering the energy industry and his nights covering the DC-area bars. Raise yer glass especially high to this man, for he has contributed to this site constantly since its creation four years ago.