Mott The Hoople

As the “Swinging Sixties” limped wearily into its final twelve months, an ambitious (but still flat broke) South Midlands rock group called Silence was preparing for one last tilt at breaking into the London gig scene. The group at this time consisted of organist Terence Verden Allen, drummer Terence Dale Griffin (Buffin), guitarist Michael Geoffrey Ralphs, bassist Peter Overend Watts and vocalist Stan Tippins. Early in May 1969 Watts spied a likely ad in Melody Maker — “Tough Aggressive bass player required for Island Records group.”

As the “Swinging Sixties” limped wearily into its final twelve months, an ambitious (but still flat broke) South Midlands rock group called Silence was preparing for one last tilt at breaking into the London gig scene. The group at this time consisted of organist Terence Verden Allen, drummer Terence Dale Griffin (Buffin), guitarist Michael Geoffrey Ralphs, bassist Peter Overend Watts and vocalist Stan Tippins. Early in May 1969 Watts spied a likely ad in Melody Maker — “Tough Aggressive bass player required for Island Records group.”

Mad Shadows was the second album by Mott the Hoople. It was recorded in 1970 and released in the UK on Island Records in September 1970 (catalogue number ILPS 9119) and in the US by Atlantic Records (cat. no. SD 8272). It was subsequently re-released by Angel Air in 2003 (SJPCD158). As with their debut album, it was produced by Guy Stevens.The original pressing reached No. 48 in the UK Albums Chart in October 1970.

Mott The Hoople - Live at HMV Hammersmith Apollo 2009 (2009) {2CD Instant Live}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 762 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 276 Mb
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© 2009 Mott The Hoople | Instant Live
Rock / Classic Rock / Hard Rock

October 1st saw the live return of one of the best loved Rock & Roll bands of all time: Mott The Hoople. It had been 40 years since this highly influential band formed in 1969, and over 35 years since the original line-up has played together. Concert Live were delighted to record the bands comeback show at Hammersmith Apollo on the 1st October creating an instant CD for fans to take home straight after the show. This limited edition live CD is the ONLY recording of the Mott The Hoople reunion show. Presented in bespoke artwork, this is an exclusive set featuring songs from their classic albums, Mott The Hoople, All The Young Dudes, Mott and many more.

Mott the Hoople are one of the great also-rans in the history of rock & roll. Though Mott scored a number of album rock hits in the early '70s, the band never quite broke through into the mainstream. Nevertheless, their nasty fusion of heavy metal, glam rock, and Bob Dylan's sneering hipster cynicism provided the groundwork for many British punk bands, most notably the Clash…

This was the first compilation in the CD era to offer unreleased material. It contains three unreleased tracks, including Henry and the H-Bomb (an unfinished demo), Lounge Lizard (the only MTH track recorded start-to-finish with Mick Ronson), and Through The Looking Glass (a 'special' version with profanity prepared as a joke for CBS executives). American Pie is not as interesting as it might appear - it is just a live recording of one verse, which was used as an intro to Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll.

A straightforward reissue of the much-prized All the Way from Stockholm to Philadelphia CD (which itself compiled two previously released discs – Mott collecting is nothing if not repetitive!), A Tale of Two Cities finds our heroes in Sweden in 1971 and the U.S. the following year, and in two radically different frames of mind. At the earlier show, touring in the aftermath of the low-key Wildlife album, Mott are facing up to the fact that they're doomed to remain a second-division attraction, adored by the faithful but unknown to the rest of the universe…

Recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London in Dec 1973, and live at the Uris Theater, New York NY in May 1974. Released in Nov 1974. The original album was a single disc with one side per show. CBS refused to release a double album, or even consider a "bonus" mini-LP (10-inch), so these magnificent performances were edited down to fit on a single LP. They also refused to allow any Hoople tracks to be included, which certainly affected the track selection of the Uris side, which were also presented out of real-time sequence for programming considerations. At over 50 minutes, it was still quite a long LP for 1974. The 30th Anniversary Edition 2 CD set (2004) reissue has a full disc dedicatd to each show.