Description

At seven, in 1973, Ian Hunter & Mott the Hoople entered my consciousness as the first thing i remember seeing on TV (other than Andy Pandy and Parsley the Lion)and they kind of stuck there. Awareness became interest and then admiration as the extent of Ian Hunter's songwriting talent became apparent in my later teens. 'Old' friends who'd caught Mott in concert in the 70s invariably enthused wildly (and smugly - having found an aspect of relative age that they could feel good about!)over these shows. Jealous as hell, i had to survive on MTH Live on Broadway (1974) and Hunter's Welcome tomore… the Club (1980) and leave the visuals/atmospherics to my imagination.This record, unlike Mott's Live album, manages to capture some of the essence of the live experience: you get the feeling of the crowd being there and 'close in'. Happily, where some live albums sound like they've been recorded over a phone line from a far-off continent, the sound on Welcome to the Club is particularly up-front and meaty, yet generally well-mixed, too. You get the benefit of the puffing and panting, grunting and grinding and tonsil tearing in all their glory, just as if you were in the front few rows. Add to that the awesome 8 or 9 piece band Hunter had, including Mick Ronson, of course, and you have 2 of the 3 essential ingredients for one hell of a record.Having passed with flying colours as an example of how to get the live sound down, the material in Hunter's set of the period provides a grand overview of his adventures in rock. (The third ingredient for one hell of a record.) Spanning early Mott track and his latest contemporary - and possibly best - album You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic, most of the headlines are here: Dudes; Memphis; Once Bitten; Irene Wilde. Other material is less well known but reflects the content of Hunter's 4 solo albums from '75-'80 for the most part. 'Standing in My Light' and 'Bastard' are creepingly stealthy at first, before pouncing from the speakers and grabbing you. All the material is delivered in the go for it vocal style Ian Hunter typifies: not a singer's singer like Freddie Mercury but delivering his vocals as they were intended, high notes and all, unlike Freddie... .Four words describe this record: quality; verve; power and panache. Put it on, turn it up and lie on the floor, literally soaking in the vibe. A classic of its genre.Having made do with this and the MTHoople live album for a few years, i finally got to experience the REAL THING in concert when Hunter and Ronson showed up in Manchester in 91. At a day's notice i travelled 400 miles by bus to be there. I was not disappointed. Thrice since then I have been awed at the presence of the guy on stage. He's on tour in the UK in May and i would recommend anyone to shell for both the show and for this album either as a taster or a souvenir of a rock god in action!-

Tracks

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Info:

Category:

Music > Albums

Case Type:

CD

Release Type:

Retail

Comments:

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Cover Info:

Title:

Ian Hunter - Welcome to the Club (1994) Retail CD

Part:

Back

Dimensions:

1797 x 1382 px

Size:

578 KB

Downloads:

477 (0 today)

Uploaded:

Report a Problem Wrong Cover Duplicate Image Bad Quality Wrong Info

25/05/08 by paragong

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