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Mott the Hoople albums:
Walkin' with a Mountain

Rock 'n' Roll Queen (Mick Ralphs)
You Really Got Me/Wrath and Roll (Crossfads) (Ray Davies/Guy Stevens)
At The Crossroads (Sahm)
Walkin' With a Mountain (Ian Hunter)
Thunderbuck Ram (Mick Ralphs)
No Wheels to Ride (Ian Hunter)
Whiskey Women (Mick Ralphs)
Keep a Knockin' (Penniman)
Waterlow (Ian Hunter)
Midnight Lady (Ian Hunter/Mick Ralphs)
The Moon Upstairs (Ian Hunter/Mick Ralphs)
Death May Be Your Santa Claus (Ian Hunter/Verden Allen)
Your Own Backyard (Dimucci/Fasce)
Darkness Darkness (Jesse Colin Young)
Road to Birmingham (Ian Hunter)
Growing Man Blues (Ian Hunter)
Black Scorpio (Momma's Little Jewel) (Ian Hunter/Overend Watts)
Black Hills (Mick Ralphs)

Island (Island Masters) IMCD 87 (842 545-2) released in UK 1990

Recorded by Line-up 1

Recording Engineers
Andrew Johns - titles 1 to 6, 8, 10 to 13, 15*, 18*
(*not mix)
Brian Humphreys - titles 7, 9, 16*
John Burns - title 17
Norman Mitchell - mix titles 15, 16, 18
Andy Lynden mix title 17

Strings on 'Waterlow' arranged
and conducted by Michael Gray

Tour Manager - Stanley William Tippins
The Crew - Richard Anderson, Philip John,
Michael Hince, John Davies

Producers
Guy Stevens - titles 1 to 6, 10 to 13
Guy Stevens/MTH title 8
Guy Stevens/Dale Griffin - titles 15 and 16
Mott the Hoople - titles 7, 9
MTH/Dale Griffin - titles 16, 17
George 'Shadow' Morton - title 14

Studios
Morgan - titles 1 to 3, 15 (8 track)
Olympic - titles 4, 5 (8 track)
Island (Basing Street) - titles 6, 7, 10 to 13, 16 to 18 (16 track)
Fairfield Halls, Croydon, England - Live - title 8 (4 track)

Digitally remastered/Edited/Compiled by
Mike Marsh/Philippa Stannard/Nilesh Patel
at the Exchange, Camden, London

Half Moon Bay says... A good collection and a good introduction to the Island years. One or two tracks - most notably 'Rock 'n' Roll Queen' and 'Keep a Knockin' - have been shortened to cram everything into 70-ish minutes of Mott magic.

Dale Griffin (Buffin) gets his oar in quite a bit on this compilation, carrying on where he left off with production duties on 'Live!', and putting his BBC experience to good use no doubt. He also provides very entertaining sleeve notes on the bands early career.

'Black Hills' is a real gem that seems to have been lost to the mists of time (Although it also appears on 'Two Miles from Heaven') and sounds as if it was a classic in embryo. 'Black Scorpio' makes an interesting comparison to its later offspring 'Mommas Little Jewel' found on the Bowie produced 'All the Young Dudes'.

This is a budget CD (I paid £7.99 back in 1990 for it) and the artwork is nowhere near as tasteful as Windsongs 'Original Mixed Up Kids', but its a good record and a good compilation.

Now available as "The Best of Mott the Hoople — The Island Years, 1969—1972' and on iTunes.

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