|
|
        
|
|
« All the Young Dudes — The Anthology | Full Album Listing | Friends and Relatives » Mott the Hoople albums:
CD1 Long Red (West, Pappalardi, Ventura,
Landsberg) Recorded live at Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden on 10th February 1971 CD2 Introduction Recorded live at The Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, USA on 29th Novembr 1972
Recorded by Line-up 1 Remastered and digitally enhanced for Compact Disc by Nick Watson at SRT (Sound REcording Technology), St. Ives, Cambridge, England. September 1998. Live Stockholm tape from the personal collection of Pete Watts. Live Philadelphia tape from the personal collection of Dale Griffin.
Half Moon Bay says... As a Mott the Hoople fan of long standing, one realises just how precious and how vital hearing any live material is. It is well documented that all who witnessed these events at the time felt that Mott live was indeed something special and the BBC set certainly confirmed this. This set is special as it comes from the personal collections of two of the band members at the time. Remember that techniques were very primitive in the early seventies and you realise that a remarkable job has been done to make it all possible for CD and todays demands and ears. The Stockholm set finds our wild heroes playing to a polite, seated audience. Mick and Ian do their best to get them on their feet but you get the impression it is all to no avail. No matter, the band set about the task with consumate professionalism and I certainly twitch in my seat. Any set that includes 'Thunderbuck Ram' is always going to get my attention and the version of '…Mountain' is terrific and knocks spots off the Uris Theatre stroll we were given on the '74 CBS 'Live'. Of course, this is one of those gigs that helped lead the band calling it a day in March 72. Another wrong audience, pointless long journey and for what? All they were doing was clocking-up miles — pity no-one had thought of air, or road, miles in those days. By November 72, and the set in Philadelphia that disc 2 features, a lot has happened. This is reflected in the set, which features all post-Island material — apart from Midnight Lady and Sweet Angeline — and is even starting to sound Bowie induced slowed-down and more controlled then the Island-era wild abandon. Tragic. Mind you the 13 minute 'Ready for Love' is great — Mick is in blistering form — and 'Honky Tonk Women' puts the seal of audience approval on proceedings. A nervous sounding David Bowie introduces the band and again, Mick Ralphs baits the audience for their lack of participation. And I wish I had been there as much as any of those earlier nights of mayhem. Again, better in terms of feel than the CBS Live set from Hammersmith and the Uris Theatre. Maybe thats because this is all so much more candid and taken from cassettes made on the night, just in case. What adds to it all is that you can read a contemporary dairy entry by Ian Hunter in his 'Diary of a Rock n Roll Star'. All in all, a fine and different package. A new slant after years of having to listen to the major company releases.
« All the Young Dudes — The Anthology | Full Album Listing | Friends and Relatives » |
||
|
Last update 18th January 2008 ©2008 Half Moon Bay
|
