Ballad of Mott the Hoople: Retrospective
Though their recording career spanned a mere five years, Mott the Hoople saw more than their share of ups and downs; the ups being of the artistic sort while the downs were related more closely to the grind of the road and the demands of their short-lived stardom. Unfortunately, those musical highs couldn't fend off the emotional lows and the band fell apart shortly after completing a genre-defining trilogy of glam-rock records--1972'sAll the Young Dudes, '73'sMott, and '74'sThe Hoople. Those three august achievements are well represented here by the likes of theDavid Bowie-penned "All the Young Dudes," "All the Way from Memphis," and Mott frontmanIan Hunter's heartbreaking "I Wish I Was Your Mother." Delving gingerly into the group's pre-breakthrough Atlantic years, this handy two-disc anthology is further fleshed out with some nifty rarities and unreleased tracks.--Steven Stolder