hunter-mott.com
Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter LP/CD: "Short Back 'n' Sides"

Sleeve and track listing

Chrysalis CDCHR 6074. (1.5 stars!)

Disc 1 (Short Back 'n' Sides)

  1. Central Park n' West (4:00)
  2. Lisa Likes Rock n' Roll (3:56)
  3. I Need Your Love (3:34)
  4. Old Records Never Die (4:18)
  5. Noises (5:51)
  6. Rain (5:54)
  7. Gun Control (3:12)
  8. Theatre of the Absurd (5:49)
  9. Leave Me Alone (3:29)
  10. Keep on Burning (4:46)

Running time: 44m 55s

Disc 2 (Long Odds And Out-takes)

  1. Detroit (rough mix - instrumental) (3:42)
  2. Na Na Na (4:13)
  3. I Need Your Love (rough mix) (3:46)
  4. Rain (alternate mix) (5:50)
  5. I Believe In You (4:15)
  6. Listen to the Eight Track (6:08)
  7. You Stepped Into My Dreams (4:41)
  8. Venus In The Bathtub (4:29)
  9. Theatre of the Absurd (6:08)
  10. Detroit (out take 5 - vocal) (4:00)
  11. Na Na Na (extended mix) (4:29)
  12. China (Ronson vocal) (4:36)
  13. Old Records Never Die (version 1) (4:18)

Running time: 60m 43s

Review

At the end of 1980 Ian returned to the studio to record the follow-up to Schizophrenic and Welcome To The Club. Mick had effectively stopped playing live earlier in the year, and Ian himself was unsure which (musical) direction to take. He got Mick Jones as producer, and on paper the fusion of Mott The Hoople with The Clash should have produced a phenomenal album.

I'll make no bones about it - I hate this album. The material is mixed, and the production (and all the sound effects Mick Jones added) IMO ruined the good songs on it. At the time Ian liked the album, with Mick using different production techniques in the studio. But today he hardly ever plays material from it, a sure sign that it ain't up there with the best.

The 2-CD set offers excellent packaging and excellent sound quality. The original album is on one CD, and a second CD ("Long Odds and Out-takes") containing alternate mixes and unreleased material from the Chrysalis era.