Mott The Hoople LP/CD: "Two Miles From Heaven"

Review

After British Lions broke up, Dale Griffin, Overend Watts, Ray Majors and Morgan Fisher went in the studios to put together this compilation of rare and unreleased Mott The Hoople material from Island's vaults. Mott recorded virtually everything they wrote, and just about any day not spent gigging was spent in the studio. As a result, there is a lot of unreleased (and unfinished) material in there.

What an absolute peach this collection is. Unreleased tracks, rare b-sides and early versions of songs that would be recorded later on... this album has long been sought after by fans, and is now at long last available on CD.

It starts with a rare vocal version of the Kinks' You Really Got Me. Next up is Ian's first stab at social commentary, Road To Birmingham which was the b-side to Rock And Roll Queen, Mott's first single. Then there's the alternate version of Thunderbuck Ram, with Verden's organ featuring much higher in the mix. The studio version of Keep a Knockin' is fast and furious, and an absolute belter.

Movin' On is next - slated for the original vinyl but withdrawn at the last minute is a medium-paced rocker that Mick Ralphs would eventually re-record with Bad Company. Ride On The Sun is beautiful - this again would be re-recorded (as Sea Diver) later on - and is possibly one of Ian's best ballads. Growin' Man Blues is another fast rocker which I never grow tired of hearing. Till I'm Gone is another ballad, beautifully sung by Mick Ralphs (for a version of him sharing the vocals with Ian, check out the Anthology). One Of The Boys is an acoustic version of the song that would be re-recorded later on. Black Scorpio (Momma's Little Jewel) is faster than the version that would be recorded for the Dudes album.

Two more bonus tracks close the album, The Debt (which was the b-side to Midnight Lady) and the non-LP single Downtown, with Mick Ralphs again supplying the vocals for this Neil Young/Crazy Horse cover.

As always with Angel Air, packaging is excellent with excellent and informative sleeve notes by Dale Griffin.

Sound quality throughout is excellent (a lot better than the original LP). Strangely, tho' the running order on the "Bald At The Station" side is different from the original LP. No matter - this is an important album in Mott's history, and I for one am glad it's finally available on CD!

Production and overdubbing

Dale Griffin tried hard during the production process to improve on the original recordings. All material was transferred from the original 8- and 16-track tapes to 24-track tape. All were remixed, and many were overdubbed, as follows:

The Road to Birmingham: extra acoustic and electric guitars were added by Overend Watts, together with a few minor edits
Thunderbuck Ram: some keyboard fills were added by Morgan Fisher
Going Home: Overend Watts and Dale Griffin added backing vocals
Keep a Knockin': Morgan Fisher added piano
Black Hills: Morgan Fisher added piano and mellotron
Ride On The Sun: Morgan Fisher added Hammond organ and mellotron
Growin' Man Blues: in reality only a minute and a half long, they had to do two dub edits and some covering vocals and instrumental fills
Till I'm Gone: Overend Watts added acoustic guitar
One Of The Boys: Overend Watts added guitar; Dale griffin and Overend added backing vocals
Surfin' UK: Dale Griffin added backing vocals and percussion
Black Scorpio: Ray Majors added slide guitar, Dale Griffin added backing vocals and percussion
Ill Wind Blowing: Dale Griffin added backing vocals and percussion

I have no information concerning the other tracks and whether they were worked on or overdubbed.

Mott The Hoople LP/CD: "Two Miles From Heaven"

Sleeve and track listing

Review

Production and overdubbing