Mott (Legacy Edition)

With the success of the David Bowie-produced 1972 album All the Young Dudes”, Mott the Hoople were poised to become one of the most important and definitive bands of the 1970s. To celebrate this achievement in true, perverse style, singer Ian Hunter opted to write an album that loosely commented on the downside of living the rock n’ roll dream. These sad, funny tales of the road, best exemplified in “The Ballad of Mott the Hoople” have a twinge of heartbreak to them, made sadder by the fact that the band instead of breaking through to a mainstream audience, eventually just broke up. Their tough, guitar-heavy sound and their ambitious, high-spirited pace made them natural brethren for future punk rockers. But as self-styled glam rockers, they embraced the showmanship of the day with big riffs that celebrated the rock star’s power amongst the silliness with “All the Way From Memphis,” “Drivin’ Sister” and “Honaloochie Boogie.” “I Wish I Was Your Mother” closes the official album in grand, heartwrenching style.