The Ballad of Mott the Hoople, a documentary about the band, is a movie that I'm looking forward to seeing. It's playing at various festivals and things at the moment, as far as I can tell, so I'm hopeful it'll have some form of general release soon. We'll see.

Mostly because of the presence of Ian Hunter, who wrote Diary of a Rock and Roll Star (1974) and many songs about the band's adventures, Mott obtained the reputation of a band that was self-aware, clever, literary. And many have noticed the apparent contradictions that they embodied - the rock star attitude combined with self-deprecating irony - they gave people a lot to think about. Here's a link to a great video of the band (but without Mick Ralphs, unfortunately) doing their wonderful hit, "Roll Away the Stone", on Top of the Pops (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CFUuN__7tE) in late '73. The expression on Hunter's face right before the vocal says it all: Rock and roll is both serious and fun. Then he sings right over his lip-sync. (I have no idea what the intro before the song is about, though).

In the posts regarding my top ten Queen songs a few days ago, you may have noticed that I didn't include "Bohemian Rhapsody". There were a couple of reasons for this, most of which have to do with its fame, but I do think the song is a remarkable achievement. However, I don't think it's unique - in fact, I think the song was inspired by, and perhaps even based on, a Mott the Hoople song called "Marionette" (from their 1974 album, The Hoople). Queen had toured with them in 1973, and alluded to the experience in "Now I'm Here" ("Down in the city just Hoople and me...") on Sheer Heart Attack, which was released the following year. On the Mott the Hoople website, in honour of their too-brief reunion of 2009, Brian May was quoted thus: "On tour as support to Mott The Hoople (the only time Queen ever supported anyone), I was always conscious that we were in the presence of something great, something highly evolved, close to the centre of the Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, something to breathe in and learn from."

My contention today is that "Bohemian Rhapsody" was another result of that influence. Here are links to the track in question (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aWhdmFr61Q) and its lyrics (http://www.elyrics.net/read/m/mott-the-hoople-lyrics/marionette-lyrics.html).

I've mentioned several times that honesty is one of the main things that I look for in an artist, and I was reminded of that again recently when I finally got around to listening to Ian Hunter's dazzling 2009 release, Man Overboard. I guess I had been listening to so much Mott the Hoople as I followed their surprise reunion via the internet that I ended up putting off hearing his latest album. Well, I was wrong to do so - it's great, one of his best, and it'll be in heavy rotation on my CD player for the foreseeable future. OK, now back to the point about honesty. The first track is called "The Great Escape" and it tells a vivid story, about running away from a fight with a thug, that is rare in its candor - most rock singers refer to themselves as if they're comic book characters (or something) who never back down from anything. Well, that's quite simply not the the way things really are, no matter how much some might pretend otherwise, and to put it simply, violence is the lowest form of human behaviour. Hunter's truthfulness has always set him apart, and it's always been at the center of his songwriting power. Man Overboard shows that he's continuing to prove it into his seventies. Lyrics: http://lyrics.wikia.com/Ian_Hunter:The_Great_Escape. Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoA2OJf5aRQ

The word "sentimental" gets thrown around a lot when discussing poetry and song lyrics. I'm not sure that it's always used correctly. For me, the best way of understanding the term (in its derisive sense) is when an artist says nothing new about a subject, or worse, something everyone already agrees with, and the listener is not provided anything fresh or useful. There's nothing to learn, nothing to think about. For example, understanding the true nature of the rock and roll experience is a complex task - an artist that can help in that regard is rare. Not to put too fine a point on it, but most songs written about rock and roll are dumb, dishonest or both.
This brings us to today's subject: Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople. Mott the Hoople was one of those bands that did not achieve great popular success during their time, but made huge contributions to the field itself. Groups as divergent as Queen and The Clash would agree on their importance and influence. Ian Hunter, the group's singer and primary songwriter has had a career (with, and for the most part, without Mott) that has spanned six decades. He recently turned 71 (!) and continues to record and tour. (Incidentally, Mott the Hoople recently reunited for a series of London concerts in October, 2009 and got big reviews for them.) And the main reason for his longevity and influence is that his songs are honest. Two albums contain all the supporting evidence this statement needs: Mott (1973) and All-American Alien Boy (1976). Robert Frost once said something along the lines of "90% of writing is having something to say". Tomorrow, I'll try to convince you that Ian Hunter did and does.