There's going to be another one from this year's gigs. At 30 pounds PLUS 4.50 Pounds shipping, I'm sadly out.

https://www.concertlive.co.uk/product.php?id=173

NOTT the Hoople? It this a tribute band? If not, it sure would be a great name for one!

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Good eye David.

SOOOOOOOOOOORy!

Geff, looks like a "standard" version of this will be released next month, in a 2 CD plus DVD (NTSC format) release.




No tracklist, but price is a bit more reasonable than what was quoted for the "instant live" version last year--about $26 including shipping from amazonUK vs. $44 including shipping from amazonUS. Oddly, the U.S. site gives March 4 as the release date while the UK site lists March 17.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HNHMYSO/?tag=imwan-20

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HNHMYSO/?tag=imwan-21

CL offers MP3 DL's on their site. As their postage rates are ridiculous & (at least last time on the Mott they used low quality "Pro Disc" blanks), I wish the would offer FLAC downloads at a reasonable price. I would actually buy a lot from them in flac (I used to buy a lot from WGV before they went mp3 only), but I will not pay for an mp3.

At least Amazon charges less for the shipping, but CL's site has very reasonable prices for the cdr's, & rip you off blind on the shipping.

Well, I guess it depends on how badly you want a title or a song. I had no problem paying a bit of a premium for the Mott 2009 reunion gig since it was the first time the original band (most of it, anyway) had played together in 35+ years and it was professionally recorded, CDRs notwithstanding. I'm actually not 100% sure I'm in on this release since this is a "re-reunion"; it will really depend on the track list which I haven't been able to dig up yet. Presumably this release will be CDR as well. I agree that mp3s are not optimum sound quality, particularly if the bitrate is on the low end and I'm a strong proponent of physical media (my bank account can attest to that). But if an mp3 is the absolute only way I can get a song or album that I really want, I'll buy it. Technically a mp3 of 256 or 320 is still "lossy" but I wonder if played in the car or on a moderately priced stereo if most people could really tell the difference.

FWIW, one review (see below) of last year's "re-reunion" was rather lukewarm. To be fair, Hunter was 74 years old when this concert was played so panning his voice as "little more than a guttural rasp" may be a bit harsh. His vocals for me have always been more about emotion & feeling than hitting the precise notes and his most recent studio album, When I'm President, from 2012, showed him still in good form songwriting-wise and vocally.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/n ... ple-review

I felt Ralph's guitar playing has also seen better days, but I would like a copy of this.

I FINALLY got a copy today of this CD--the standard version from Amazon UK. Both links in my post from February 1 are still active; I guess the release got delayed for about two months.

Including shipping my total cost on Amazon UK converts to about $24. On Amazon US, the set costs $37.98 and has a release date of May 20.

GOOD NEWS: unlike the 2009 reunion, the concert is pressed on "actual" CDs and there's a bonus pro-shot DVD {NTSC format} of the entire show as well (the only complete Mott show ever filmed, according to various reviews). The DVD is getting especially good reviews on the Amazon UK listing page.

I haven't listened to it yet, but unless the concert was poorly recorded I find the UK price perfectly reasonable. Keep in mind that the "list price" on Amazon UK includes Value Added Tax, which isn't assessed on purchases shipped to the United States, so if you live in the U.S., the actual price you'll pay including shipping is typically less than the list price on the item home page.

Keep in mind if you purchase that Ian Hunter was 74 (!) years old when they performed this gig in November 2013 and the original drummer, Dale "Buffin" Griffin, was very frail in 2009 and performed on just 3 songs, and did not participate in last year's concerts because he now suffers from Alzheimer's disease. The Pretenders' Martin Chambers deputized for most songs in '09 and all songs last year.

EDIT: Just noticed that neither Amazon site listing includes a track list, so here it is:

Disc 1
Jupiter Intro 2:00
Rock And Roll Queen 4:39
One Of The Boys 5:21
The Moon Upstairs 5:30
Hymn For The Dudes 5:37
Sucker 4:17
Soft Ground 4:36
Waterlow 3:38
Born Late '58 5:03
Death May Be Your Santa Claus / You Really Got Me 4:20
Ballad Of Mott The Hoople 6:28


Disc 2
Walkin' With A Mountain 5:28
Violence 5:23
When My Mind's Gone / No Wheels To Ride / The Journey 9:17
Honaloochie Boogie 2:38
The Golden Age Of Rock 'n' Roll 3:06
All The Way From Memphis 5:03
All The Young Dudes 4:43
Roll Away The Stone 4:15
Saturday Gigs 5:41

If it's on real discs, I need this. Thanks for the info!

Here's a review of the release, from a long-standing Ian Hunter/Mott the Hoople fan-site:

http://www.hunter-mott.com/discography/live_2013.html

I need this release!

Really enjoyed this reunion show captured at the Apollo. London. Very well filmed and glad to have a memento from a great band. They sure kicked, and can you believe Ian Hunter still at it. God Bless him. Ian Hunter was so into it, glad to see him take charge like the old days.

Includes two cd's recorded in Manchester as well. Oh, Martin Chambers sits in on drums for the ailing Buffin and does a suburb job. And Joe Elliot joins in on the encore of "All the Young Dudes". The concert was over an hour and 1/2. Wow!

Rick A.

The price has dropped in half (15 pounds) on the CL site. I suspect it will eventually be included in one of their blow out sales (they do that with 99% of their releases)

It's even cheaper on Amazon (13.76 pounds before they subtract the vat; $24.76 USD delivered; the exchange rate is not good for Americans right now; 1.68 to 1) I may just grab it from Amazon.UK soon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HNHMYSO/?tag=imwan-21

Just ordered this from the lowest priced vendor on Amazon USA. They have kinda low feedback (94), but most of it seems to be from idiots who don't read the region # or letter on the listing. Hope I get a factory pressed copy!

Got mine today. I am very pleased. Timely, in great condition (new, no damage), factory pressed!!! & when I ordered the lowest price on the net.

Sound quality is good on my pc. Performance is MEH, but I believe they're all in their 70's.

I'm such a Mott fan, I'd probably buy a cd of them singing in the potty! (well ya know what I mean )

Looking forward to watching the dvd tonight.

A live version of Waterlow from Wildlife was a plesent surprise; as is a (somewhat mediocre) live version of Born Late '58.

I once asked Hunter if the band would consider having Ralphs overdub Grosvenor's "cartoony" sounding guitar leads on "The Hoople". The answer was no; as such the live versions of '58 & Golden Age on both this & the 2009 are probably the closest we'll come to that (Ralphs played on the original single version of Roll Away The Stone which is also on both of these). While I love "The Hoople" album, I've always felt it was badly damaged by "Ariel Bender's" AWFUL lead playing.

The 2009 has 6 songs not on 2013; 2013 has 4 not on 2009. Wish they'd varied the set lists a bit more.

I disagree that the performance is "MEH," which I take it means mediocre. Compared to to what? Mott at their peak? That's hardly reasonable--no one pushing 70 is going to sound remotely close to the way they did in their 20s or 30s. Plus part of the charm of MTH for me at least has always been that they never played note perfect but were endearingly shambolic at times with a lot of heart and soul. I wish I'd been old enough to see them during their peak--all I have unfortunately are recordings.

This review from an established independent (non-band run) fan site—which I posted earlier in the thread, but is worth posting again http://www.hunter-mott.com/discography/live_2013.html notes that Ralphs was in "discomfort" during the show due to a hip that he had replaced shortly after the show. I'd hate to be judged so harshly if I were in that kind of pain. If your hip needs replacing, you're almost certainly in a LOT of pain. I give Ralphs a lot of props for still playing if he was in a lot of pain. I know personally what it's like to deal with severe pain—as in 9 out of 10—so I'm going to stick up for the guy a bit here and say he did a HELL of a job on the recording under those circumstances.

A fairer comparison than Mott last year vs. Mott in their prime would be Mott in 2013 to the Rolling Stones in 2013. I'm sure that notion produces guffaws to outright belly laughs from just about everyone reading this...but has anyone heard the non-overdubbed concerts from Hyde Park last year? Multiple reviews from attendees and YouTube videos show that Keith Richards screwed up the opening notes of "Start Me Up" not once, but BOTH shows. Sweet Summer Sun sounds nice and polished but who knows how much of it is really "live"? I'm a Stones fan, too, but both the music and popular press has been so pro Stones over the last 15 years that it borders on nauseating; the ridiculously positive reviews for A Bigger Bang are a prime example.

Also disagree about Bender's playing on The Hoople. The fact he wasn't Ralphs is part of what makes The Hoople an interesting depature from Mott. As for Ralphs replacing Bender's leads...pretty drastic rewrite of history. Not to mention rather ironic since the reason Bender was hired is that Ralphs left the band in a lurch with tour dates still pending to form the much less unique Bad Company with Paul Rodgers.

Cool that you met Ian Hunter...what year and who was he playing with? And just how did ol' Ian react when you suggested that the lead playing on his most commercially successful (in the U.S., anyway) album should be replaced?

Met him by email. We corresponded several times (also on other issues). He was polite, but didn't think it would fly. From the official documentary, I don't think the band as a whole was impressed with LG's playing, though I got the impression they liked him as a person.

Re Ralphs: wasn't aware of the hip issue; but he had already gone downhill musically on the 2004 tour he did with Hunter (there is an official 2 cd set documenting that tour, & I am far from the only one who feels that way).

My statements aren't meant as a putdown as much as 70 year olds are very unlikely to play at the level they did through their 30's.

And I agree re: the Stones; it's been years since I really liked a new Stones album or concert.

As far as the performance being "Meh"; each to their own. I'm enjoying watching the dvd, but highly unlikely I'll ever play it again; I've got the entire catalog (Hunter's solo catalog also) including all the Angel Air official live albums from their peak; why would I want to play this again?

I finished the dvd. Just a couple more comments:

1. The energy drastically picked up when Hunter moved to the Piano & Stan Tippens & "The Kids" came out. Reminded me of why these guys mattered SO much back in the day. Even Ralphs sounded like more than 1/2 his old self. There were some time stability problems; especially on The Journey & Honaloochie; not sure how much was Watts, how much was Chambers, how much was Hunter & how much was all 3 of them; but that should NEVER happen at this level.

2. Re aging rock guitar players: I don't know why, but aging doesn't seem to impact jazz & blues guitarists as much as rock guitarists. The ONLY 60's/early 70's rock guitarists I can think of off the top of my head who are still at the top of their game are Jeff Beck & Steve Howe. I'd give TENTATIVE honorable mention to Andy Powell, Richie Blackmore (haven't heard the last couple, though) & possibly Robert Fripp (I'm holding judgement until some sort of recordings get out on the new Crimson).

Interesting that all of the above are British! No clue what that means!

3. The Stones were mentioned previously. When I saw Mott in 1974(?) they were being touted in the advertising as "The Greatest Rock & Roll Band In The World". So were the Stones in their advertising!

Along with the Beatles, The Stones defined the pre psychedelic mid 60's (& both artists played a major part in the late 60's). Along with Bowie, Mott defined early 70's glam.

The ONLY time I've ever wished I was older then I am was thinking back on when Mott hired LG (I was around 14 at the time). Hunter has been quoted several times as saying the only reason LG was hired because they didn't know of any other guitarist who knew the songs. At a similar age (late 20's - mid 30's), I was twice the guitarist that LG was, & I would have KILLED to have the lead guitarist's job in Mott!

We all have our teenage dreams, somewhat mangling a famous lyric from Marc Bolan. Did you mention that to Ian Hunter in your emails?

In all seriousness—and I have to think you're pulling everyone's leg a bit here—I certainly wouldn't place Grosvenor in the Top 10 or 20 guitarists in the world or anything, but LG played on the first four Spooky Tooth albums, all pretty highly regarded from what I've read (and I have a Spooky Tooth anthology) and with a Scottish band called Stealers Wheel before he joined Mott. This view of yours that he essentially was a shi**y player seems rather arbitrary.

Don't tell me—Spooky Tooth and Stealers Wheel should have hired you too?

The only thing I'm going to respond to here is that stylistically LG was very different In Mott then he was in ST.

CL is doing one of there blowout sales starting sometime tonight (I'm too lazy to compute the time zone; it starts at 9 AM British Time 6/26.