Mott the Hoople

Mott the Hoople were on the verge of calling it a day when David Bowie offered to produce them, wrote their hit "All the Young Dudes," and had them introduce people to an ignored VU song called "Sweet Jane." Much credit to Bowie (who was really on a roll during this period), though Mott's pre-punk bite and Ian Hunter and Mick Ralph's original songs make the whole thing sizzle. This version adds live cuts and demos.

Those enamored of the dirty sound Guy Stevens got out of (or imposed on) this band complain that David Bowie's production is thin and antiseptic, but I always found their Atlantic albums fuzzy, and anyway, the material is powerful enough to overwhelm such quibbles. Mick Ralphs and Verden Allen make catchy. Bowie's title tune captures the spirit of a dispossessed younger (than me, Bowie, or Mott the Hoople) generation united by a style against time. The Velvet Underground cover is definitive. And Ian Hunter does more than get away with a long, slow, pretentious one at the close--"Sea Diver" is a triumph. (Grade - A-)