Search - Mott the Hoople :: Friends & Relatives

What the Hoople...?

David Kinney | San Francisco, Ca. United States | 08/14/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Old diehard Mott fan, and completist that I am, I figured there would'nt be too much risk in plunkin' down some hard earned dinero for a 2 CD set that promised both live versions of the familiar as well as totally obscure cuts from the many offshoots of this great group. Well, you don't really get what you paid for here because the live tracks are culled from the same 1974 Philly concert that record companies have been mining for years.This stuff is wonderful but it's easily available on other CDs that place it in it's proper context. Now, the "relatives" part of this set is a hit or miss proposition. Verden Allen the great Hammond B-3 poohbah of Mott's glory days accounts for himself quite nicely on his two cuts. The British Lions (that would be Mott without Hunter and Ralphs)are pretty cool on a cover of Garland Jeffries' "Wild In The Streets", but after that it gets a little dicey. Mott's family tree extends out to the point where the branches become twigs and some of these "relations" are very tenuous to say the least.Well, I guess the bottom line here is ;how much do you love this band and how far down their maze do you want to travel? I'm a huge fan, but I think the next time I'm tempted by a completist's CD set like this one, I'll probably just save my money and sit back and listen to an Ian Hunter solo CD like his recent masterpiece "Rant" instead."