Search - Mott the Hoople :: Greatest Hits

Mott The Hoople's "Greatest Hits" Needs Much Improving!

highway_star | Hallandale, Florida United States | 12/25/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Re-released, remastered and expanded with bonus tracks still doesn't make Mott The Hoople's "Greatest Hits" a good buy. Soundwise, I've never thought CBS's remastering was all that great, but this cd is an improvement over the older version. What gripes me, as the other reviewer has mentioned is that "All The Way From Memphis" fades out towards the end of the song, just where Mick Ralph's guitar solo begins. This is a terrible mistake on CBS's part. There are also noticable ommissions here such as "Jerkin' Crokus", "Drivin' Sister", and "Crash Street Kids". These could have easily been added as bonus tracks seeing as though the entire cd's running time is less than 47 minutes. That said, you do get the big hits such as "All The Young Dudes", "Hymn For The Dudes", "Honaloochie Boogie", "Roll Away The Stone", "The Golden Age Of Rock N' Roll", "The Ballad Of Mott" and the above mentioned "All The Way From Memphis", to name a few. A better choice, and not much more money, would be "Mott The Hoople: A Retrospective" which is a two cd collection and makes this cd pale in comparison."

If you're looking for the hits, this is it.

T. McCool | Lafayette, IN United States | 12/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mott the Hoople became a "glam" band during their years with Columbia, but they never really fit that category musically. They released some of the best rock available in the early 70s, and the Mott LP is considered a 70s classic. This CD collects the singles from that era, including tracks from All The Young Dudes, Mott, and The Hoople. The tracks here are the single edits as they appeared on 45 and heard on the radio. The version of Roll Away The Stone is a rarity. Mick Ralphs plays the guitar solo in the single version included here. The solo was re-recorded by his replacement, Ariel Bender (nee Luther Grosvenor), for the version that appears on The Hoople LP. This CD is, indeed, a must for completists.



The bonus tracks are LP tracks that were edited for single release and used as b-sides. However, two excellent non-LP b-sides - Rose and Rest In Peace - are missing. They are available on the more comprehensive 2 CD The Ballad of Mott: A Retrospective.



If you're looking for "just the hits" presented as you heard them on the radio, this is a fine intro to one of the best, most influential, and often overlooked bands of the 1970s. If you'd like a broader overview (including a taste of the band's pre-glam era), pick up The Ballad of Mott."

Mott's Hits (Mostly In the UK)

J P Ryan | Waltham, Massachusetts United States | 09/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not going to make any claims that this neat little compilation is representitive of Mott's career - they made four albums and other worthy material for Atlantic (Island in the UK), after all, before signing with Columbia in 1972, which issued the classic "All The Young Dudes," (which saved the band's career), the slightly less classic "Mott," minus organist Verden Allen, "The Hoople" with Ariel Bender in place of departed guitarist Mick Ralphs, and the uneven "Live" set issued shortly before MTH's breakup early in 1975. "Hits" covers the Columbia era, but as the band's entire catalog has been remastered in the past couple years the interested reader can hear the band from any point in its fascinating career in superbly packaged, annotated, and sonically upgraded compact discs. "Greatest Hits," issued after Mott's 1975 breakup, has also been upgraded. It may be an appendix of sorts to their albums, but other reviewers' complaints miss the point about its quite valid function: to collect the single versions of tracks that in many cases were hits, if only in the UK ("Dudes" was the group's sole single hit on this side of the water)where they were glam era radio stars as opposed to serious artists and makers of important albums, the role they acquired here in the States thanks to expansive and effusive critical analysis of those later albums in all the important rock 'zines. So, yes, some tracks are edited, but that's the way kids heard those tracks on the radio. And the collection does indeed also collect several interesting items that did not make it onto any of the Columbia albums back in the day. "Roll Away The Stone," known from "The Hoople," with Ariel Bender's guitar, is here in its original single version with Mick Ralphs. The track was remixed and overdubbed after Ralphs left, for inclusion on "Hoople." And from the post-"Hoople" era, "Foxy Foxy" was a non-album single that appeared only on "Greatest Hits." Fans know Ariel Bender was gone after a year, and Mott's last, brief incarnation was with the legendary Mick Ronson on guitar. Unfortunately that promising lineup produced only one final single, "Saturday Gigs" which also debuted on this set. It's a nifty farewell. So if you don't have the Columbia double retrospective from the early '90s, I'd certainly recommend this quite decent set, which has fine remastering overseen by Bob Irwin, for the rare singles and versions or if you want to hear Mott as glam era hitmakers. The bonus cuts are single mixes too, and sound just fine."