http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5973&rws=%2Fian-hunter%2Fmusic-videos.rssIn Mott the Hoople, shades-clad British ex-newspaperman Ian Hunter was as literate and self-aware as any '70s hard rocker. And though acts from the Clash to Def Leppard to the Pet Shop Boys to Billy Bob Thornton have claimed Mott as a primary inspiration, no band since has managed to carry Jerry Lee Lewis rockabilly and <I>Blonde on Blonde</I> folk boogie into the realm of glam metal. Songs such as "Ballad of Mott" and "Saturday Gigs," like Hunter's definitive 1972 book <I>Diary of a Rock'N'Roll Star</I>, were unflinchingly clear-eyed chronicles of musicians' lives; by the time he left Mott in 1974, Hunter seemed to think rock 'n' roll itself was dying. Yet he's never stopped plugging away. Of his 13 solo albums, 1975's self-titled debut and 1979's <I>You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic</I> remain the most indispensable, and not just because they spawned his best-known songs: "Once Bitten Twice Shy" (later a hit for Great White), "Ships" (later a hit for Barry Manilow) and "Cleveland Rocks" (later a TV theme for Drew Carey). But nearly all his music is worth hearing. Now, seven decades into his life, Hunter is still making respectable records for alt-country label New West. - Chuck EddyClassic Rocken720Sun, 27 Dec 2009 12:02:45 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.5973&rws=%2Fian-hunter%2Fmusic-videos.rss In Mott the Hoople, shades-clad British ex-newspaperman Ian Hunter was as literate and self-aware as any '70s hard rocker. And though acts from the Clash to Def Leppard to the Pet Shop Boys to Billy Bob Thornton have claimed Mott as a primary inspiration, no band since has managed to carry Jerry Lee Lewis rockabilly and <I>Blonde on Blonde</I> folk boogie into the realm of glam metal. Songs such as "Ballad of Mott" and "Saturday Gigs," like Hunter's definitive 1972 book <I>Diary of a Rock'N'Roll Star</I>, were unflinchingly clear-eyed chronicles of musicians' lives; by the time he left Mott in 1974, Hunter seemed to think rock 'n' roll itself was dying. Yet he's never stopped plugging away. Of his 13 solo albums, 1975's self-titled debut and 1979's <I>You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic</I> remain the most indispensable, and not just because they spawned his best-known songs: "Once Bitten Twice Shy" (later a hit for Great White), "Ships" (later a hit for Barry Manilow) and "Cleveland Rocks" (later a TV theme for Drew Carey). But nearly all his music is worth hearing. Now, seven decades into his life, Hunter is still making respectable records for alt-country label New West. - Chuck Eddy