Ian Hunter

Mott the Hoople's former frontman returns to rock 'n' roll, sounding a bit wiser on the moving "When The World Was Round," a little wittier on the jovially countrified "I Am What I Hated When I Was Young" (which sounds much more like the Faces than his former band), and somewhat retro on "Stretch" -- easily the most Mott-like song here, with its descending rock riffs and clever chord arrangements. Throughout, his ragged rasp sounds like he's been smoking Gitanes for the past 40 years, especially on the Katrina-inspired "How's Your House," where he inflects a lot like latter-day Springsteen.

As the voice, sunglasses and songwriting conscience of Mott, Ian Hunter was the smartest
guy in British glam, slicing through the spangles with the razor-blade language and moral
wrath of mid-Sixties Bob Dylan. Shrunken Heads is one of the best albums Hunter has made
since the end of Mott, with its vintage surge ("How's Your House," "Brainwashed") and
articulate fury. Much of the latter is political, explicitly so in "Fuss About Nothing"... More >