Ian Hunter
Legendary English singer-songwriter Ian Hunter is a rock ‘n’ roll icon of the highest order. His name may not be as well-known as David Bowie or Freddie Mercury, but his 70s glam rock band Mott the Hoople and their anthem All the Young Dudes, which, by the way, was written by Bowie for the band, have achieved classic rock status. He also authored one of the earliest rock tomes, Diary of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, which detailed a behind-the-scenes look at his band’s 1972 American tour.
Now in his 80s, Hunter remains prolific. He’s just released a new solo outing, Defiance Part 2: Fiction, a 10-song collection featuring a dazzling all-star guest lineup, including members from Cheap Trick, Queen, Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam, to name but a few. The new album — a sequel to Defiance Part 1, which was issued last year — is awash with topics relevant to today’s chaotic world.
“I tried avoiding all those sorts of issues on Defiance Part 1 where I tried keeping cheerful despite the pandemic, and God knows what else,” he told this column.
“But it got more and more difficult.
“You can only write about what affects you, what you see around you, and so this is a little denser and a tad political, but you can take it or leave it as it is just an opinion.”
The album features one of the last recorded performances by the late guitarist Jeff Beck.
“I knew Johnny Depp, and because Johnny was working with Jeff at the time, Johnny wanted to do something with Jeff too, so I sent him a couple of tracks,” Hunter says.
“Had I known Jeff was going to do it, I’d have left the space for him to solo over it.
“I have worked with a lot of guitar players in my career like Mick Ronson, but Jeff Beck was always the one guitarist I had never worked with previously until this record.”
Looking back to his group’s signature song, All the Young Dudes, did he ever think it would achieve its timeless stature?
“Yeah, the minute I heard it,” he says.
“When Bowie played it to us, I thought, I can sing this, and it’s going to be a monster.
“And it has been, I mean, people still talk about that song now.
“It was a one-off, a truly great song.”
For more on Ian Hunter, check out www.ianhunter.com
Music news
Taylor Swift continues to dominate the music industry. Last Friday, Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, was streamed more than 300 million times on the day of release. That’s created a new record for Swift, breaking her own previous record for the most-streamed album in a day, which was for her 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album released last year.
All five original Spice Girls members reunited at a party last weekend in London to celebrate Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday. Fans are hoping this is a sign that the group will officially announce a reunion that may see the group record a new album and undertake a reunion tour.
Legendary blues-rockers Canned Heat have released a new album this week, titled Finyl Vinyl. It is their first studio release in over 15 years. The group will hit the road in the US and Europe this year in support of the new album.
Is all metal music just surf music played with distorted guitars? A metal fan who believes this is the case recently mused on this topic, performing examples of Metallica classics Master of Puppets and Seek and Destroy on his distortion-free guitar to demonstrate. To further drive home his point, he also performed surf rock classics Wipeout and Miserlou by adding distorted guitars to them, and the results are very convincing. What do you readers think?
The view from here
I was talking to a friend recently when the topic turned to music. My friend commented on how it must get boring for musicians to listen to the same type of music that they play. He was surprised when I pointed out the fact to him that the type of music a musician plays isn’t necessarily the type of music they will listen to when at home. A lot of musicians get inspired by listening to different types of music. And away from the stage, they tend to relax to music that is nothing like the style they’re known for.
Surprisingly a lot of heavy metal musicians don’t listen to heavy metal in private; a lot listen to everything from pop to classical. Why? Because they find listening to different styles is important for keeping a healthy musical appetite and mental health wellbeing.
Playing one style of music all the time and nothing else will eventually tire you and can turn something previously enjoyable into something that will cause you to begin disliking that particular style, never wanting to hear it again. It’s important to keep a healthy musical balance. Not only can it be enjoyable, but inspiring too.
This was brought home recently when I interviewed Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, a band known for their loud, hard rock music. Away from the band, Glover listens to the soft, folky tones of Bob Dylan. He affirmed that having such diverse tastes in music fuels his ongoing passion for writing, recording and playing music.
“Bob Dylan blew me sideways when I first heard him,” Glover told me. Prior to him, all songs were about love — lost love and found love. There was very little social commentary, so he opened my mind to not just the world but also the way you can express yourself.”
This week’s global music charts
USA: Billboard Hot 100 No.1: Like That - Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar
UK: Top 100 Singles No.1: Too Sweet - Hozier
Australia: ARIA Top 50 No.1: Too Sweet - Hozier
Fun fact
Did you know that the earliest known recorded piece of music was recorded in 1860 and features someone singing a French song Au Clair de la Lune (“By the Light of the Moon”) on an early device called a phonautograph, one of the earliest known devices for recording sound.
Joe Matera is a local singer/songwriter, recording artist, guitarist and music journalist providing readers with all the latest music news.