Ballad of Ian

Ian Hunter has always been rock's greatest bullshit detector. As the leading light behind the legendary Mott the Hoople, he reminded us of Chuck Berry during Strawberry Alarm Clock times, predicted the rise of punk during the height of glam, and told us, "It's all a game, a grown-up game," when we were in danger of deifying rock stars and taking our teenage kicks way too seriously. Not to mention penning the myth-debunking Diary of a Rock and Roll Star, now in about its 15th edition. 

"That book, it's like a rite of passage. It still sells. So if you've got a first edition it might be worth a lot of money. Also, it might be worth nothing," he laughs. "I've seen people sell them for $250 and I've seen it sell for $2 in a bin."

Informed that I have the paperback version with the All American Alien Boy cover art currently being held together with a rubber band because all the pages fell out one by one, he bestows his seal of approval. "That's a good one. A lot more photos in that one."

As a solo artist, Hunter has had fertile periods of productivity and long droughts of silence — otherwise known as the '80s ("I don't think I was in great form at that time. I don't think I got back on track until '92.") Happily, he's been in great form the past decade, having issued three postmillennial albums with the Rant Band, with another to begin production in January 2012. 

The past two years have also seen a stepped-up level of activity for the dormant Mott the Hoople brand. Having reunited for five shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2009 that resulted in a live CD last year, this Nov. 8 will see a DVD release of a powerful and beautifully done feature-length documentary The Ballad of Mott the Hoople with drool-worthy never-seen live footage to present-day interviews with every Mott member save for Pete "Overend" Watts.

All good news in divided times when the rock press is virtually nonexistent, audiences are scattered, charts are meaningless and every discourse of music involves delivery systems and hoarding music up in the clouds: That's the time you need an Ian Hunter to bring the discussion back to earth. Maybe it's not the lack of a universal delivery system; it's the lack of universal deliverymen.

In his Connecticut home studio today, Hunter is penning lyrics for his first album that utilizes the Rant Band exclusively. "The band is very much a band now. ... I've always been a band guy. When you've been working with someone for two or three years you can't help but feel that we're all in this thing together ..."

"And I trust this band. Especially in the guitar area, I really trust what this guy is doing. At first he played for me like a guy plays for you. You sign on people, you pay 'em money, and they can't help but feel they're being employed. Now he plays with me and that's a whole different ballgame.

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