Mott The Hoople: "England's Answer to Grand Funk?" Cover Feature (1971)

Mott The Hoople’s "England's Answer to Grand Funk?", a cover and four-page feature in Zigzag Magazine, October 1, 1971.

Any excuse to push the pen in praise of Mott. This time I had three: 1. I wanted to see what they'd been doing since we last had them in Zigzag a year ago, 2. I wanted to talk to Ian Hunter about "Angel of Eighth Avenue," which is probably my favorite track of the year, and 3. I think they've been getting a raw deal from the press. So, let's be methodical and start with what they've been up to since last October.

Well, when we last spoke, "Mad Shadows" had just been released and everyone was pretty dismal about its shortcomings, although nobody really felt like explaining the reasons for its overall depressing, mixed-up content. At the time, Ian and Guy Stevens (who produced it) explained it away as being the result of "personal hang-ups," saying that making it had been a "creative nightmare." Now Ian, who hadn't liked it then, has changed his mind; he likes it because it was honest - "it was what was going on at the time... the whole album was a scream for help, but everybody was too embarrassed to say it."

Soon after the album was released, Guy parted company with both Island and Mott (though he is still nominally their manager), but during "Mad Shadows" he was like a sixth member of the band. As you no doubt know, Mott was his 'invention'; he assembled the band, guided them, loved them, and devoted most of his enthusiasm and energy to getting them off the ground. They in turn loved him, and still do; "Guy saved my bacon," says Ian. "Without him I don't know what I'd be doing... he gave me everything," and it's true; without Guy, Mott would still probably be grinding around the village halls or doing unrewarding bread-to-keep-going gigs on the continent.

But, like children who grow up and leave home to fend for themselves, when Mott parted from Guy, some of their ways inevitably altered with their 'freedom.' For instance, in the production of their records, Guy's insistence on live recording was replaced by a more methodical approach, building tracks with overdubs. With Guy, the sound had to be there... it didn't matter if the resultant track had rough edges; as long as it had the feel, it was okay. So "Mad Shadows" was done totally live, goofs and all; "if you listen to, say, 'Thunderbuck Ram,' you'll hear me hit