Ian Hunter: Strings Attached - A Very Special Night with Ian Hunter

Rating:
Summary: Its about time!
Review: Been waiting a long time for a DVD from Ian.I can't believe it's out over two weeks and no one has reviewed it.Shame on you.Anyway, as soon I heard this disc was being released I pre-ordered it.First I looked over the set list.I couldn't believe Boy(one of my longtime favorites) was there.That was enogh for me.Now remember people, reviews are a matter of opinion. And we all know opinions are like a-holes,everyones got one. My credentials- I've been listening to Mott since '74(hey I was only 14).I have almost all of the Mott discs and alot of the solo ones too.I've also seen Ian live three times.I hope this will help me.We start with Rest in Peace.I loved it on the live disc-'74.This version is a little different(which is a good thing)and I'm lovin' it still.Then we have All of the Good Ones Are Taken.This is one of the discs I don't have,so this is new to me.What a great song.My favorite on this disc.Then there's I Wish I Was Your Mother,another great song.Twisted Steel,a new song about 9-11 ,was a little too up tempo for me.Maybe 'cause I'm from N.Y. and saw it go down live.Still sesitive.I don't know how the Boss pulled it off but that's another review.Boy,the moment I've been waiting for ,is really good.No surprises though.Maybe I was expecting too much.Now I'm not sure if 23a Swan Hill is new but it sounds like something that would be from the Rant disc(which is brilliant).A really good song.Next is Waterlow.Now when I bought Wildlife,it was to hear The Original Mixed Up Kid and Angel of Eighth Avenue.Waterlow is a good song but a little slow for me.All the Young Dudes,Irene Wilde,Once Bitten and Ships are some of Ians best songs but I've heard them too many times so without any surprises-hey gotta please the fans wright.Loved the version of "Dudes" Ian did on the Howard Stern show.Ian said it was a little early butI thought it was sweet.By the way Ian,if your looking,please continue doing Howards show.You are reaching the fans.Let us know what's coming.I know your touring over seas and I hope your coming to the states.I missed the last tour.I was in Florida at the time.I still haunt my wife.Back to the DVD.I don't really care for A Nightingale Sang... Then I come to Michael Picasso.I don't know if this is new or not but I never heard it before.As soon as I hear "the spider with the platinum hair" I know it's a tribute to Mick Ronson.What a beautiful song. I almost cried.Andy York does some great stuff here and will have a place in my heart for co-producing Rant but I miss Mick. Bowies best stuff was with Mick.Ian too.Rest in peace Mick.The DVD closes with All the Way From Memphis and Saturday Gigs.I really dig the strings on Memphis.The strings are fantastic through out.Bravo.Still love Saturday Gigs. Guess I didn't over play that one.Overall I think it' great.I watched it many times and will watch it many more.I even put it on cassette so I can listen at work.If your an Ian Hunter fan you'll love it.Ian sounds great and is charming through out.There is also a bonus interview which I found riveting.Thankyou,Ian.Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Presentation of a Rock Legend
Review: Ian Hunter is a survivor. Not everyone in rock has been this lucky. In fact, few have. The first song, 'Rest in Peace', reflects this. This is followed by "All the Good Ones Are Taken", which he ends in an even more downbeat manner. Ian Hunter is here. Few other figures in 70's rock are.

If Mott the Hoople was Glam Rock, how the heck is it that they were singing the next song. "I Wish I Was Your Mother" talks of a relationship where one party is good and the other is sucking the life out of that 'good' one. Well, in that sense, all the good ones are gone. This version of "I Wish" is many times more serious than the original, if that's possible. Hunter is truly demonstrating the hard edge of the lyrics. This is a man who knows what he has accomplished, who always understood what he was saying, the seriousness of it.

A new song, Twisted Steel, is about 9/11. Hunter does not like softness. Consider the nature of the first four songs, however. I'm not sure Twisted Steel is much of a breather. Still, it all rolls along. And then there is "Boy", in which we are told "Suicidal tendencies are silly to extreme".

I guess the point is that all of these songs are pretty remarkable on a number of levels. Hunter lays himself bare. He always has. He's where he is because, well, I'm not sure. Maybe because he was true to his art, so that all the self-destructive impulses never overcame that inner artist. Hunter is, I suppose, something of an elder stateman of rock, now.

The title of this DVD is Strings Attached. Hunter has a lot of fun with the strings. There's a rather long and syrupy instrumental before he unleashes 'All the Young Dudes'. Of course, this was Bowie's gift to Hunter, the entree that made it possible for a serious man to get closer to stardom. He still does it with a certain flair. The audience is deeply involved in the song. He can adapt the ending to a current audience.

One of the problems with 60's and early 70's rock is that it empowered people. It lifted them up and made them see possibilities. Maybe the possibilities are just song lyrics. The poor musicians couldn't deliver anything, really, but energy. So rock turned punk and glam and Satanic. It morphed away from people in various ways. It didn't matter as much. Hunter always held on to the serious approach, with songs like Boy or Standing in My Light.

Hunter carries a lot of rock's history in that scratchy, self-absorbed voice. Everyone lets go of the illusions of youth. He carried more gilded illusions than most of us, probably. Hunter enjoys his flaws too much to be heroic. He's found his refuges where others have not. Hunter is not some poppy 60's band playing gigs in Laughlin for a five dollar cover. He's a lot smarter than that.

He ends with two songs that are of that blurred period when a serious man played a rock star role, even though it was an awkward fit. "Memphis" is the driving sound that made rock the most powerful drug. This version seems pretty flat. That was the song that played to his youthful personality.

The final song, "Saturday Gigs", is almost an epitaph to Mott. "Do you remember the Saturday Gigs?", the song asks. The audience sings along, even after the song is over. So, it's the most upbeat time on the visually rich DVD. For all Hunter brings us through, he ends on a fairly pleasing note. He, at least, wants to continue the musical journey

I guess this video does more to explain Ian Hunter than any compilation. He's not an entirely likeable chap. He seems quite arrogant. He has a bad side. Still, for all that, he sees the good and bad of things. There was something almost hideous about 70's rock, the casualties of that war, as it were. He managed to get his band near the top. He didn't crave stardom, as such. He has continued to write music, significant music, for many, many years. The CD 'Rant' had some remarkable pieces, especially the introspective "Dead Man Walking". This video tends to make me think Hunter is not a dead man walking, that he has reached a kind of artistic balance that is sustainable.

It's odd about the strings. Maybe the strings replace people who are no longer around. Maybe he recognizes that the hard edge of rock is not something he can do, anymore. The arrangements are fascinating, even if they are not all successful, to me.

I guess if you know who Hunter is, and recognize his significance, this is 35 dollars well spent. There was, and is, a lot there. There's a certain pride in simply being a fan of Hunter's. This guy has come through for the people who chose to care about him, and over 30 odd years. How many rockers are there out there, of whom that could be said?

Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Presentation of a Rock Legend
Review: Ian Hunter is a survivor. Not everyone in rock has been this lucky. In fact, few have. The first song, 'Rest in Peace', reflects this. This is followed by "All the Good Ones Are Taken", which he ends in an even more downbeat manner. Ian Hunter is here. Few other figures in 70's rock are.

If Mott the Hoople was Glam Rock, how the heck is it that they were singing the next song. "I Wish I Was Your Mother" talks of a relationship where one party is good and the other is sucking the life out of that 'good' one. Well, in that sense, all the good ones are gone. This version of "I Wish" is many times more serious than the original, if that's possible. Hunter is truly demonstrating the hard edge of the lyrics. This is a man who knows what he has accomplished, who always understood what he was saying, the seriousness of it.

A new song, Twisted Steel, is about 9/11. Hunter does not like softness. Consider the nature of the first four songs, however. I'm not sure Twisted Steel is much of a breather. Still, it all rolls along. And then there is "Boy", in which we are told "Suicidal tendencies are silly to extreme".

I guess the point is that all of these songs are pretty remarkable on a number of levels. Hunter lays himself bare. He always has. He's where he is because, well, I'm not sure. Maybe because he was true to his art, so that all the self-destructive impulses never overcame that inner artist. Hunter is, I suppose, something of an elder stateman of rock, now.

The title of this DVD is Strings Attached. Hunter has a lot of fun with the strings. There's a rather long and syrupy instrumental before he unleashes 'All the Young Dudes'. Of course, this was Bowie's gift to Hunter, the entree that made it possible for a serious man to get closer to stardom. He still does it with a certain flair. The audience is deeply involved in the song. He can adapt the ending to a current audience.

One of the problems with 60's and early 70's rock is that it empowered people. It lifted them up and made them see possibilities. Maybe the possibilities are just song lyrics. The poor musicians couldn't deliver anything, really, but energy. So rock turned punk and glam and Satanic. It morphed away from people in various ways. It didn't matter as much. Hunter always held on to the serious approach, with songs like Boy or Standing in My Light.

Hunter carries a lot of rock's history in that scratchy, self-absorbed voice. Everyone lets go of the illusions of youth. He carried more gilded illusions than most of us, probably. Hunter enjoys his flaws too much to be heroic. He's found his refuges where others have not. Hunter is not some poppy 60's band playing gigs in Laughlin for a five dollar cover. He's a lot smarter than that.

He ends with two songs that are of that blurred period when a serious man played a rock star role, even though it was an awkward fit. "Memphis" is the driving sound that made rock the most powerful drug. This version seems pretty flat. That was the song that played to his youthful personality.

The final song, "Saturday Gigs", is almost an epitaph to Mott. "Do you remember the Saturday Gigs?", the song asks. The audience sings along, even after the song is over. So, it's the most upbeat time on the visually rich DVD. For all Hunter brings us through, he ends on a fairly pleasing note. He, at least, wants to continue the musical journey

I guess this video does more to explain Ian Hunter than any compilation. He's not an entirely likeable chap. He seems quite arrogant. He has a bad side. Still, for all that, he sees the good and bad of things. There was something almost hideous about 70's rock, the casualties of that war, as it were. He managed to get his band near the top. He didn't crave stardom, as such. He has continued to write music, significant music, for many, many years. The CD 'Rant' had some remarkable pieces, especially the introspective "Dead Man Walking". This video tends to make me think Hunter is not a dead man walking, that he has reached a kind of artistic balance that is sustainable.

It's odd about the strings. Maybe the strings replace people who are no longer around. Maybe he recognizes that the hard edge of rock is not something he can do, anymore. The arrangements are fascinating, even if they are not all successful, to me.

I guess if you know who Hunter is, and recognize his significance, this is 35 dollars well spent. There was, and is, a lot there. There's a certain pride in simply being a fan of Hunter's. This guy has come through for the people who chose to care about him, and over 30 odd years. How many rockers are there out there, of whom that could be said?