Ian Hunter - Defiance Part 1

  by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 26 / 5 / 2023

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Review

As the years slip by, it is increasingly hard to argue that rock and roll is a young person's game! Ian Hunter, with his latest album, ‘Defiance Part 1’ certainly does his bit to smash that notion. As frontman of Mott The Hoople, Ian - a former factory worker from Shropshire - was a big figure in 1970s glam rock. Mentored by David Bowie, his band had major hits with ‘Roll Away The Stone’ and the Bowie-written ‘All The Young Dudes’. They influenced The Clash, Blur and Oasis and were close to all the top names of that era. Now aged 83 and living in New England, Ian Hunter is accepted as one of rock's elder statesmen. His creative drive remains strong and the star-studded support cast on ‘Defiance Part 1’ (a second volume is currently being recorded) reaffirms the high esteem in which Ian is held. There are contributions from Ringo Starr, ZZ Top's Billy F Gibbons, Def Leppard's Joe Elliott and sessions for the album included some of the final recordings of both Jeff Beck and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. The material on the album was mainly written during lockdown by Ian and his guitarist Andy York and the songs bristle with life-affirming energy. The title track is driven along by Guns N'Roses guitarist Slash and Metallica's Robert Trujillo and includes Ian's cheery line, “I'm still frolicking with all the young dudes”. On ‘Bed Of Roses’ Ian - backed by Ringo - sings happily of shady goings-on in Hamburg's legendary Star Club. Ian's voice these days is gruff and a little Dylanesque - but he shows versatility across a number of fine ballads. One of the best of these is ‘Guernica’, inspired by Picasso's anti-war painting - and “No Hard Feelings” about Ian's domineering Scottish father is another moving song which features Jeff Beck with side-kick Johnny Depp – who provides some admirably accomplished rhythm guitar. Gibbons, Hawkins and Elliott all contribute to ‘This Is What I'm Here For; where Ian Hunter sings, “When I was 30, I was over the hill. But fifty years later, I still kill them all.” ‘Defiance Part 1’ definitely proves Ian's point! And no doubt volume two will be of similar quality when it appears in the coming months. Something to look forward to!

Track Listing:-

1 Defiance (Feat. Slash & Robert Trujillo)
2 Bed of Roses (Feat. Ringo Star, Mike Campbell & Joe Elliott)
3 No Hard Feelings (Feat. Johnny Depp & Jeff Beck)
4 Pavlov's Dog (Feat. Dennis DiBrizzi, Dean DeLeo & Robert DeLeo)
5 Don't Tread On Me (Feat. Todd Rundgren)
6 Guernica (Feat. Mike Campbell & Joe Elliott)
7 I Hate Hate (Feat. Dennis DiBrizzi)
8 Angel (Feat. Taylor Hawkins & Duff McKagan)
9 Kiss N' Make Up (Feat. Taylor Hawkins & Billy Bob Thornton)
10 This Is What I'm Here For (Feat. Taylor Hawkins & Joe Elliott)

Band Links:-

https://ianhunter.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ianhunterdotc
https://twitter.com/IanHunterdotcom

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