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Music > Reviews > Ian Hunter By Stephen HaagIt’s been a pretty good year to be a rock ‘n’ roll survivor, what with enjoyable releases from Bob Dylan (age 68), Levon Helm (69), and almost-sexagenarians Bruce Springsteen (59) and the New York Dolls’ David Johansen (also 59). Yes, they’re all taking well-deserved victory laps, but damned if they’re not all still-vital artists pushing themselves artistically. To that list, let’s also add one-time Young Dude and former Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter, back after 2007’s excellent Shrunken Heads, with Man Overboard. Would you guess, that at 70, Hunter’s the most senior of this rockin’ group? You might after giving the new record a spin. Forget “dadrock”—rock ‘n’ roll’s now been around long enough to give birth to “granddadrock”. Hunter’s always been part old man, full of piss and vinegar, anyways, so it’s no surprise that he’s still churning out tunes embracing outsiders and standing up for the little guy as he enters his eighth decade… for half an album at least; more about that later. He gives away the secret to his success on the rollicking autobiographical opener, “The Great Escape”: “When you gotta get away, you gotta get away—especially when the other guy’s bigger than you!” The rest of side A is vintage Hunter: the blue collar laments “Up and Running” and “Man Overboard” shine a populist light on those left behind in Bailout America: workers replaced by “$100 robots” but keeping their chins up metaphorically on the former; doing so literally on the piano-washed title track, the narrator carrying on despite realizing he’ll “never learn the 12 steps to heaven.” Joined once again by Shrunken Heads producer Andy York and many of the musicians from that record’s sessions, Overboard‘s first half nearly matches the late-career highs of its predecessor. After a sprightly gag about sexual politics at work, “The Girl from the Office”, which isn’t about Jenna Fischer or Mindy Kaling (chorus: “What’s she like in bed?”; has Hunter ever held a day job?), the fight leaves Hunter—or is it vice versa?—and side B exposes Hunter’s way-too-contented lion in winter. If you know any aging rockers who need some songs to wobble to at their 50th wedding anniversary, look no further than the four midtempo ballads that grind Man Overboard to a halt: “Flowers”, “These Feelings”, “Win It All”, and “Way With Words”. (“You rock me like a lullaby,” coos Hunter on the last of these.) And the closing ballad, “River of Tears”, a tale of a peaceful Native American tribe set to a cockeyed piano riff from R.E.M.‘s “Nightswimming”, manages to be both overcooked and half-baked at the same time. Yes, I realize I’m a colossal d-bag for finding fault with an old man’s happiness. But for nearly 40 years people (myself included) have found solace in Hunter’s wit and cynicism. To hear a half-dozen sappy love songs from this notoriously poison pen, well, what the world needs now from Hunter is not love, sweet love.
— 23 July 2009
Ian Hunter - All the Young Dudes (2009) 
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Comments
You shouldn’t lump “Flowers” among the songs that slow the album down. Listen to it again, and listen to the words. It’s a great track and most certainly is not a “sappy love song.” It’s something else entirely.
I won’t defend “These Feelings,” but “Win it All” and “Way with Words” are better than you give them credit for.
Comment by John O'Rourke from Cedar Hill, TX — July 23, 2009 @ 10:53 am
Dear Sir,
D-bag doesn’t EVEN begin to cover yourself. As though by saying that you get a free ride??? I think not. You say you have been listening to Ian Hunter’s music for nearly 40 years, and yet you seem to know nothing about the man. Did he ever have a “day job”, you wonder? He finished school at 16, left home the same year, and worked quite a variety of “day jobs” from being an apprentice at a Rolls Royce factory, (at a lathe on the factory floor) to digging ditches for the local city council, and struggled to find time to be a musician, which finally happened for him big time in 1979 when he auditioned for a band that became Mott the Hoople.
I have been accused of being quite the cynic myself, (my brother swears I came out of the womb smoking a cigarette, and reading Sartre). I must admit that my favorite Marx brother was Groucho, and I had read Oscar Levant’s “A Smattering of Ignorance” in sixth grade. You’re no cynic, you come off as a pretentious, and ill read… a blow hard who had made no attempt to know his subject. My guess is that you have no one to wobble through your fiftieth anniversary with… at least Ian has been married to his wife since 1972. You completely miss the point on “Win it All”, which is a lullaby, and is written much in the vein of Rogers and Hammernstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, which is near and dear to the hearts of many a Brit, especially at football matches.
Ian had two previous CDs while on a full steam ahead rant. Let him have a mellow moment, even there he has much to say, if you bother to listen. One does not always have to scream to be heard.
Comment by Liz from St. Louis — July 23, 2009 @ 11:29 am
From the reviews of this album I’ve read Stephen Haag is definitely in the minority,and having listened to the cd several times I don’t think I’ll be taking to much notice of this reviewer’s opinion in the future
Comment by Ray Waters from Reading,Berkshire,England — July 23, 2009 @ 12:11 pm
In the immortal words of IH (since you say, altho it is hard to believe that you have been a fan for 40 years, you know this song) “we ain’t bleeding you, we’re feeding you, but you’re too fuckin slow”. Overstated for sure, but the bottom line is that you just don’t get it. Grouping Flowers with the other love songs clearly shows you don’t get this song. Maybe it’s about kids dying in wars that shouldn’t be fought and putting flowers on their graves isn’t enough.
Has Ian ever worked a day job - you obviously know nothing about his history of leaving home at 16, working in factories (ever listen to American Spy, you fan of 40 years).
You need to open your mind and evaluate the album on it’s own merits, not based on your expectations of what you think an IH album should sound like. The lyrics are brilliant and the songs very diverse. This album could have had Schizophrenic in it’s title for the vast array of emotions it evokes.
Give this album another few listens, and if your opinion doesn’t change, and if you don’t start to get what IH is saying, it might be time for you to consider a career change.
Comment by Dave from London — July 23, 2009 @ 2:47 pm
I meant to say Ian finally hit the big time in 1969 instead of 1979
Comment by Liz from St. Louis — July 23, 2009 @ 11:09 pm
“Flowers” is not a love song, gormless, it’s an anti-war song.
“Has Hunter ever held a day job?” Says the guy who calls himself a fan of forty years who seems unaware that at least a dozen of Hunter’s soungs mention factories he used to wok in. You’re not a fan, pal: what you are is what Hunter would call a pretentious wanker.
Oh, and the CD is terrific.
Comment by Hunter Tremayne from Barcelona — July 24, 2009 @ 3:17 am
OK - you’ve made remarks I don’t agree with - but ‘poison pen’ Ian Hunter has always been countered by the guy who wears a romantic heart on his sleeve…
Comment by Andrew Whalley from Liverpool [ish] — July 24, 2009 @ 4:02 pm
Whether or not one likes a particular song is entirely subjective, so, while I disagree completely with your assessment of River of Tears, Way With Words and Win It All, I can at least respect your opinion. But, as others have noted above, you are totally off base with Flowers. The song is an understated, yet biting, political masterpiece. “Every man killed is an insult to any faith…sometimes flowers ain’t enough.” If you are going to publish your reviews, you might want to try actually listening to the songs.
Comment by Goldy from San Francisco — September 18, 2009 @ 5:39 pm