Welcome to the Club [Extra tracks, Import]

Ian Hunter | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 23, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Extra tracks, Import
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B000007100
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,682 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Live double disc of some of the best material by the ex-of Mott The Hoople frontman. Originally released in 1994, the set includes four previously unreleased tracks: 'One of The Boys,' 'The Golden Age of Rock & Roll,' 'When The Daylight Comes' and the medley 'Once Bitten, Twice Shy/Bastard/Cleveland Rocks.' Also features a super live version of the Mott hit-David Bowie penned anthem 'All The Young Dudes.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 5-stars if not for the filler studio tracks, April 21, 2004

By 

James Takahashi "jmtt77" (Beavertown, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Welcome to the Club (Audio CD)

I attended Ian Hunter's triumphant 1980 return to the Roxy while he was touring in support of _Welcome_to_the_Club_. I've seen a lot of concerts in the intervening 25 years, but that show still burns brightly in my memory as perhaps the greatest show I've ever seen.

Issued in vinyl, the double album had three sides of live material, and one side of studio tracks. Those studio tracks appear as the last four tracks of CD2 in this collection, and in my opinion, are for completists only. Two live bonus tracks appear on the CD -- a pretty good rendition of "The Golden Age of Rock and Roll," and a so-called "medley" of "Once Bitten Twice Shy/Bastard/Cleveland Rocks." Those songs are not performed as a medley, however... they are partial renditions of songs which are presented in full earlier in the disc, spliced together with fade-out/fade-in transitions. Perhaps these are alternate takes that had some sort of sonic problems that needed editing.

The remaining live material, however, is arguably the best live performance ever caught on recorded media. The performance is inspired, and the sound quality and production do a wonderful job of capturing the excitement and energy of Ian Hunter at his best. All the best known rockers -- "All the Way from Memphis," "Cleveland Rocks" (now very well known thanks to Drew Carey), "Just Another Night," and "Once Bitten" -- are there, and they blow the roof off the house. The best known ballads -- "Irene Wilde," "Standing in My Light" -- are there, too, showcasing Hunter's considerable crooning talents. And of course, "Dudes" is the mandatory encore. Two unexpected highlights, however, are two songs which were turned into rockers for this tour: "Bastard," which was always a great song even in the studio, but which achieves a new level of success as the rocking anthem that it becomes here; and "Laugh at Me" (written by Sonny Bono, of all people, and which Hunter has previously identified as the song he used to audition for his job as lead singer for Mott the Hoople). Hunter intros the song by saying something like, "Here's an old one that I've done lots of ways. Here's the latest way." This time, "Laugh at Me" turns into an "F* you, I don't care if you laugh at me" anthem, and the song suddenly makes sense instead of conjuring images of a ten-year-old Sonny Bono getting beat up in the school yard.

If you need an intro to Ian Hunter, this is probably the best place to start.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Gold Rock n Roll, February 2, 2008

By 

William Moore (NC,USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Welcome to the Club (Audio CD)

This is my favorite live album of all time.Ian and Mick tear The Roxy down in this 1979 performance.The album was produced and arranged by Hunter and Ronson,its definitely a joint collaboration.Ronson's riffs blend perfectly with Ian's working class lyrics.Martin Briley on bass,Eric Parker on drums, Tommy Mandel on keyboards,Susie Ronson and Ellen Foley on background vocals on "We Gotta Get Outta Here";a song about Ian's paranoia in public. My favorite parts are Ian talking with the crowd.Someone shouts "Ian,we love you" to which he replies "love you too".A few tracks were recorded live at Media Sound including "Silver Needles" a tribute to the fallen Johnny Thunders.He does of a cover of Sonny Bono's "Laugh at Me", making it rock like a storm.Buy this album! I have it on vinyl and I'm getting it on cd too.It's been a favorite "for yearyas".

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic live album of the 70's with 4 extra songs!, July 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Welcome to the Club (Audio CD)

This import CD edition of this classic live album of the late 70's restores 3 live performances plus a 3 song live medley missing from the original release.