Customer Reviews

Wildlife

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Somebody has to be a Gemini, here. Listen to "Home Is Where I Want To Be", an interesting Ralphs composition with intricate interlacing organ and piano plus folk guitar, mellow, laid back and friendly. The next piece is the live remake of Little Richards', "Keep 'A Knockin". Here for the first time on the first three MTH albums you get an inkling of the full firepower of MTH live on stage. A real rush turned up loud as they were in concert, full chaos controlled beautifully (and the crowd loves it); very striking contrast! This displays perfectly the two sides MTH was capable of. Ralphs' guitar work as always impeccable, ranging from traditional riffs to harmonious patterns to nice flashing and crashing lead lines. Then he turns it up another notch and goes into tree sawing mode; quite a work ethic. Also, excellent rendition of Melanie's hit, "Lay Down" and the solemn orchestral "Waterlow", by Hunter. This album the band produced themselves, with inconsistent help from engineers, due to falling out with Guy Stevens after he pushed them over the edge on Mad Shadows and wanted to fire organist Verden Allen. Instead, the band stuck with Verdie and told Guy to take a walk. They missed him, although eccentric he was at least consitent, and teamed again on the next album, Brain Capers.

Other nice songs on this album; Hunter's "Angel of Eighth Avenue", and the bonus track of Mountain's, "Long Red". This was a tribute to the bands' friend, Leslie West, and a fine rendition indeed. The live version on Tale of Two Cities is also breathtaking. Great booklet here and composition by drummer Dale (Buffin) Griffin, as with all four of MTH's remastered first albums. You won't be dissappointed with the sound quality of this import CD, a must have and well worth the investment. Kudos to the Angel Air lable for getting these remastered historic discs into the market. They sound as good today as they did live, 30 years ago.

I love this album. Reviewers who complain about this album cite poor vocals by Mick Ralphs, and in a way that's justified. But in the greater scheme of things, the vocals add a quirky atmosphere that stylistically place the band's sound somewhere between Ummagumma era Pink Floyd, and early Wishbone Ash. Two albums later, their sound would change dramatically, when they became leaders of the glam-rock scene and the enchanting atmophere was exchanged for heavy riffs. Don't get me wrong -- All the Young Dudes and Mott are terrific albums, but the first four albums work together as a seamless whole (Mott the Hoople and the fourth, Brain Capers were critically very well received, but Mad Shadows and this album, Wildlife, fell on deaf ears, both critically and commercially) This album is for more than just completists, and if you're a fan of early Pink Floyd and Wishbone Ash, you just might find the vocals enchanting. Don't expect this to sound like David Bowie or T. Rex -- it sounds as nothing else. I spot the album one star for having so much heart, and for having the tenacity to record Melanie's "Lay Down" that sounds like "Madman" era Elton John, complete with gospel chorus! Get this album -- you might just run into someone who will spot it as a winner.

Wildlife was a transitional album for the band, but a daring one. After clearly creating a "sound" for themselves they moved into a totally different country rock area.

Hunter's "Angel of 8th Ave" and Ralphs' "Whisky Women" are two of the best tracks on the album. In fact, Ralphs is in top form here contributing four excellent songs. Ignored upon release, this is one of the band's most interesting offerings.

I picked this album up in hopes that it would find itself on my shelf as something different to play when I was in the mood for something al ittle more on the poppy/light side. Mott The Hoople have their claim as one of the upper ranking glam acts of the early seventies, but in my mind they do it better when they tone it down a notch. This is a good album by the group, from before they met real commercial success.

Wildlife has got the mellow, slightly psychedelic, slightly indie rock sound that I was looking for. The opening track WHISKEY WOMAN is a ballady number, with some nice and prominent organ work. The former producer of the band had decided that having an organ player was holding the band down, and wanted to fire him... The band collectively decided to instead can the producer, keep the organ work in, and let it shine through right off at the top of the album. It was a good decision as this is easily one of the standout cuts. Other songs of note on here are ORIGINAL MIXED UP KID, WRONG SIDE OF THE RIVER and HOME IS WHERE I WANT TO BE. The only song I don't care for really is MUST BE LOVE, which to me sounds like a really crappy Fleetwood Mac tune. The Melanie cover LAY DOWN is strange at first, but grows on you, and the whole album actually grew on me just as I had hoped it would. Mott The Hoople albums are good like that... the real clincher for this bit though, far and away is the close out live cut, KEEP A KNOCKIN. The band really rocks out on that bit, mixes it up with some What I say, and kills it it at the end. All in all, this is a nice rarity for your collection that grows better with each listen.

Wildlife is one of Mott's earlier efforts. It's certainly gentler than the other early LPs but is packed with some lovely tunes. Highlights are three Ian Hunter ballads - Waterlow, Angel of Eighth Avenue and Original Mixed Up Kid - all played with great economy and sympathy by the band, especially Verden Allen on Hammond. The rockers are great too and their live version of Melanie's Lay Down cuts the mustard.

Well worth anyone's money, if you're a Mott fan. Hope they'll do a few from this at the Hammersmith gigs!

Wildlife was a transitional album for the band, but a daring one. After clearly creating a "sound" for themselves they moved into a totally different country rock area.

Hunter's "Angel of 8th Ave" and Ralphs' "Whisky Women" are two of the best tracks on the album. In fact, Ralphs is in top form here contributing four excellent songs. Ignored upon release, this is one of the band's most interesting offerings.

Here Mick Ralphs attempts to lead the band into more genteel and countrified territiory after the gruesome sonic overload of "Mad Shadows". Only on the frantic live version of "Keep a Knockin" does the band rock out on this one.

But it really works. If only Ralphs could sing, I'd give it 5 stars. Despite his singing, Ralphs' numbers are pretty good, although a bit saccharine aside from "Wrong Side of the River". "River" is such a cool song even Mick's poor vocals don't hurt it much (I'd love to hear it covered by a good vocalist).

Hunter's work on this album is simply excellent. "Angel of Eighth Avenue", and "Waterlow" are cool and mellow and among the best he's ever done. If you are a Hunter fan, this album is a must. Buy it quick before it goes out of print again.

This is perhaps the weakest Mott release in large part due to the paper thin and expressionless vocals of Mick Ralphs( unemotive on the slower tunes and straining for the notes on the rockers).There are some great songs here and Ian Hunter and all the guys are in fine form but in the end Mick's voice simply cannot carry these tunes.On it's release this disc did not recieve good reviews and this was the start of the bands demise even though they were still pulling fanatical crowds in the UK,they just could not seem to move forwards.Happily all that would change and the band would go on to enjoy some real success twelve months later with "All the young dudes".

After two commercially under-performing albums, producer Guy Stevens reportedly pressured Mott the Hoople to make some personnel changes, including suggesting the band fire keyboardist Verden Allen. The band responded to the suggestion by ending their relationship with Stevens. The band also decided to take a stab at self-production with the release of 1971's "Wildlife". With singer Ian Hunter and lead guitarist Mick Ralphs dividing writing chores, the album also found the band making a tentative move towards a lighter, more varied and commercial sound. Mind you, evidenced by songs like 'Whiskey Woman' and the live 'Keep a' Knockin'' there were still plenty of rockers on the collection, but you also had some sensitive singer/songwriter numbers ('Original Mixed-Up Kid'), a country-rocker ('It Must Be Love') and even one amazing Neil Young knock-off ('Wrong Side of the River'). The album was also an anomaly in the band's catalog in that Hunter and Ralphs shared vocal responsibilities. While I've always liked Hunter's rugged, occasionally Dylan-esque voice, hearing Ralphs take the mike made for a pleasant change. To be honest, Ralphs didn't have a particularly impressive voice, but at least within the studio confines his performances were more than adequate.

- For my money Ralph's 'Whiskey Woman' stands as one of the band's best songs. A crisp and powerful rocker with some funny 'American groupie' lyrics, Ralphs lead vocals were great (making for a nice change from Hunters ragged voice). Should have provided the band with a massive radio hit ... rating: **** stars
- Okay if was apparently inspired by a New York prostitute, but 'Angel of Eighth Avenue' remained one of Hunter's prettiest compositions. With a beautiful and almost pastoral melody, even Hunter's vocals were understated. Loved the way Hunter's lyrics captured the mundane aspects of city life. rating: **** stars
- Written and sung by Ralphs, 'Wrong Side of the River' found the band turning in their best Neil Young impersonation .... Seriously, Ralphs fragile falsetto bore an uncanny resemblance to Young this time around and the song's melancholy melody and feel was a perfect Young knock-off. Great song. rating: **** stars
- For a band known for their rock repertoire, Hunter's 'Waterlow' came as a major surprise - who would have expected to hear an orchestrated folk number ? Very pretty and calming and truly bizarre. rating: *** stars
- One of two cover tunes, side one ended with Melanie's 'Lay Down'. I can't say I was ever enthralled with the Melanie original, so their probably wasn't much that Mott could have done to convert me ... Needless to say, Hunter's screaming vocal coupled with a backing chorus that sounded like it had been lifted from the original, failed to impress. rating: ** stars
- Mott does Poco ... Yeah, I never expected to hear these guys doing a country-rocker, but witness 'It Must Be Love' they did. Not bad, though it simply wasn't a genre that did a great deal for me. rating: *** stars
- Showcased keyboardist Verden, 'Home I Where I Want To Be' was a catchy, mid-tempo rocker that sported one of the album's best chorus. Shame the song faded out so early. rating: **** stars
- A slightly ramshackle live performance that suffered from hideous sound quality, the liner notes listed the track as Little Richard's 'Keep a' Knocking', but this was really a medley of '50s rock chestnuts such as Jerry Lee Lewis' 'Tell Me What I Say'. Apparently recorded for a planned live album that was shelved, normally covers of '50s rock and R&B chestnuts don't do anything for me, but on this one Hunter and company literally tearing their way through the song with Ralphs shining throughout the performance. Very impressive. rating: **** stars
As you probably expected, the band's willingness to try out a new musical playground was greeted with critical and buying public disdain. Most band's would have probably thrown in the towel, but these guys kept on going.

"Wildlife" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Whiskey Woman (Mick Ralphs) - 3:38
2.) Angel of Eighth Avenue (Ian Hunter) - 4:30
3.) Wrong Side of the River (Mick Ralphs) - 6:18
4.) Waterlow (Ian Hunter) - 3:00
5.) Lay Down (Melanie Safka) - 4:10

(side 2)
1.) It Must Be Love (Mick Ralphs) - 6:01
2.) Original Mixed-Up Kid (Ian Hunter) - 4:06
3.) Home I Where I Want To Be (Mick Ralphs) -
4.) Keep a' Knockin' (Richard Penniman) -

`Wildlife' is an interesting record by a very interesting band. It is probably the oddest in Mott the Hoople's catalog as it is the only album which features two lead singers as the others featured cameos by Mick Ralphs or on one song from Verden Allen ("Soft Ground" from `All the Young Dudes') and Overend Watts ("Born Late `58'" from `The Hoople'). Mick and Ian Hunter almost split `Wildlife' down the middle in terms of compositions and singing. I like Mick's voice it its very light and reedy and probably wouldn't have been strong enough live. "Whiskey Women" is a great opener and probably my favorite on the LP. It seems to be a slam towards American groupies much like the Guess Who. Ian turns in "Waterlow" which is an almost mystical, Celtic-like piece in which he delivers a haunting but heartbreaking vocal. The Melanie cover is cool and as I don't really know the original it seems the band kept it pretty much the same. A weird Neil Young like song called "Wrong Side of the River" and "Original Mixed-Up Kid" draw most of this record's attention but "Keep a Knockin'" closes the album in a riotous fashion. It seemed very hip in the early `70's for British bands to end their concerts with a `50's medley (Led Zep, Deep Purple and Uriah Heep were all practioners of this) and Mott does the old chestnut justice ( a planned live album was botched and this was the only left over). Mott does exactly progress with `Wildlife' and the record tanked. However the band would make great strides with their next release and rock it up big time...