All American Alien Boy
"When the Daylight Comes/Sweet Jane"
"Wash Us Away"
"Michael Picasso"
"It Ain't Easy When You Fall"/"All The Way From Memphis"
It Ain't Easy When You Fall,
sideways snippet
"Alice"
"Wash Us Away"
"Man Overboard"
"Standin' In My Light"
"Once Bitten, Twice Shy"
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
sideways
"Michael Picasso"
"Saturday Gigs"/"All The Young Dudes"/"Goodnight Irene"
: version 1
"Saturday Gigs"/"All The Young Dudes"/"Goodnight Irene"
: version 2
After the show, Ian was personable enough to stick around and to autograph anything that people wanted signed. He asked while signing, "I'm not going to see any of this for sale on Ebay am I?" People chuckled. I got his autograph on "Workin' On the Railroad," and "I Can't Drive," with the 1958 Rock 'n' Roll Show. While he was signing some old Mott The Hoople vinyl Ian said there is a lot of old vinyl out tonight.
I was about the last person to have things signed and I said `Here's an old vinyl for you; what story or anecdote can you tell me about it that no one knows?' At first he couldn't really see it because the light was bad so I told him what the 45 single was and he said this is a really old one. He said well you know it was written by Freddie "Fingers" Lee and he didn't make any money on it but it was recorded by Tom Jones and he had a big hit with it, he made money.
I asked him if he had actually recorded anything with the Apex Group and he said I don't think so but they did some recordings. Colin York was the real driver of that effort and they recorded in the John Lever Record store. York and Ian exchange Christmas cards and that sort of thing but they parted a long time ago was his point.
He said the early days were interesting because they toured all over and he said the French couldn't play their records and they didn't really care for Mott anyway. He said that's probably why they tried so hard and were really into playing to stir up the French crowd. Someone else had "Diary of a Rock and Roll Star" and he was relating that it has been translated into 16 languages including French. His point was that the French don't like us and they don't play other nation's music. Ian gave the example of Johnny Halladay who just recorded rock hits by other artists and made a great deal of money doing so. I agreed with the point, the French, the Canadians and others limit music from other countries in their nation.
Mott The Hoople - Rock 'n' Roll Queen, Taverne de l'Olympia, Paris on 29th September 1971
Cf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRWQIIkCndg
The Moon Upstairs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNZWu0UED4E
Walking With A Mountain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di95j26cgQ0
Keep A Knockin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB4T7NLcRqA
I asked if he planned to play bass like he did on "Workin'" and "Drive" and he reminded me that he did play a bit of bass at the reunion gig in 2009.
Then, Ian said something unexpected. He said it was a great deal of fun in those days, "more fun than Mott The Hoople." I thought the more fun early days was because Ian was under a great deal of pressure to write hits and it was a grind during the Mott tours.
I told him when I first saw them, at the Hollywood Palladium, in September 1973, just after Ariel Bender (actually Luther Grosvenor) had joined the band two days previously. Mick Ralphs didn't really give them any warning and he said Luther was right there and ready to go. He jumped right in and he was good on stage. It got him thinking about the maniacal types in rock.
He said lots of rockers were like that. Keith Moon rang him up in L.A. and Ian said he was mortified. He didn't know what to say, it was Moonie after all. Ian said he didn't say a word because he was too intimidated. I said it was probably like meeting Bob Dylan after all and he said, yeah, it was like that. He continued that there are many figures like that in rock like Moonie. He was reserved until the lights went on or if there were cameras on. He said, another guy like that was Sly Stone, a really reserved guy unless the cameras went on and he just went crazy.
I asked him if he'd like to know some local rock and pop trivia and he said sure. I told him that Jim Croce was buried nearby because he's from this area. Ian reminisced that now there's a guy who died and sold a lot of records. That's not the way to do it.
I asked him which type is he. Is he a crazy type or is he the more laid back kind? He said he'll keep playing and writing as long as he can. I certainly hope so; there is no one like him around.
I had a pleasant chat with the keyboard player, Andy Burton, and Paul Page, on bass (Dion), from the Rant Band before the show. I ran into them across the street from the Colonial just finishing their pizza. Both have side projects going on but talk highly of Ian and working with him. Recently, on "All-American Alien Boy," the bass player has been coming out towards the front of stage which he has not done previously. He told me how he worked hard at honoring the memory of a great player, Jaco Pastorious, but he has also added his own parts and bass playing to the piece. He struggled with forming his approach which is a a balance of playing like Paco but also adding his own personality to it. He waited anxiously to hear Ian's reaction once he worked out his bit and said it was just right. Ian had ideas for each of the band members and how to play what he had in mind. It is how the band has a basic repertoire but they keep adding things to keep it fresh.
He had come off working with John Cale, as James Mastro had as well, but he and Steve Holley go way back and Steve was instrumental in getting him into the band.
These are really down-to-earth people and both Paul and Andy consider themselves fans as well. Paul came out after the show and he remembered my name and asked if I enjoyed the show, I replied that the audience was better than at the City Winery in NYC.
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